Residents Escorted Out of Lakeland Meeting for Unruly Behavior
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Several residents who clashed with members of the Lakeland Board of Education during a budget meeting at Lakeland High School Feb. 10 were escorted out by police for unruly behavior after refusing to follow repeated requests to calm down.
The situation got so out of hand that the board walked off stage for a necessary break in the action and interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Gagliardi needed to be shielded by police at the end of the tense encounter.
“I have been to a number of these (Board of Education) meetings now in both Lakeland and Yorktown, and this past week was one of the worst displays I have experienced yet,” stated Joseph Ascanio, who said he was in attendance to hear a district update from Gagliardi. “Many ‘concerned parents’ are seemingly emboldened enough to simply spew hateful, racist rhetoric out in the open without concern for truth, decency or decorum.”
The mood at the meeting quickly turned ugly when the public was permitted to speak following a presentation of the technology, benefits and debt service line items in the proposed 2022-23 budget, which residents will vote on May 17.
One speaker lambasted the board over the continuing mask mandate for students, while Heather Conway of Cortlandt alleged there was an influx of “illegal” students that was becoming a costly burden for taxpayers.
“Who’s paying for the illegals?” she remarked. “Where are we getting the money for the illegal students, or is there no money and we have to absorb that? We are absorbing everything. Who pays for the long-term damage to our students? We are.”
Civility deteriorated further after Paul Edwards, who noted he had three children who were educated in the district, advocated for an instructional program of diversity.
“Where is diversity in the budget?” said Edwards. “What are the plans to teach people who don’t know?”
The comment from Edwards, who is Black, triggered remarks from the audience such as “This isn’t Harlem!” and “The way you end racism is you stop talking about it!”
One woman who declined to listen to board President Adam Kaufman was removed from the auditorium.
“This is turning into something we don’t want it to be,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman then took offense to a remark about Germany directed his way. “Don’t even go there, sir,” he said before leading an abrupt recess.
The five-minute recess did little to defuse the toxic atmosphere as a few more audience members were escorted out.
Melvyn Tanzman later asked where funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) could be found in the budget.
“There’s no way to tell if Lakeland has made a good faith effort to reach its goals,” Tanzman said, adding he was “disturbed” by some of the behavior of attendees at the meeting.
Gagliardi also experienced a few interruptions from shouting parents during her presentation.
“I’ve been patient. I’ve been listening with all my might. I can’t take it anymore,” Kaufman said as another individual was booted from the meeting.
The next scheduled Lakeland Board of Education meeting is this Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School. Kaufman told Examiner Media no changes are planned to the current format for public speaking.
“We believe strongly in supporting community members who wish to address the board during the public comment session. We will continue to support speakers by removing disruptive audience members and reminding the community at large to be respectful to their neighbors, administrators, and board members. We have security and local law enforcement present at all meetings and will continue to work together to ensure that everyone feels safe to share their concerns and opinions at our meetings,” Kaufman stated.
“The majority of our community members understand and respect the board and our processes,” he continued. “We have received numerous emails from community members who are deeply discouraged by the behavior of their neighbors and want to move forward in a civil and respectful manner. While the public comment session of our meetings has received more attention recently, it is not the sole purpose of Board of Education meetings. We meet to conduct the business of the district and will continue to do so despite the efforts to reduce our productivity.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
