The Littlestown Area School District Board is still finding difficulty coming together, more than 14 months after a majority of new board members were elected.
At both the Feb. 3 work session and Monday’s regular board meeting, raised voices, accusations, name-calling, and other contentious behavior had attendees shaking their heads, while two residents spoke to the issue during public comment.
A discussion among board members about a YouTube channel created by Board Member Duane Sullivan was characterized as “dishonest and untrue.” Board member Janelle Ressler said Sullivan was “creating hostility within the board and pushing a false narrative with malicious intent.” She added that the YouTube Channel took board comments out of context and misrepresented what was said.
Board Chair Carl Thompson said the answer was for the board to consider creating its own video of the meetings instead of its current audio-only presentation. At a board meeting last spring, that idea was voted down because the cost was estimated at between $30-to-$50,000.
Board Member Brian Lawyer said it was time to move on. “If you find that his behavior is that egregious and the lies that he tells about you are that awful, then sue him in court. That’s your remedy. We have a First Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech, and part of that is lying whether you like it or not.” Later, he added, “What I really would like to see us do is get over this hump. We spend too much time on this.”
“The question you should ask yourself, no matter what it is,” said Board Chair Carl Thompson, “is how does it benefit the children?”
During the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Timothy Mitzel reminded the board and those present of the board policy surrounding the issue from October. “It is the District’s intent to clearly communicate to all who follow the district’s communication of these continuing and resurgent posts, with the hope that individuals responsible for these posts will stop sewing seeds of negativity and antagonizing this board’s discourse and immediately remove any and all demeaning and discriminatory statements or media posts against others.”
“The board has allowed so much disrespect and slander in this room,” Sullivan said, calling Mitzel’s position on the media posts “ironic.”
Residents also had things to say about the topic during public comment. Donna Baylis stated that she had witnessed a lot of disrespect from board members. “None of you have to agree with what the public comes up here to say…but it’s not your right to disrespect people who come up and give public comment.” She suggested all the board members needed to do to show respect was to look at them and let them know they were paying attention. She had criticized one board member, Nick Lovell, for smirking at a speaker as she returned to her seat and another, Danielle Brenneman, for paying more attention to her computer than the person speaking.
Resident Kathy Griffin commented on Sullivan’s YouTube channel, which includes clips of meeting recordings plus commentary. “The ways these clips are used are wrong in so many ways. It does affect the harmony and the production of this board.”
Final comments were made by Jeremy Ressler, husband of Board Member Janelle Ressler, who said he had come to publicly condemn the personal, slanderous, and malicious attacks made against him by Sullivan. He said Sullivan’s one-sided video clips were full of “slander, defamation, harassment, misrepresentation, conspiracy theories aimed directly at the other eight board members, staff, school administration, and taxpayers.” He called the channel’s claims of independent journalism “absurd,” adding, “If he is a journalist, then I am Mickey Mouse.”
The final five minutes of the Feb. 3 LASD work session meeting erupted into arguments as well between three board members with accusations of bullying, election interference, and name-calling. The three board members involved were Jeanne Ewen, who questioned the ethical nature of Sullivan’s YouTube Channel, Sullivan and Ressler.
“You’re impacting the credibility of this board,” Ewen said, “the harmony of this board and the trust of the public.”
Sullivan responded by stating that the board has not stepped in when he has been the victim of harassment by Board Member Janelle Ressler for the past eight months. He also accused the board of hiring Ewen to attack him.
As Board Chairman Carl Thompson repeatedly banged his gavel to end the disruption, Ewen and Sullivan continued to engage. After a pause in the contentions meeting, Ressler began stating loudly that she was not doing anything that Sullivan had accused her of.
Later, Thompson said he was discouraged by the constant bickering. “As a school member, I am disappointed that these disturbances are taking away from the overall business we need to do. It is interfering with the process.”
In November 2023, Janelle Ressler, Duane Sullivan, Nick Lovell, Steven Yerger, Mary and Daniel Brenneman, and Fred Miller were elected to the nine-member board. The two remaining members from the previous board were Carl Thomspon and Brain Lawyer. Miller resigned in September, citing personal reasons, and was replaced by Jeanne Ewen, who had served previously as a board member. Initially voted in as Board Chair, Sullivan was asked to resign last April, and Thomspon was elected to replace him.
Adams County Technical Institute
Resident Susanne Johnson voiced her concern during public comment that the board moved nearly all of last year’s $3.75 million budget surplus to capital projects instead of setting any of it aside for the Adams County Technical Institute (ACTI), a joint project between several of the county’s school districts. “Career and Technical education is arguably the most critical investment needed at this time for our students and our community’s workforce needs,” she said.
LASD’s portion of that project will be more than $500,000 for the 20 years, and the board voted to raise taxes by 1 percent each year over the next three years to start planning for that eventuality.
During the Superintendent’s report, Mitzel said ACTI began as an independent entity in 2019, supported by Littlestown, Gettysburg, Bermudian Springs, Fairfield, and Conewago Valley School Districts. It began to operate on the grounds of the Gettysburg Area School District.
In 2024, the school boards began committing financial support for the next three to four years to provide technical and career education opportunities for the county students. Board Superintendents recently met with Representative Dan Moul to discuss possible help options for state support.
“But expansion does not come with a cost,” Mitzel said. He added that all districts in support of ACTI need to borrow funds to pay for a building. “Making small, predictable increases now specifically designated for the future of ACTI gives the support needed.” Board members Steven Yerger, Thompson, and Lawyer will work with other district representatives in the county to that end. Mitzel said he is hopeful a plan will be coming in May.
He then reminded board members that training is being offered on Feb. 26 from 4 to 9 p.m.
“We will be working on communication – how to communicate – how to make sure we are doing the things that are necessary for a school board to do what we do.”
Judith Cameron Seniura is a freelance reporter. She began her journalism career in the early ‘70s and has written for newspapers, magazines, and other media in Ontario, Canada, Alaska, Michigan, Nebraska, San Antonio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Very sad state of affairs..,important reporting
Sullivan was censured by his own party for conduct unbecoming of a director. After watching Board meetings over the last year, it is obvious to me that Sullivan exhibits narcissistic behavior and his sole goal is to be as disruptive as possible. His video shorts speak of him being “attacked” by other Board members. I see Board members disagreeing with him, no “attacks”. He purports to be a “victim” with every interaction. He wears a body camera and films “for his protection”. This is not the behavior of a mentally stable person and most certainly not someone who puts the… Read more »