Board criticizes and praises Manzone

Members of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board and District spoke both appreciatively and critically about Holly Manzone during a special meeting convened to officially accept her resignation from the board.

As previously reported, Manzone unexpectedly resigned from the board on Oct. 21, leveling accusation of misconduct. The board voted 8-0 to accept the resignation on Monday, Oct. 28.

At the outset of the meeting, school Superintendent John Sanville — who Manzone criticized for making a “deal” to allow out of district students to attend district schools — presented her with a Crystal Apple in honor of her service to the district. She was not present, but her husband accepted the award on her behalf.

“It is with utmost sincerity and gratitude that we recognize Holly’s numerous contributions to the board and her dogged pursuit of what she thought was right. For that and for much more, Holly is the latest recipient of the Crystal Apple,” Sanville said.

While the district office was packed, only one resident — Bruce Yeltin, of Pocopson Township — made any comments. He said Manzone was one of the top 5 percent board members he’s seen in the 16 years he’s been attending meetings. He then asked how many out of district students were attending district schools, which schools they were and how long had they been attending.

The board then voted and member comments followed.

Jeff Hellrung led off saying that in many cases, strong criticism of a board by its members can be a healthy sign of a robust and passionate community, but Manzone’s criticisms “are so outrageous that they must be totally unbelievable to anyone who attends school board meetings.”

He spent most of his time addressing Manzone’ primary issue, that the superintendent struck a deal to allow non district students to attend U-CF schools. He said the district takes seriously all such claims and that an investigation showed the family in question did not meet residency requirements and that students were subsequently dis-enrolled.

However, “Upon disenrollment, the family met with Dr. Sanville and pledged to relocate to a residence within the district. As required by law, the administration reenrolled the child/children. The administration committed to follow up to confirm that the parents’ pledge, and our residency requirements, were actually being met.”

He went on to say that Manzone made the situation worse by attempting to investigate the matter on her own to the point of staking out the family in question. “But, she was observed by the parent who drove the student/students to school. Dr. Manzone then followed the apparently, and understandably, terrified parent exposing the parent and the child/children to a dangerous situation on the open roads.”

The following day, there was a confrontation at a police station

(Manzone’s account of this can be found here.)

Hellrung called this particular residency case complicated and that it played out during the tenure of three different superintendents.

“But whatever missteps or misjudgments may have been made by our administrators over the years, they pale in comparison to the reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous behavior of Dr. Manzone. Her apparent obsession with this case has now made it, for obvious reasons, even more difficult to resolve,” he said.

“Dr. Manzone should not be resigning in protest, but in shame... How ironic that Dr. Manzone has spoiled her term of office by her own behavior that now threatens to damage the hard won trust we have earned from our community,” Hellrung said, adding, “I’m very disappointed that Dr. Manzone, a person who has given much to the district over many years, will now leave such a sad and bitter legacy.”

Kathy Do followed, saying she had been inspired by what Manzone was able to accomplish, but also came to understand that she was unhappy.

Do added that many of Manzone’s allegations were simply not so, that there were no inappropriate closed-door sessions and that community input is always welcome.

“To Dr. Manzone, I’m proud to have worked with you. I do believe that you have raised some points that need to be explored and I promise to be mindful of them in the future. But, with regard to your claims of misconduct by members of this board or administration, I respectfully disagree,” Do said.

Leticia Flores DeWilde, who’s only been on the board for a few months, said it’s the board’s responsibility to do all that it can to restore the trust of the community.

“We can begin by specifically addressing Dr. Manzone’s concerns. We cannot simply ask the public to trust us…I believe these are very serious allegations that must be independently investigated,” she said.

Flores DeWilde added that the board can learn from this experience and make improvements where needed.

Gregg Lindner said he is unaware of any meetings that violated the state Sunshine Law and is very concerned about the allegation of a special deal.

Keith Knauss said the board did reject Manzone’s request to see documents regarding the out of district student because the surveillance reports were outdated, had no relevance to the current situation and “would only encourage Dr. Manzone’s inappropriate behavior.”

He said the board chose not to discuss the matter openly because it was a privacy issue and that an open discussion would defeat efforts to gather evidence.

He said it was Manzone who had undermined the public trust with baseless and meritless allegations, and tarnished the reputation of the school directors and the administration.

“I recognize the positive contributions of Dr. Manzone, but on balance and after the recent accusations, I’m pleased to accept her resignation,” Knauss said.

Eileen Bushelow, board president, said Manzone acted like a mentor when Bushelow first came on to the board, car pooling, phoning daily and answering questions.

“I thought we were friends. I know we didn’t always agree about board-related things. It’s OK to not always agree. I’m disappointed with the manner in which she chose to resign… Some of Dr. Manzone’s actions in recent months left me questioning my trust in her… I openly expressed that to Dr. Manzone on the morning of Oct. 7. Prior to reading her resignation letter, she never expressed to me that she was concerned about the board’s ethical behavior…There are many issues, discussions and documents that must remain confidential. It is highly unethical, and in some cases illegal, for board members to divulge or release confidential information, especially from a closed session,” Bushelow said.

She added that she is confident that the administration vigorously investigates residency issues,adding that she will not discuss such issues with anyone.

“I think it’s unfortunate that Dr. Manzone found it increasingly difficult to participate in the discussions, and felt it necessary to resign, leaving the residents with less representation. However, recognizing she could no longer discharge her duties responsibly or effectively, I respect her decision,” she said.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.