Souderton Area School District (SASD) Superintendent Dr. Frank T. Gallagher and School Board President Ken R. Keith issued a statement to parents and guardians of students on Friday to address School Board Director William Formica’s sexist social media post on X (formerly Twitter) stating Vice President Harris “blew a lot of dudes” and the groundswell of community outrage that followed.
“Last week, one of our School Board members used inappropriate language and poor judgement in a comment posted on social media regarding Vice President Kamala Harris. This comment has been shared widely and has received a significant amount of attention in our community. We want to take a moment to address this matter,” the email says.
In public and private Facebook groups about SASD, discussion of School Board Director Formica (who also goes by Bill) and his conduct continues to escalate. In addition to district-wide outrage about the vulgar comment, outrage within the community has been further fueled by Friday’s district-wide email, which many have likened to gaslighting.
Rosemary Buetikofer, who campaigned for the school board as a member of the Souderton Area for Responsible Leadership (SAFRL) slate in 2023, taught in public schools for 35 years and reflected on social media’s influence in these institutions.
“Teachers, of course, could have their social media, but we were told you have to be mindful of what you post because we were in the public eye,” she said. “You could be held responsible if you were inappropriate online, and you weren’t even elected, you were hired.”
“If you run for office, you’re a public figure. You can be scrutinized and you have to be mindful of that,” Buetikofer said. “You have a responsibility because your words reflect not on just yourself, but on the school district that you represent.”
On Saturday, SAFRL issued a statement that says, in part:
“Yesterday, Frank Gallagher and Ken Keith sent an email to the community stating that ‘The Board has asked for some time to process this situation and that time is being afforded.’ Dr. Gallagher maintains that one individual board member does not represent the whole. However, the Board appointed this man. By doing this, they have shown us quite plainly that they do not believe character counts.”
SAFRL would like to see the board address the matter immediately.
“The community demands that the Board acts swiftly. This is one of a series of offensive, racist and sexual statements that Mr. Formica has made before and during his time on the Board. He has repeatedly disparaged women, minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and even teachers. There is nothing new here.”
The Beacon covered the appointment of Formica to the SASD Board in late June of 2023.
“I did not expect to be appointed tonight, but I expected the courtesy of due consideration,” Buetikofer said during public comment at the meeting.
President Ken Keith responded. “For what it’s worth, I would be absolutely prohibited, and will the solicitor please correct me if I’m wrong … if I were to call you and ask you questions about it. It would not be a legal act,” he said, referring to interviewing potential candidates for the seat.
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Someone had clearly spoken with Formica prior to the June 22 “Special Board Action Meeting.” The soon-to-be-installed board director rarely attended school board meetings, yet there he was, wearing a suit with his wife by his side. How did he know he would be sworn in later that evening?
Formica’s X account that contained the misogynistic comment about Vice President Harris has been deleted in its entirety from the social media platform, but as SAFRL points out, Formica’s posts reflected a pattern of disseminating antisocial and controversial points of view that could be read by any student, parent, teacher or taxpayer, reflecting of poor judgment and a lack of concern for how their words impact others.
Meredith Torres, a parent of two children in the district, and who was elected to the Telford Borough Council in 2023, was troubled by the district’s response to residents in the district.
“I thought it was full of platitudes. I saw no apology whatsoever that I would expect to be right out of the gate. It should say they’re embarrassed by his comments,” Torres said.
“When you are an elected official, you need to police yourself in public forums and clearly, he does not and revels in it. It’s frustrating to no end because I feel like it sets the bar lower,” she said. “We would not see anything like this [pushback] had we not been so vocal … They have been acting with impunity for years and think they can do whatever they want,” she said about the school board. “No one has ever held them accountable.”
SASD parent Robyn Kitt posted a reply under a Facebook post containing Formica’s bigoted remark from X. “In one breath he says he can’t imagine his daughter in a locker room around ‘naked male bodies’ talking about transgender people, but I guess he’s fine with his daughter knowing that her father thinks the only way women can be powerful is to perform sexual favors for men … got it.”
Kitt was also unhappy with the district’s response on Friday.
“They feel that they are untouchable because they’ve never had people trying to hold them accountable,” Kitt said. “And we’re just like a thorn in their side at this point and now they’re trying to figure out how to make us go away so that they can continue to run things the way that they always have with no accountability. We’re not willing to do that.”
Kitt also mentioned how SASD is not like surrounding districts such as North Penn, Pennridge or Central Bucks.
“It’s different, and it’s really complicated because I feel like there’s so much more intertwined in why the district is the way it is,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of shadiness going on that we just have not figured out fully.”
Kitt also mentioned that there is much to be desired when it comes to district policy that defines how elected officials may interact on social media platforms. “There’s nothing specific in the code of conduct that talks about social media posting. I find it very hard to believe that there are no policies about speaking to media, talking on social media. I mean, these things are very standard.”
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More than 1,250 people have signed a petition created on July 31 by Natalie Cimonetti on the Change.org platform demanding Board Director Bill Formica to resign.
“I’ve been concerned about Mr. Formica since I saw his social media posts last year during the election, but when I saw his latest post, it crossed a major line. I saw other parents having a similar reaction, and thought that the community needed to be made aware,” Cimonetti said when asked what prompted her to create the petition.
Along with signatures, Cimonetti’s petition is also collecting reasons as to why people are adding their name.
“As a teacher in the district, I know how much emphasis we put on teaching our students that ‘Character Counts,’ that bullying in any form is not acceptable, and that inappropriate social media use has consequences,” wrote Christine Jackson, a teacher in the district with more than 30 years of experience.
“We teach the importance of building others up – regardless of differences in opinions, race, gender, or political stance – and that every student (male or female) can achieve something better for themselves through diligent work. Mr. Formica’s comment demonstrates that he has no understanding of these ideals and he should not be representing the district or be making decisions for the children living in this community. Our district deserves better … our district IS better,” she added.
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Cimonetti strongly believes that Formica’s recent social media comment reflects poorly on the entire school board.
“They were made aware of his social media posts and potential involvement with a right-wing militia prior to appointing him,” Cimonetti said. “They can’t plead ignorance now that it’s politically expedient.”
Community members are planning to attend one or both SASD board meetings this month including the Committee Meeting on Wednesday, August 14, beginning at 6:30 p.m., and the Action Meeting, currently scheduled for Thursday, August 29, beginning at 7:30 p.m., according to the board meeting calendar.
