By a 5-3 vote, Republican Pennridge School Board Director Jordan Blomgren was hired as a special education specialist at Upper Bucks County Technical School at a salary of $101,529 – a nearly 30% pay hike from what she made ($78,001) as an elementary special education teacher in the Souderton Area School District. But what makes the hiring suspect in some people’s eyes is that Blomgren also serves as a member of the technical school’s joint operating committee, or JOC, which voted to hire her.
“It is deeply unethical for a sitting school board member to be hired by members of her own board to a position at the local tech school. Regardless of whether a loophole or policy technically allows it, this is a blatant example of backdoor politics that erodes public trust,” said Laura Foster, a Pennridge School District parent, organizer and member of Upper Bucks United.
‘No’ votes were cast by Joe Lyons and David O’Donnell of Quakertown and Chris Kaufman of Pennridge. Bob Cormack of Pennridge, Chris Spear of Quakertown, and James Hallowell, James Ott and Cora Landis of Palisades voted ‘yes’. Blomgren abstained from voting for herself.
Quakertown School Board Director Christopher Spear said in an email he voted for Blomgren after speaking to UBCTS administrators, who believed she is the best person for the job.
“With some of the comments expressing concerns as to Jordan’s actions on the Pennridge board, I was still able to decide on approval because, as a teacher, she would not have the authority to enact the types of initiatives she did as a board member in Pennridge,” Spear explained.
He said approving her employment was a factor for him to keep UBCTS “apolitical. UBCTS is an island in a sea of politically rough waters. The same issues that plague other school districts do not occur at UBCTS. UBCTS is an all inclusive learning facility that strives to put students first, no matter what their background is.”
However, O’Donnell said in an email he didn’t think it was appropriate for the technical school’s administration – or JOC board members – to have oversight of the hiring process.
“The administration should have engaged with a neutral third party to facilitate the interviews and selection process to eliminate any chance of impropriety, whether real or perceived. I was concerned with conflict of interest, whether real or perceived. I was concerned with potential future legal challenges from the other applicants who were not offered this special education specialist position. I was concerned with the position the administrators were put in – having to defend their decision in front of Ms. Blomgren and Ms. Landis – who apparently participated in these interviews,” O’Donnell said.
During the virtual meeting, Palisades School Board Director and JOC treasurer Landis confirmed she was part of the interview process.
“If Dr. Herrera and Dr. Cullen or any of the other administrators were part of this interview process with a sitting board member there[in] lies a potential conflict,” Lyons said at the virtual meeting.
Michael Herrera is UBCTS executive director; Daniel Cullen is the school’s assistant director of student services.
Pennridge resident Ross McClennan is concerned about prior Blomgren’s activities as a Pennridge School Board member, where DEI initiatives were deemed unnecessary; books were removed from libraries and conservative organization Turning Point USA was invited to speak to students.
Bucks County Beacon reported in 2023, Blomgren aimed to incorporate” or “overlay,” a portion of the Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum into existing course material.”
He hopes rough concerned parents petition UBCTS administrators and call for background check into Blomgren’s past policies and behavior while on the Pennridge School board – if one has not already been completed.
READ: Uncovering the Cover-up: How Republican Pennridge School Board Directors Secretly Banned Books
Lyons said hiring practices can’t be a “quid pro quo” or “something for something” or a reward. Rather hiring should be based entirely on merit. “To me being interviewed by someone who will potentially be your boss, that’s where the conflict lies,” he said.
Other JOC members confirmed they had sat in on past employment candidate interviews.
“This is not the first time a JOC board member has been part of an interview process. It wasn’t appropriate then, and it’s not appropriate now,” Brian Reimers, a Quakertown Community School District board director and chairman of Northern Bucks Democratic Committee said in an email.
He also questioned “how appropriate it is” that Blomgren remains on the Pennridge school board until her tenure ends in December. She has previously indicated she will not seek re-election to Pennridge School Board.
“The Pennridge School Board, which has the power to vote on staffing and budget concerns for the tech school including Ms. Blomgren’s role and contract status. I believe it is beyond the role of the board where it is just inappropriate, but especially in this case where it also creates a potential conflict of interest,” Reimers said.
O’Donnell said during the special meeting July 9, he understood that Blomgren “would be immediately resigning from the joint operating committee” position if she was hired. To date, O’Donnell has not personally received confirmation that she resigned from the JOC.
Spear said in an email he understood Blomgren had submitted her JOC board resignation letter, “either that night or the next morning” though not all JOC members were made aware of this resignation being tendered.
“She may have sent the resignation to others in the administration or the Joint Operating Committee executive leadership team and not copied the other board members…our existing policy doesn’t provide any guidance around the process of resignation,” O’Donnell explained in the email.
Cullen read from a prepared statement about Blomgren’s hiring process, which included 10 applicants and three candidates advanced for final interviews.
“Jordan Blomgren emerged as a top choice; bringing 13 years of middle and high school special education experience … she was offered the position on July 7 … at [a salary of] $101,529. This process was consistent, rigorous and aligned with our hiring standards,” Cullen read from the prepared statement.
Kaufman suggested the prepared statement was crafted in advance, “knowing this [hire] would be problematic.”
He said in a subsequent interview he had a “hard time with a board member [Blomgren] who is seeing personal files of Pennridge students with IEPs at the tech school.”
An IEP, or Individualized Educational Plan, is developed for students with a disability identified under the law who are attending primary or secondary schools and receive specialized instruction or related services, the University of Washington website said.
Cullen admitted no prepared statements were made in advance of a separate hiring for the school’s agriculture program.
Efforts to reach Blomgren, Herrera and Cullen for comment were unsuccessful. The Pennsylvania School Board Association and Pennsylvania State Education Association declined to comment on Blomgren’s hiring or the technical schools’ process to hire her.
In 2024, Palisades School Board President Bob Musantry resigned from his position at the time on the board to take a paid position with the district as a Palisades coach. Landis said during the virtual JOC meeting Musantry took the employment position in Palisades before resigning from the school board.
At a June, 2024 Pennridge curriculum committee meeting, Blomgren, a Republican, called for “both sides” to be presented to students at Pennridge regarding climate change and evolution, and the Christian teachings of creationism, Bucks County Beacon previously reported.
“Given the volume of comments and concerns from the public regarding her previous behaviors on the Pennridge School Board, I must admit I now have some concerns, which I hope are unfounded,” O’Donnell said.
Reimers said he doesn’t have an issue with Blomgren’s hiring – if she is qualified for the job.
Palisades, Pennridge and Quakertown community school districts all send students in grades 9-12 to the Bedminster Township career and technical school.
Each school district has three school board directors, and alternates, which make up the nine-member JOC. The district’s superintendents take two-year turns as superintendent of record at UBCTS. The current post is filled by Quakertown Superintendent Matthew Friedman, who will serve another year in the role.
“I think for the most part our hands are tied because it’s done,” Kaufman said of Blomgren’s hiring and employment contract.
An audio recording of the virtual meeting may be found here.
A listing of UBCTS JOC members may be found here.
Palisades School Board members listing is found here.
Pennridge School Board members listing is found here.
Quakertown Community School Board members listing is found here.
