SOUDERTON — Tensions flared at the Souderton Area School Board meeting Thursday evening as residents sounded off on a string of objectionable social media posts by board member Bill Formica, with Formica resisting community demands to resign.
“The motto of the Souderton Area School District is ‘Character Counts,’” said resident Hope Donnell. “This is a no-brainer. Let the school district move forward, Mr. Formica, and resign your position.”
The controversy began in late July when Formica made a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris had engaged in sex acts to further her political career. The post prompted widespread community outrage and a petition demanding Formica’s resignation. As of Friday morning, the petition has garnered nearly 2,300 signatures.
While Formica eventually deleted the post, he later doubled down on his company Facebook page, accusing Harris of engaging in additional sex acts and declaring his support for an indefinite Trump presidency. Community members also uncovered additional social media posts by Formica in which he disparaged teachers and non-English speakers and characterized slavery as beneficial for black Americans.
In response to the backlash, Superintendent Frank Gallagher and board president Ken Keith issued a statement acknowledging that Formica used “inappropriate language” and “poor judgment” and requesting time to “process” the situation. Formica later issued a letter addressing his comment, characterizing it as “impulsive” and “unprofessional” and apologizing to his supporters, board members and administrators.
But at Indian Crest Middle School Thursday, community members overwhelmingly reiterated their demands for Formica to resign. The evening kicked off with a “Character Counts” rally on school grounds by Souderton Area for All and Save Souderton Coalition.
“This is an amazing showing of the community’s support for ensuring that our schools stay fair for all students and that we have people on the school board who truly have everyone’s interest at heart,” said resident Meredith Torres. “We really want to make our voices heard and that the school board understands that there’s no other solution than Mr. Formica resigning.”
At the full board meeting, a packed house of residents gathered in the middle school auditorium. Ahead of the public comment period, board solicitor Jeffrey Sultanik informed the crowd that the board cannot legally remove Formica from his position.
“The board this evening is prepared to listen, but the school board is limited in what it can do,” said Sultanik.
Board president Ken Keith added that the district does not condone Formica’s comments but emphasized the importance of “forgiveness” for one’s mistakes.
“We have a strong desire to be the best. At times, this can be overshadowed by anger, fear or frustration, which can lead to any of us saying or doing things otherwise we would not do,” said Keith. “It’s part of being human, not being perfect.”
Keith continued by denouncing the community backlash, describing some responses as vulgar and profane.
“That kind of backlash is simply not acceptable,” said Keith. “When we disagree with something that someone says or if we find it offensive, we have to find a way to voice those concerns in a manner that is civil, responsible and non-threatening.”
Formica then took the opportunity to reiterate his apology for his social media post about Harris. He stated that the post was directed at her politics, not her race or gender.
“My comment is about a single individual, not any group of people,” said Formica.
Formica went on to condemn the backlash against him, accusing his critics of “partisanship” and “hatred” and maintaining that he will not be intimidated into resigning.
“This is being twisted by the opposition into a convenient narrative. We all know what this backlash is really about — partisan politics,” said Formica. “The attempted intimidated tactics will not work on me. I can’t be intimidated because I just don’t care what people think about me. It’s not part of my DNA.”
Formica concluded by asking for the community’s forgiveness, expressing a desire to move forward from the “divisiveness” and “distraction.”
“I pray for those who harbor so much hate in their hearts,” said Formica. “I hope one day you can let it go.”
During a 90-minute public comment session, the majority of speakers repeated their demands for Formica to resign, characterizing his apology as insincere and insufficient and criticizing board members for their “silence.”
“We have all become acquainted with the vile character of this person and his deep-seated beliefs,” said Cheryl Baldino. “His repulsive social media posts have become international news and cast a dark pall over the school district. A tiger can’t change its stripes, and a skunk can’t hide its smell. Mr. Formica, take your poison and be gone.”
“The comments you made were about a national public figure; they were also about a woman, a human being, and that cannot be disregarded. What you said was degrading, and it was clear misogyny,” said Lauren McShay. “Bill Formica, it is time to step down. Your non-apology does not count. All the board members, you need to publicly ask for Formica’s resignation.”
“Like many school districts, Souderton’s demographics are changing,” said Diane Mansfer. “You have students who speak different native languages, who are mixed race, who are female. They are all watching you and waiting to see what you do. You hold a fragile precedent in your hands. Don’t drop it. It will be irreplaceable.”
Several speakers expressed their support for Formica, describing his social media post as a “mistake” for which he apologized.
“We’ve all made mistakes,” said Bruce Hagan. “The appropriate response is to accept his apology, extend your grace and move on.”
“I’m capable of forgiveness because I’ve been forgiven of so much through the blood of Jesus,” said Matt Simkins. “Our kids’ souls are much more threatened by a system that confuses them, that introduces toxic ideas at a young level and materials from our Souderton libraries.”
While no action was taken by the board regarding Formica’s comments, Keith committed to holding meetings with community members in the near future to discuss the issue and help “bridge the divide.”
“We foresee three or so meetings out of the gate,” said Keith. “My hope is to have these completed prior to the calendar year end and propose next steps. We need to move forward.”
The next Souderton Area school board meeting is on September 26 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit soudertonsd.org.
