Dear School Board Members and Superintendent Batchelor:

We, the undersigned, ask that Ms. Susan Stern, president of the Radnor Township School Board, resign from her position on the Board.

Ms. Stern has demonstrated a pattern of impatience, incivility and intolerance towards both her peers on the Board and the Radnor community at large.  The most recent example of this was illustrated in her comments during the school board meeting on January 26, 2021.  During this meeting, Ms. Stern made a comparison between the actions of Radnor residents—who were exercising their right of free speech—to the actions of violent insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol building in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.  

She asserted that the public statements of Radnor residents who questioned the process surrounding a recent Board vote brought to her mind the actions of insurrectionists who violently opposed the results of the national election.  

She attempted to quickly assure the community that she in no way was comparing Radnor residents to treasonous criminals—while doing just that.  This common political tactic, known as gaslighting, allows Ms. Stern to hide behind her accusation with a caveat while simultaneously evoking imagery of violence and connecting it to those in our community who were peacefully exercising their right of free speech.

In drawing such a parallel between treasonous criminals and Radnor residents, she has illustrated that she does not have a rational view of the community and, as such, is no longer capable of representing us.  Listening to those you represent is the number one job of an elected official and she has shown that she is unwilling to do so.

Accordingly, we ask that she tender her resignation immediately and, should she refuse, we ask the Board and the Administration in all due haste to remove Ms. Stern as President of the Board, and censure her, as her words are divisive to the community and do not represent the views of Radnor residents and School District stakeholders.

Respectfully,