'Indefensible' social media posts cited as Derry Area School Board asks member to step down

The Derry Area School Board this week issued a 7-0 no-confidence vote regarding one of its members, Sean Kemmerer, and asked him to step down.

In a lengthy resolution, the board condemned social media posts by Kemmerer, indicating that statements he’s made “relating to women and girls, people of faith and individuals with intellectual disabilities, more particularly, students and individuals suffering from Down Syndrome” were “wholly inappropriate and indefensible.”

The seven school directors said Kemmerer’s posts are “the antithesis of everything that board members, both individually and collectively, stand for.”

The board at its Thursday meeting called for Kemmerer’s immediate resignation. They concluded that he “can no longer effectively sit as a school board member representing the Derry Area School District” and his continued presence on the panel “would severely harm the mission of the school district now and in the future.”

In the event Kemmerer doesn’t step down, the board recommended that he be removed from all committee assignments and “any other position of responsibility on the board.”

The board authorized the district solicitor to “undertake legal research in order to determine if there is any legal course” to remove Kemmerer from his elected post. It also directed the solicitor, “to the extent allowed by law, to assist any citizen of the school district in any legal effort to remove Mr. Kemmerer from office.”

The board noted numerous district parents and resident have expressed “real and compelling concerns” about Kemmerer’s fitness to serve as a school director. Several voiced their concerns about Kemmerer’s past and more recent social media posts at recent school board meetings.

The solicitor previously found evidence of inappropriate social media postings in an investigation authorized by the school board, and Kemmerer took the posts down. On another occasion, he was censured by the board for “inappropriate behavior.”

Kemmerer responds

In a statement issued later Thursday, Kemmerer noted he was absent from that evening’s school board meeting because he had two wisdom teeth extracted.

He said he has been the object of “a politically motivated targeted attack from the rest of the board for years” and that “there have been some gross mischaracterizations” about some of the language attributed to him.

“I regret that this takes away from what an amazing place Derry is, but someone has to stand up to this type of bullying and harassment, or we will never get people to volunteer to serve in their communities,” Kemmerer stated. “Different personalities are not impeachable offenses!”

Those complaining about Kemmerer’s posts have noted some date from a decade ago.

In a post this week on his Facebook page, Kemmerer said he would “continue to try to reach out directly to any family who was hurt by my words in the past and thank those of you who have found it in your hearts to forgive and try to forget the past. Let’s get the focus back to serving our kids, and our amazing Derry community.”

In his post, he suggested that the district solicitor investigate whether any other school board members have directed derogatory language against women, minorities or people with disabilities in the past decade.

In its resolution, the board said it considers Kemmerer’s “’explanations’ and ‘apologies’ to be insufficient and insincere.”

Defending Kemmerer

Jennifer Meighan, a special education teacher in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties, has issued public statements defending Kemmerer. She said he came to her life skills classroom to provide musical therapy for her students and has helped with donations benefiting her students.

She said Kemmerer has “grown and evolved” over the past decade and his work as a school board member shouldn’t be confused with an alternate persona he’s adopted.

He has used the moniker “Spiffy Sean Styles” in his work as a musician.

But the board noted the solicitor previously informed Kemmerer that “he could not claim immunity for his social postings under his entertainment ‘alter ego’ Sean Styles.”