Norwin rejects efforts to ask controversial director to resign; Censure move fails

The Norwin School Board on Monday refused to ask for the immediate resignation of a member whose statements on a private conservative Facebook page were deemed offensive by some members.

An attempt at censure failed as well.

By identical 6-3 votes, the majority of the board turned back attempts at seeking the resignation and censure of Director Robert Wayman, an Irwin Republican, over his statements on a conservative Facebook page, “Silent Majority 15642.”

Directors Darlene Ciocca, Tony Corsa, Ray Kocak, Joanna Jordan and Patrick Lynn joined Wayman in opposing the request for his immediate resignation and to be censured, while only Brian Carlton, board president; William Essay, board vice president; and Donald Rhodes favored the initiative.

None of the board members who opposed asking for Wayman’s resignation said they agreed with or condoned his statements. Ciocca pointed out the board had not discussed the motions when the matter was raised during a Sept. 14 meeting. Corsa on Sept. 14 had supported the call for Wayman to resign, but changed his vote. Jordan, a Republican who served on Irwin Borough Council, said the school board should not serve as judge and jury.

For the first time since the controversy arose at a July 30 school board meeting, Wayman publicly defended his private Facebook postings, saying the effort was politically motivated and opposition to his comments were aimed at frightening him. Nothing that he posted was unfair or inappropriate, Wayman said, and the school district is prohibited from silencing him.

Prior to the votes, Wayman said that if any of the motions passed, he would seek legal recourse through the courts from the school district, the school board and any people behind the efforts.

“Think hard before voting on this motion,” Wayman said,.

Among the statements from Wayman, a retired Norwin teacher and former borough mayor, were that a vehicle should ram Black Lives Matters protesters who were blocking a road in Bladwin; a post that referred to state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, as an “it”; that Democrats are not Christians; and “if need be, we can have an armed conflict” to see that President Trump gets eight more years in office because the first four were stolen by Communist Democrats and the fake news.

Wayman also stated “Gold Star of David coming to the mask wearers sooner than they realize,” an apparent reference to the requirement during Adolph Hitler’s reign of terror during World War II that Jews wear a yellow Star of David on their clothing. With the Star of David on their clothes, they could be singled out for humiliation and be easily identified for deportation to Nazi concentration camps, where 6 million Jews were murdered during the war.

Attorney Russell Lucas, board solicitor, said the board has no authority to force Wayman to resign for exercising his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

“In all candor, this board has very limited options as to what it can do,” Lucas told the directors after a lengthy explanation on why a school board member can be removed from office.