Saucon Valley School Board Discusses Recognition Day for Charlie Kirk

At their Sept. 23 meeting, Saucon Valley School Board members discussed the possibility of holding a district-led recognition day for slain conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah last month.

A candlelight vigil honoring Kirk held Sept. 21 in Hellertown’s Water Street Park was attended by hundreds of local residents, including numerous families with children.

School board member John Conte raised the idea of a “recognition day” for Kirk during the board’s new business discussion.

“Based on especially what’s happened in the recent past and his impact on American political discourse, I think it would be a good reminder for the students of what he meant to the country and to our political system,” Conte said.

“I strongly support this,” board member Bill Broun said. Referring to a vote last month to make Oct. 14 a National Day of Remembrance for Kirk, he added that “the U.S. Senate and U.S. House resolutions to create this Day of Remembrance–they passed with really wide bipartisan support. … I think that clearly there’s a strong desire in our community for a day like this. Myself, I wouldn’t have agreed with Charlie Kirk on almost anything, but I certainly respected his contribution to discourse.”

“I think we can all agree that the idea of killing someone for peacefully recognizing his free speech rights is something that we need to express our abhorrence to to the greatest degree that we can,” board president Cedric Dettmar said.

Dettmar then proposed creating a working group made up of two board members, two community members and two teachers to develop a plan for potentially recognizing Kirk. He suggested that Conte and Broun serve on it along with community members Meghan Lomangino and a “Miss Reed,” who he said requested a board discussion about the subject.

He asked teacher Lara McCarthy to serve and to select another teacher to join the committee, noting “if we do develop any materials that the students participate in, all of you will be delivering that, so we need to have your 100 percent buy-in.”

“My goal is to have a balanced group that isn’t leaning too much one way or the other; that can focus on the teaching moment that we can derive from this terrible tragedy,” Dettmar said. He also asked Broun to lead the working group.

“This is going to be a wildly informal group,” said board solicitor Mark Fitzgerald, when asked to clarify the legal ramifications–if any–of studying the issue. “It’s not binding on anybody or anything. It would just be effectively potentially a recommendation of this working group back to the board.”

One board member expressed doubt about the possibility of recognizing Kirk during the meeting.

“I don’t know that we should get involved in any of the rhetoric surrounding Charlie Kirk,” said Jay Santos.

“I appreciate your comments, Mr. Santos,” said Dettmar. “We will have the opportunity to vote on this at some point in the near future and I encourage you to express your sense at that point.”

During public comment, Lomangino told the board she was unsure whether she would remain in the working group because she is concerned about how the public may ultimately perceive the effort.

“I don’t know that I know what we’re all working towards,” she said.

Dettmar said he would value her participation in it for “balance,” but that if “it’s not going the way you want it to, you can report on that and handle it however you see fit.”

The next Saucon Valley School Board meeting is scheduled to be held Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the high school Audion. Meetings are also live-streamed via the district’s YouTube channel.