Pennsylvania school board member tells parents 'I don't work for you'

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One Pennsylvania school board member has a message for parents: "No, I don't work for you."

York Suburban School District school board member Richard Robinson wrote an op-ed in the York Dispatch explaining his claim.

Robinson wrote that local school boards require a public comment opportunity for parents and other members of the community to voice their opinions about issues related to school, but there has been a major shift recently.

"This provision gives residents of a school district the chance to vent their spleens about exorbitant taxes or demand subjects be taught properly the way they were during the most frigid period of the Cold War. In the past, more often than not, nobody showed up," Robinson said. "Not these days. As social media outlets, national news broadcasts and our local newspapers tell us, school boards are now the new battleground in the fight for America’s future."

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York Suburban High School  (Google Maps)

Robinson wrote that some members of the community interpret the public comment portion of school board meetings to show "why they have the collective intelligence of a village idiot."

"Some members of my community appear to interpret this part of board meetings as the occasion to tell board members why they have the collective intelligence of a village idiot and how the school district ought to be addressing real problems," the school board member wrote.

Robinson's essay drew a reaction from Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, who told Fox News Digital that the school board member was mocking parents.

"Far too many elected officials have shown over the past two years that the 'consent of the governed' is little more than an inconvenient speed bump on the road to advancing their unpopular agendas," Neily said. "Mocking and dismissing the concerns of the community may be cathartic for petty dictators, but it is not a path to electoral success."

"Mocking and dismissing the concerns of the community may be cathartic for petty dictators, but it is not a path to electoral success."

— Nicole Neily, president, Parents Defending Education

Parents Defending Education co-founder Nicole Neily speaking at parents' rally on Capitol Hill, Nov. 16, 2021

In his op-ed, the school board member also shared some of his "positions" and said that he doesn't "work" for taxpayers.

"With all due respect to the men and women who snarl, ‘I’m a taxpayer! You work for me!’ No, I don’t work for you. I was elected by people who voted to represent you," Robinson wrote.

In the list of "positions" written, Robinson also states that parents don't "always" know what's best for their child.

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York Suburban School District school board meeting.

"'Don’t parents always know what is best for their child?' No, we don’t. Nevertheless, if you are offended because I don’t believe parents are infallible, you can always sue or take your child out of school. Your choice," Robinson wrote.

"If you are offended because I don’t believe parents are infallible, you can always sue or take your child out of school. Your choice."

— Richard Robinson, York Suburban school board

Robinson also wrote that parents who claim that "health and safety measures" are damaging children's mental health to "justify their own social agenda" are "the most offensive and vile of all."

"To listen to your repeated distortions of the facts is nauseating."

— Richard Robinson, York Suburban school board

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"Finally, with all due respect to the charlatans who claim health and safety measures are responsible for destroying the mental health of children simply to justify their own social agenda, you are the most offensive and vile of all," Robinson writes.

"There are members of this community who tried to draw attention to the warning signs of increasing mental distress among our children long before you ever thought of mental health as a potential cudgel. To listen to your repeated distortions of the facts is nauseating."