Four members of the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education were kicked out of Livingston County’s Republican Party (LCRP) this week. They received an email on Monday, May 11 telling them the party’s executive committee unanimously voted to revoke their membership.
The Livingston GOP didn’t give a reason for the removal. But it follows the school board members' support of the unsuccessful $156 million school bond the week before.
The bond was rejected on May 5. It would have addressed safety, classroom updates, and the replacement of old building systems in schools across the county.
Jennifer Marks is one of the school board members who was removed from the party.
“There have been other bonds in Livingston County with members from the Livingston County Republican Party on those boards,” she said. “And to my knowledge, there's never been this type of attack or removal from the party following that.”
She said the goal of the bond was to meet the needs of the students and community, and there wasn’t any ill intention behind it. “I would say going out for a bond is exactly what you would do in order to hear a community's voice,” Marks said.
Marks said the board’s made up of volunteers who do their best to keep the district moving forward.
Roger Myers is the president of the Brighton school board. He said he was “excommunicated by the LCRP for placing a bond on the ballot."
“On its face, the idea of a political party taking such punitive action as retribution for simply putting a bond on the ballot for voters to decide is alarming and completely antithetical to the "open tent" the LCRP claims to be,” Myers said in a statement.
Myers said that a former Brighton school board member, John Conely, serves on the LCRP executive committee. According to Myers, he and another former board member, Bill Trombley, led the Vote No campaign against the school bond.
Alicia Urbain is another board member who was removed from the party.
“I look forward to continue to put kids first regardless of party, to work to improve literacy rates in our community, and to work to elect Republicans in Livingston Co.,” she said in an emailed statement.
Katie Tierney, the fourth BAS board member whose county Republican Party membership was revoked, said her focus hasn’t changed.
“I will continue working to move our district forward in a positive direction by supporting students, staff, and the community through thoughtful, fiscally responsible decision-making centered around what is best for kids,” she said in a statement.
“I fully acknowledge that many residents who voted no have very personal reasons for their vote, and I completely respect their decisions,” Myers said. “But when the outcome of this or any future bond are impacted by smear or disinformation campaigns to stoke fragile egos and advance personal agendas, the real losers are the kids, and that's the real shame.”
The Livingston County Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.
