School Board Member Outed for Texting

Calling it a “rude and objectionable” behavior, East Penn School Board member Terry Richwine tattled on fellow school board member Julian Stolz for sending text messages during Monday night’s school board meeting.

“At the very least, it is rude,” Richwine said, “and if he is asking for direction from a non-board member (during meetings), that is rude and to me objectionable.”

Richwine said that last night is not the first time that he has seen Stolz, who sits next to him, texting during the meetings.

“And, if it is to the point that he is receiving direction from some else, that is very worrisome,” he reiterated.

Richwine asked the East Penn solicitor if text messages sent or received by a board member during a meeting are part of the public record. His question, he said, was prompted by the fact that he had “heard” that the notes that a public official takes during a public meeting fall under parameters of the open record/Sunshine laws.

The solicitor did not have an immediate answer for Richwine.

After the meeting, Stolz said he was texting his girlfriend who had had a root canal earlier in the day to make sure she was OK. “Periodically, I am checking the news,” he added.