More than 50 Nazareth community members packed Tuesday’s school board meeting to show support for band drill director Steve Brown, who is also a Lower Nazareth Township supervisor, two weeks after board members questioned his continued employment.
Board member Kathryn Roberts pointedly questioned Brown’s appointment during the Aug. 12 meeting, saying his stance against rezoning property on which the district proposed building a new elementary school meant he was “doing things to work actively against our school district” and “hurting our children.”
As Brown led band members in a practice outside, attendees of Tuesday’s meeting vigorously opposed Roberts’ characterization, championing his work with the band and his volunteer role as a Scout leader, and saying his role as a Lower Nazareth Township supervisor is separate from his school employment.
Roberts’ objections to Brown’s politics stem from the district’s ongoing difficulties in finalizing the location for a new elementary school, a project that has been in the works for nearly a year due to projected increased district enrollment.
The school board approved the purchase of 43 acres of land at the intersection of Hecktown and Country Club roads in May, but the land is zoned agricultural and the Lower Nazareth Township supervisors voted 4-0 against rezoning at their July 23 meeting.
Brown was absent at that meeting, but Roberts said Tuesday that Brown’s stance on the issue was well-known.
Nancy Teague, who serves alongside Brown as a Lower Nazareth Township Supervisor, said judging district employees based on political differences sends a message that dissent is not welcome.
“Schools ought to encourage civic engagement and debate, not censor it through punitive measures,” Teague said.
District employees should be evaluated based on “tangible accomplishments and expertise,” Teague said, noting Brown’s involvement with 10 championship-winning bands across 20 years.
Teague, whose eighth-grade daughter is in the band, said the program teaches a “foundation rooted in representing the community with pride, dignity, and class.”
Rebecca DeRosa demonstrated that pride, donning a 1997 Band Champions jacket before kicking off the public comment by describing Brown’s decades of marching band expertise and dedication to both drill design and students who love the arts.
“He’s so focused on our kids,” DeRosa said.
Brandon Faust, an alum of the Nazareth arts program, was among those who criticized the board for demeaning a dedicated employee.
“The insinuation that an exemplary member of our school district like Steve Brown is quote ‘harming the children’ is unthinkable to say,” Faust said. “I believe that this entire board owes him an apology.”
Roberts spoke to the crowd after DeRosa’s initial public comment, saying the number of texts, emails and calls she’d received in the last two weeks revealed to her how beloved Brown is and highlighted the need to separate his political position from his district employment.
“He obviously has a ton of support,” Roberts said. “It’s kind of touching.”
Brown’s appointment as band drill director, and the accompanying $5,772 stipend, was approved along with the rest of Tuesday’s personnel agenda.
When the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m., the band was still outside practicing.
