Wall of Shame: York, Pennsylvania Trustee Needs To Stop Drinking the School Boards Association’s Kool-Aid

Perhaps Mr. Richard Robinson has taken one too many sips of the Kool-Aid served to him during his Pennsylvania School Boards Association training. I say this because he is regurgitating the same rhetoric from the National School Boards Association that parents have had to endure all year.

Long-time York Suburban County school board member Mr. Robinson went on a power trip in his recent op-ed in the York Dispatch, telling parents that “with all due respect … no, I don’t work for you.” This is sure proof of his disdain for his Pennsylvanian constituents, but mainly for parents.

Mr. Robinson confusingly tried to defend his op-ed by saying that his published comments were not written as a member of the York school board, but rather as a member of the community who serves on a school board. He argued: “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. It is not the same thing.”

With all due respect, Mr. Robinson, it is indeed the same thing. School board members take an oath to work for the tax paying community members who they were elected to serve.

“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,” bemoaned Mr. Robinson. The York Suburban school board member also referred to outspoken parents and community members who have spoken out against mask mandates and other issues as “charlatans,” claiming their views to be offensive, vile and nauseating.

By saying that parents don’t always know what’s best for their child, Mr. Robinson shows his ignorance. This school board member fails to take into account the fact that there isn’t a single mom or dad out there who claims to have perfect decision-making skills when it comes to rearing a child. Parents are trying to get across that they, not school board members, are the primary decision-makers for their children’s education.

Due to Richard Robinson’s lack of respect for parents, he is our newest Wall of Shame recipient. As an elected school board trustee, Mr. Robinson seems to be ignoring that he was elected to represent all the parents and community members in York, PA–not just those who side with his tactics.

If it were not a requirement of local school boards to provide opportunities for public comment, you can guarantee that Mr. Robinson would happily shut down the opportunity for York Suburban taxpayers to voice their grievances. Robinson’s bullying tactics in his opinion piece make it clear that he is neither interested nor listening to what parents and community members in his district have to say.

And you’re right, Mr. Robinson–in the past, more often than not, nobody showed up to school board meetings. But welcome to 2022, where that is no longer the case. Moms, dads, grandparents, and concerned citizens are now awake and standing up to tactics like yours in Pennsylvania and across this country.

Because of elected officials like Richard Robinson, school boards are now the new battleground in the fight for America’s future. And fight we must. Parents are awake now, and we are not going anywhere. Robinson’s term on the York School Board is up in 2023, which can’t come soon enough.

Mr. Robinson and his cronies’ days are numbered– the Pennsylvania Parents Know Best Coalition has boots on the ground across the state and is keeping a close eye on school districts with trustees like Mr. Robinson, who will be booted out of office by the army of parents that he has chosen to disrespect.