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Residents demand Paradise Valley board president's resignation over social-media posts; president apologizes
Summary
Multiple residents used the meeting's public-comment period to demand the board president apologize or resign after they said he reposted social-media content endorsing political violence and encouraging a May 1 work boycott; President Pantara apologized for causing offense but defended his right to private political speech.
Several residents and parents used the meeting's public-comment period to call for Paradise Valley board President Pantara to resign over social-media reposts they said encouraged political violence and civic disruption. Commenters urged the board to hold the president accountable and demanded that he remove the posts from his accounts.
Kira Quo opened the public comments citing ongoing safety concerns and alleged failures of mandatory reporting and documentation at a district school; she asked the board to commission a neutral third-party investigator. Several other commenters, including Emily Wagner, Nicole Clutwick and Susan Winder, condemned a social-media repost the speakers described as endorsing violence against the U.S. president and asked Pantara to apologize or step down.
Emily Wagner told the board she believed the president's reposting of a message that referenced political violence "raises serious concerns," said the conduct ran counter to district policy prohibiting inflammatory content, and called for his resignation.
"As an elected leader, your words and imagery carry weight far beyond your Facebook account," Wagner said.
President Pantara responded from the dais near the end of the public-comment block. He apologized "for upsetting people" and said he would be "more cognizant of how I express" his political views on his private accounts, while also asserting that he has consistently expressed personal political opinions before and after taking office and that he does not use district resources to post those views.
The board did not take formal disciplinary action during the meeting, and speakers said they expected further steps. Kira Quo's request for an independent investigator remained an unresolved public request at the meeting's close.
Ending: The board moved on to the handbook first reading after the public-comment period; no formal board vote on any independent investigation or discipline was recorded at the meeting.
