Brewster BOE Prez Calling on Berardi to Resign Over ‘Reprehensible’ Posts

Brewster Board of Education President Sonia Mesika is calling on Trustee Krista Berardi to resign over racially-charged social media posts that have roiled the community in recent days. 

“The Board of Education recognizes that Board Trustee Berardi has free speech rights as an individual, which prevents the board from taking legal action to seek her removal,” Mesika began in a statement issued this afternoon. “However, I would like to say personally, for Ms. Berardi to continue as a trustee is disruptive to the board and hinders the work of our administration, faculty, and staff. We will, though, take whatever time is needed to appropriately address the social media commentary and valid concerns of our residents. This is a crucial time right now for our board to address the safe re-opening of our schools in light of Covid-19; work to ensure an equitable education for all our students; and to have important discussions on eliminating racism and discrimination in all its forms.”

A communications specialist for the Brewster school district said Berardi declined The Putnam Examiner’s request for an interview.  

About 50 people gathered in protest today outside the Brewster school district building, condemning Berardi’s comments and the board’s apparent decision last night not to yet publicly call for Berardi’s resignation. But Friday’s statement by the board president delivered a harsh rebuke to Berardi.

“Personally, I believe it is imperative that Ms. Berardi resign from her position as a board trustee immediately,” Mesika also said in her statement. “I believe she has breached the trust of the community. I find her posts reprehensible, offensive and inexcusable. They are not consistent with what I fight for every day while I serve on this Board, and in my opinion, what I believe our board as a whole represents.”

An online petition demanding Berardi be removed was created by a Brewster High School student and has been signed by more than 2,000 people since yesterday. 

“This is unacceptable,” Emily Sullivan, the student behind the petition, stated yesterday. “We need to continue to call for her resignation or removal. Kerry Cunningham (board vice president) and Erik Grutzner (trustee) have said that they want to put this event in the past… Can they so easily put the death of George Floyd in the past? Can they so easily put the centuries of systematic oppression in the past? We cannot allow her to remain on the board. We must continue calling for change.”

Berardi, an art teacher for the last 16 years who teaches at Carmel, had one Facebook post on May 31 that suggested George Floyd’s death may have been staged.

A second post that was screenshot on the petition page was from June 3 where Berardi displayed a Putnam 911 report about part of Route 84 being closed due to demonstrators.

“This is the bull—- I’m dealing with right now,” Berardi wrote. “It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster the past couple of days, I just want to get out with my daughter for a couple of hours. These dumb—– need to get hosed if they don’t get off the highway. This will never make people sympathetic to your cause, it will make people hate you though.”

In seeking supporters, the petition states: “These inflammatory and racist remarks are unacceptable and she should not be allowed on a Board of Education that serves students of all races. Brewster and the surrounding area has seen a number of BLM protests and demonstrations over the past two weeks. Anyone who has pledged to serve the children of Brewster must not harbor any bias in regard to racial issues and that is clearly not the case with Krista Berardi. We ask that she is asked to resign from her position, as a show of solidarity to the BLM movement in Brewster.”

At the protest today many brandished signs saying “Krisa R – Shame on You.”

Sullivan, a Brewster High School sophomore, stood at the center of the crowd holding a sign that said “Resign.”

“Our organization is growing! We will not tolerate this!” an impassioned Sullivan called out.   

Sullivan said as of today her petition has 2,700 signatures, over 1,000 signed in the last 24 hours.

Also speaking to the crowd was Joelle DePaola, a parent of two children who are students in the district.

“We have no confidence in this board,” DePaola told the gathering. “I urge you to write our state education commissioner Elia (MaryEllen Elia) and let her know about this. We have to all get together and keep pushing.”

Sullivan later told The Putnam Examiner she was thrilled to see so many signing her petition: “After I saw her [Krista Berardi] posts I emailed the board, the district superintendent and the assistance superintendent and never got a response. They are too complacent.”

As the protest ended DePaola said Berardi, who was elected to the board last year, has had a history of posting accusatory words targeting minorities on Facebook.

“She should not be commenting on local issues about our town,” DePaola said. “I don’t think she should lose her teaching job, but she could use some sensitivity training.”

The Brewster schools superintendent also weighed in today with a letter to the school community.

“I have to speak up for my personal beliefs and what I stand for, just as you do,” wrote Superintendent Dr. Laurie Bandlow. “I would like to send a clear message that it is inhumane and unconscionable to urge the use of fire hoses on peaceful protesters who are exercising their own First Amendment rights. We are not Bull Connor and this is not 1963 Alabama. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. We love and value every child, parent, and member of our community and we will not tolerate racially insensitive comments. Students, alumni, parents, staff, community members who have reached out to us – we hear you.  There is work to do, and we are up to the challenge.  We need your partnership in addressing this wound that exists in our community and our society.”

Brewster administrators prepared a joint letter of their own on Friday, noting in the message they wish to “express our disdain for the divisive, degrading, and senseless comments.”

“We are concerned about the impact that such ignorant messages have on the emotional development of our children, both those who may internalize the message, as well as those who may view it as acceptable and be influenced to hate as a result,” the 15 signees from the Administrators Association of Brewster stated. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to support every child as educational leaders who promote social justice throughout this community for years to come.”

In her bio on the district website, Berardi, the mother of two teenagers, stated she considers Brewster a great place to raise a family.

“Our community is close-knit, diverse and thriving!” she said.

Mesika also said in her statement that the community relies on the Board of Education “to be transparent and to function with integrity on behalf of every single child in our district.”

“As a board, it is our collective obligation, duty, and responsibility to model in our actions and words that we stand for and promote a district that is tolerant, diverse, and inclusive and opposes racism and discrimination on every level,” she concluded. “The district will be holding a public forum as soon as the governor’s executive order is confirmed for larger gatherings of residents to come and be heard in person.”

Efforts to reach the Carmel School District have not yet been successful. 

This story is developing and will be updated with any additional reporting as new information becomes available. Photos and reporting from Abby Luby. Reporting from Rick Pezzullo and Adam Stone.