Parents confront Warwick school board over secret meeting with lawyer who has helped schools ban books

• By Brett Sholtis/LNP | LancasterOnline

This story has been updated to include a statement from Independence Law Center Chief Counsel Randall Wenger.

Two Warwick school directors met last Thursday with the lawyer at the center of divisive school district policies around Pennsylvania, prompting criticism from parents at a school board meeting last night.

A photo taken by Warwick Township resident Kellye Martin showed Warwick School Board President Emily Zimmerman and Vice President Scott Landis meeting with Independence Law Center Chief Counsel Randall Wenger outside the district office.

Martin, a Warwick graduate with two children in the high school, said she was at the district for a 2 p.m. meeting when she saw the two board members. Around 3 p.m., after she left her meeting, she saw them escort Wenger outside. She sent a copy of the photo to LNP | LancasterOnline.

“I was first surprised, and then I was disappointed and worried, because I hadn’t heard anything else about this law center in a year,” Martin said. “So I was surprised to see it come back around again.”

It’s not the first time Warwick board members met with Wenger. Last April, three board members — Jim Koelsch, Dan Wooley and Scott Landis — admitted to having separately met with the lawyer.

That meeting did not lead to the district enlisting Wenger’s firm. However, the historically Republican-dominated school district has seen a major reshaping since then.

The 2023 election brought five new people onto the board: Angie Lingo, Amy Martin, Reggie Weaver, Bill Breault and Mike Brown. Many ran on hard-right positions and were aligned with the local Moms for Liberty chapter. All were endorsed by the Warwick Area Republican Committee.

Kellye Martin said she wanted to let people know what she saw because she is concerned that the board may enlist the law firm in developing school policies that have divided communities and wasted taxpayer dollars elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

The firm helped Hempfield School District write a 2022 policy limiting transgender athletes’ ability to compete in sports — often cited as the first such transgender athlete ban in Pennsylvania. In 2023 it helped the district craft policies that allowed people to challenge and potentially remove books from the school library. In 2019 it helped Elanco with a policy related to the use of school bathrooms.

In recent months, the firm has been active in neighboring York County, according to recent reports from The York Dispatch. South Western, Red Lion and Dover school districts have all signed contracts with the firm. Others are considering the move.

Though the law firm offers its services for free, Martin noted its policies have cost districts thousands. Perhaps the most expensive example: Central Bucks School District in Bucks County last year was charged $1.75 million to address lawsuits alleging discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.

“The Independence Law Center has sown chaos with every school district that they have touched,” Martin said.

Wenger, in a statement, said it’s “simply untrue” that ILC-developed policies have cost school districts.

“No lawsuit has been filed challenging ILC policies at any school anywhere. The expenditure at Central Bucks was for an investigation into bullying, not ILC policies. And that investigation revealed that the school responded appropriately,” Wenger said.

‘Carefully dancing’

School boards must follow Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, which requires that the public be made aware of most meetings. However, because only two board members met with Wenger, rather than three, this appears to be within the rules, said right-to-know law expert Craig Staudenmaier, a Harrisburg-based lawyer.

There are reasons why some issues may be kept confidential, but official actions have to happen in public, Staudenmaier said. “Furthermore, the more an agency excludes the public the more chance it will lead to misunderstanding and worse, mistrust, so maximum exposure of its considerations and decision-making process is better for the agency, the residents and the public at large.”

At a packed meeting Tuesday night, resident Rachael Haverstick said the board was “carefully dancing” around the Sunshine law.

“I am deeply concerned that we are engaging in conversation with another solicitor, especially one from a group with a radical, dangerous and costly reputation,” said Haverstick, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for a school board seat last year.

Lititz Borough resident Arielle Miller, whose children attend Lititz Elementary School, said the Independence Law Center’s stances on LGBTQ+ issues went against the school’s board policy 833 that defines equity, giving every student access to educational resources.

“While the ILC’s ‘pro bono’ services might feel like they are appealing to this board, it is essential to consider the hidden costs that are associated with partnering with them,” Miller said.

Not all who spoke opposed the board’s discussions with Wenger. District resident Mark Mueller said the public complaints were akin to “the old Crockett charge,” explaining how the 19th century folk hero Davy Crockett conducted raids on Native Americans by tricking them into thinking his attacking party was larger than it was. Mueller said many people support the board and encouraged them to “keep your eyes on the target.”

“Sometimes what’s best for the student is not necessarily what’s best for the taxpayer’s pocketbook,” Mueller said. “And sometimes you have to stand for what is right, right in your heart, and not be bullied.”

Zimmerman and Landis did not respond to requests for comment. At the meeting they did not elaborate on why they met with Wenger. Zimmerman said the board will address the topic at the committee of the whole meeting in May. Meetings are usually held the first Tuesday of each month.