Council Rock School Board President Ed Salamon is being asked to apologize and resign after he made alleged misogynistic comments regarding girls and math at a recent meeting of the board’s education committee.
Salamon said the comments are being misconstrued.
The district has received about 20 emails criticizing the comments and a change.org petition calling on him to apologize and resign had received 511 signatures as of 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 14.
During a long discussion at the education committee meeting on how to improve state assessment scores in math and other subjects, how to get female students more interested in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) careers and other topics, Salamon said at one point “statistically we say that the ladies have a harder time with math” and added a few seconds later “you don’t like math.”
Other participants in the discussion can be heard disagreeing with him on an audio recording of the meeting on the district website, crsd.org.
“Mr. Salamon, you need to look within,” read one of the emails to board members. “This antiquated attitude discourages half of our student population. Perhaps you need to educate yourself on the research that indicates that gender bias over the years is a reason that women haven’t been encouraged to major in math or science fields.”
The change.org petition called the comments “misogynistic and degrading” and added that Salamon’s refusal to apologize since making the comments have made the situation untenable and he should resign.
“When one seeks and accepts public office, that person’s actions are of paramount importance,” the petition stated. “The concepts of inclusion and understanding of the very people they serve must be foremost.”
In an email to the Herald and a posting on his Facebook page, Salamon does not apologize or offer to resign.
“The real story is our PSSA math scores and how the current administration is addressing them while dealing with overall learning loss,” said Salamon, the father of three children, including two school-age daughters.
“Last Thursday’s (education committee) meeting highlighted the ‘nights 4 knowledge’ tutoring session to proactively address our math scores. We are the only district in Bucks County addressing this.”
The statement on his Facebook page read: “Dear Council Rock community, during a recent education committee meeting I made a statement about female students and math that has been misconstrued. Since I was appointed to the Council Rock School Board almost four years ago, I have worked tirelessly for all of our students.”
Salamon added it’s important to place the statement in context with the entire discussion about improving test scores and addressing learning loss because of the pandemic.
During an April education committee meeting, board members learned that “girls lose interest in STEM starting in fifth grade” and that “women hold only 27 percent of STEM jobs in the U.S. and 15 percent in computer science,” Salamon said.
“With these concerning figures, it was apparent that it was important to find a way to address this problem,” he added. “Since the main takeaway for me in the April 2022 STEAM presentation was a need to address math and science challenges for female students, I have remained focused on that issue and my comments at the (recent) education committee meeting were meant to reflect this important background and context. I will continue to advocate for resources to help support all of our students in this critical area.”
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