FOX29 News reported on Tuesday that Jennifer Solot, a member of Upper Moreland School Board, has resigned from her post after making comments that received national attention.

“I believe that Mr. D’Elia would make an excellent president,” Solot said during a Board meeting last Tuesday. “However, I feel that electing the only cis, white male president of this district sends the wrong message to our community — a message that is contrary to what we as a board have been trying to accomplish.”

Upper Moreland School District Superintendent Susan Elliot and newly-minted Board director Stainback recently announced Solot’s resignation, effective January 2, 2023, through a joint statement:

On Tuesday, December 6, Board Director Jennifer Solot made comments at the board’s reorganization meeting that many in our community took offense to. The comments were in relation to the election of a president for the Board of School Directors.

As a result of this incident, Ms. Solot has decided to resign from the board effective January 2, 2023. She wishes to apologize for her poorly chosen words and does not want to be a distraction from the great things happening in our schools on a daily basis. The district thanks Ms. Solot for her five years of service to the Upper Moreland community as a board member.

The comments made by Ms. Solot at the board reorganization meeting were solely hers and were not intended to represent the opinion of the entire UMSD Board of Directors or the district as a whole. Indeed, Board Director Greg D’Elia, who was the subject of her comments, says that he ‘supports diversity, but these comments did not further diversity and reflected poorly on our community.‘

For Glenside Local’s previous coverage, including a video clip of the statement, you can click here. For FOX29’s coverage of Solot’s resignation, you can click here.

Photo credit: Joe Rittenhouse – Political Commentator