We, the undersigned, wish to make our grave concerns regarding board member, Lois Kaneshiki, known to you. We recognize that she has not done anything illegal that would necessarily warrant her removal. We do, however, want you to understand that we have lost confidence in her ability to lead in a way that is in the best interest of Hollidaysburg students, faculty, and staff, and representative of her constituency.

We submit the following reasons for our lack of confidence:

1 - Lack of Responsibility - During the recent backlash after her "no" vote in adding an entry level, long-term substitute kindergarten position at Foot-of-Ten Elementary School, she at no point took any responsibility for false statements she made; she never apologized for mis-speaking; she made disparaging comments against the Altoona Mirror, with no apology. There were countless comments on FaceBook, as well, where she insisted on standing by her false statements, with no apology.

2 - Untrustworthiness - In her statements following the September 7th meeting, she stated that she believed the vote should have passed. She stated that her understanding of Roberts Rules of Order stipulated that only a majority of the members present at the meeting was necessary for a vote to pass. She also stated that no one else challenged the Solicitor regarding this rule. As it turns out, she was wrong, but she thought she was right, and yet refused to say anything herself, because it was in her favor to stay quiet. This shows a lack of integrity that is unbecoming in a school board member.

3 - Insensitivity - In a situation several months ago, she used a politically incorrect term for mentally handicapped individuals in a very derogatory manner in a post on her FaceBook page. She also refused to apologize about this, insisting that she was unaware of it being inappropriate. This shows a lack of sensitivity to others, and establishes a pattern of behavior that we do not appreciate.

Again, we understand that she may not be able to be removed from her position until she is up for re-election. We simply wanted to make our collective voice heard.

Additionally, we wish to thank school board members Ron Sommer, Jim Gregory, Rob Vonada, and Drew Swope for their vote in support of the FOT kindergarten position recommended by Dr. Gildea. We would like to encourage the remaining four school board members not in attendance at the 9/14/16 meeting to make attendance at future meetings a priority. Perhaps delays and inefficient governance may be avoided, such as those that occurred on 9/14/16.