A school board member from a suburban Philadelphia district has resigned her position after saying she would not vote for “the only cis, white male on this board [to be] president of this district” even after acknowledging he would make “an excellent president,” NBC News reports.

Upper Moreland School Board member Jennifer Solot announced during a December 6th meeting that candidate Greg D’Elia, running against April Stainback, would certainly make “an excellent president,” before adding, “I feel that electing the only cis, white male on this board, 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.

“I think that it is important that we practice what we preach. And that our words have strength when they are spoken, whether we speak them from the neighborhood sidewalks or from behind these tables,” Solot continued.  “Mrs. Stainback has done an exemplary job as president these last few months, and the strength of her performance has earned her my vote tonight.”  Stainback received eight of the nine votes from the board.

The school board issued a statement this week announcing Solot resignation, effective January 2nd, noting her years of service on the board.  “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 statement said, noting that Solot herself noted that her statement had “significant impact on the Upper Moreland Township School District and our entire community.”