Colton Resigns as President of "Divisive," "Unprofessional" Bangor School Board

Pam Colton has stepped down as President of the Bangor Area School Board. Her resignation was announced at last night's meeting, which she declined to attend. She also resigned from the Board. Though Directors were mum, she delivered a scathing letter that was highly critical of them.

And she once served with Ron Angle! She's been a Director for 16 years, and served for the last three as President.

Steve Bussenger, who is VP of the Board, though his election as President was automatic. And he was. ... For about four minutes. The Board instead installed Mike Goffredo.

Colton had been rumored to be a Controller's candidate against  incumbent Steve Barron, but she never circulated a petition.

Her resignation is below:

I have thought long and hard about this and although part of me believes I should stay on as board president until the December 7, 2015 reorganization meeting, I have decided to resign from the board effective immediately. My decision is based on the fact that after 16 years of working very hard for this district, I no longer want to be connected to the unprofessional approach that some board members have adopted when dealing with our staff, nor am I able to support the lack of accountability I am witnessing every day.

Throughout my 16 years I have never served in such a divisive environment, and I have served with some very opinionated school board directors. Now board members task administrators with their own agenda items rather than making sure it is the will of the majority. Board members dig for information on staff members rather than letting supervisors handle situations. Board members railroad meetings with their own personal agenda. Nothing I have done to advise otherwise has changed the behavior. The staff is now operating from a position of weakness, not strength.

I have given 100 percent of my help and support to this administrative team when asked. I have always been available to answer questions, attend meetings, or just talk through a situation. I hope whoever is chosen to replace me by the remaining eight board members treats you as well. I wish you the best going forward.

Sincerely,
Pam Colton

Who will Directors appoint to succeed her? My guess would be Ron Angle. His heart has always been in the Bangor School Board, and I think the votes are there. But he would only be serving until the end of the year. That's when Pam's term on the Board expires. She never sought re-election.

Brown Deputy Kept Colton From Boro Manager Job

Pam Colton, may soon be a Republican NorCo Controller candidate. Would she be an independent watchdog on County finances, or a cheerleader for John Brown? I'm still unable to answer that question, but know there's no love lost between Colton and Brown Deputy Cathy Allen. Let me tell you why.

At this time last year, Allen was still the president of Bangor Borough Council when Manager John Kasten passed away unexpectedly. Pam Colton, I'm told, applied for the job. Allen, who was just starting her role in Northampton County, never bothered to interview Colton. In fact, most Council members were unaware of her interest. Allen steered the job to Jane Mellert, a Plainfield Township Supervisor who is friendly with Allen. Mellert only lasted a few months,and the Borough ultimately hired a manager from Montgomery County.

Had Council known about Colton's interest, I doubt they would have hired her. There's considerable friction between the school board and the borough over a goofy stadium lease that will ultimately force the borough to subsidize the school district.

So it's too early to claim that Colton, who has yet to announce her intentions, will be in the tank for Brown.

Barron's Got Company in NorCo Controller Race

As expected, Northampton County Controller Steve Barron on Friday announced that he is seeking re-election to the post he has held for two terms. He calls himself a "check over the County Executive." But that's one check that Executive John Brown would like to remove. Sources at this weekend's State Committee in Harrisburg tell me that the GOP has recruited Pam Colton to challenge Barron,

Who the hell is she? She's the Bangor Area School Board president who voted to hire an ousted Superintendent for the same amount of money she was getting when she got canned.

Government by consultant.

Sound familiar?

Colton did do a stint as RenewLV's Executive Director. That's a Lehigh Valley Partnership entity set up by the Lehigh Valley's wealthiest business magnates. Its the Urban Growth Regime, disguised as a grass roots group. She did not last long. Some say she was fired. Others claim the group just ran out of money. But that's where she probably got to know John Brown. He was installed on their Board around the same time she was there.

Before being a pretend liberal, Colton worked as analyst for the Open Source Center.

Though he's no accountant, Barron is a certified fraud examiner. As such, he is qualified to be a lead auditor.

Colton is not. She appears to have less education and experience in accounting than Barron.

But she does believe in government by consultant.