Interior delegation writes: Fairbanks school board President Brandy Harty should step down

Alaska Interior delegation members have sent a letter to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board to express their disapproval of Board President Brandy Harty, who started or repeated a rumor into the public record during a school board meeting, in which she implied that Interior Republicans had accepted bribes in exchange for their votes.

Senator Robert Myers, Sen. Mike Shower, and Representatives Will Stapp, Mike Cronk, Frank Tomaszewski, Kevin McCabe, and Mike Prax signed the letter that asked Harty to apologize for accusing them of misdeeds, when all they did was to uphold the veto of the governor on a massive education spending bill.

Sobbing and wiping her eyes during last week’s school board meeting, Board President Brandy Harty, who has a reputation for crying as a public expression of her angst, accused Rep. Frank Tomaszewski, Rep. Mike Cronk, and Sen. Robb Myers of taking $70,000 campaign contributions in exchange for their no votes on the veto override.

“Education funding has been a sensitive issue within the Fairbanks North Star Borough. We understand that potential school closures within the community have brought emotions to a boil. However, recent actions have been extremely disappointing,” the letter said.

“Board President Brandy Harty’s action of passing on a rumor on the record at a public meeting that certain state representatives had accepted bribes in exchange for their vote to uphold the Governor’s veto of a bill related to school funding is unbecoming of a school board president (if not outright slanderous) and reflects poorly on the leadership of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District,” the legislators said in the letter.

“Therefore, we, the undersigned members of the Interior Delegation of the Alaska State Legislature, call on Board member Brandy Harty to issue a public apology to Representative Frank Tomaszewski, Representative Mike Cronk, and Senator Robert Myers. We also call on her to step down from her position as School Board President.”

Where did Fairbanks school board president get the idea 3 legislators had been bribed with $70,000?