Embattled Brewster Board of Education member Krista Berardi resigned late Friday night, the board announced Saturday morning.
"We would like to acknowledge her for her service and for making the decision to step down to help our community heal," the board wrote in a letter to the community. "We recognize the events of the last few days have been painful for many."
Berardi sparked outrage in the community with controversial Facebook posts about George Floyd's death and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.
Screenshots surfaced this week from Berardi's Facebook account, which no longer appears to be active. One appeared to show her sharing a post suggesting Floyd's death was "staged," and another said protesters blocking a Putnam county highway should be "hosed."
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A Change.org petition started by Brewster High School sophomore Emily Sullivan gained almost 2,000 signatures in a day, and the board held an emergency meeting Thursday night. After almost three hours of executive session, the board determined they did not have a legal basis to seek Berardi's removal from the board.
Protesters gathered outside the district offices on Friday afternoon brandishing signs that said "Resign" and "Racism isn't welcome here." Protest organizer Joelle DePaola said protests would continue until Berardi stepped down.
After the protests, board President Sonia Mesika and trustee Erik Grutzner publicly called on Berardi to resign. The Brewster Teachers Association and the Administrators Association of Brewster issued statements condemning Berardi's statements.
"We adamantly oppose and do not condone the actions and expressions of anyone that causes divisions within the community and displays a level of ignorance, especially when that person holds a position of educational responsibility in our district," the Teachers Association statement said.
Berardi is an art teacher in the Carmel school district. She was elected to the Brewster board in 2019. She has not issued a public statement and did not respond to a request for comment.
Berardi did speak at Thursday's meeting, but she did not directly apologize for or acknowledge the content in her Facebook posts.
“I'm sorry if something I said was construed in a way to think that I have any animosity towards any group of people,” Berardi said at the Zoom meeting. “There couldn't be anything further from the truth."
The board has promised to hold a public forum as soon as larger gatherings are allowed so the community can express its thoughts in person.
Sophie Grosserode covers education. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter @sdgrosserode. Check out our latest subscription offers here.
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Brewster school board member resigns after controversial Facebook posts - Lohud
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