Why am I not surprised, I believe there are approximately 34,000 people, in Baldwin and Whitehall combined, and everyone knew this was coming.

What are the odds? :(

More details will be added to this story later.

Thank you Larry, Tracy and Nancy Crowder for being virtuous, standing on your own and voting in the manner you did. It speaks for the type of person you are, what you stand for and you can sleep at night knowing that you voted for a person that you would have been proud to associate with, one that shares your values, ethics and works toward a common goal and works within the normal boundaries of respect toward each other and the public. It shows that you want to work with someone that has leadership and collaborative skills to move the district forward, one that is an example to our students and someone that our community can stand behind.
Those of you who are outraged and suspecting of where the votes would fall tonight, please remember this night when it comes time to vote out sitting members of the school board. Know that the power to have the type of representation of our district that you hope for lies in your hands. VOTE and make your voices heard.

There were nine applicants. Nancy Crowder attempted to provide some background on her selection, who I understand is a math professional, but was abruptly cut off by Ms. DiNardo. There was no discussion of the applicant qualifications or even mention of their names. Shameful. Next time there's an open seat I would recommend people don't even bother applying.

Home sweet home! To all that enter wipe your feet! House Rules are as follows... no fussing, no whining, no back talking! It costs extra to keep the Elf on the Shelf by the door all year long...would rather use those funds on the children.
Welcome home Marty! Last but not least... Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

I think I found the resume
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19990724&id=TSQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F3ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3239,1372143

Curiouserer and curiouser, talk about a collusion of politicos. We apparently have another Mad Hatter in the rabbit hole we call the Baldwin/Whiteahll School Board. Haven't we had enough of this guy.? Why, didn't he resign months ago when he had some sort of illness that prevented him from serving, or was that just some more of the Martin Schmotzer schmotz that he he is famous for, or should I say infamous for. What is this musical Schmotzers? Martin get a life, and as Chuck Noll used to say, when a player came to a point in their career when they were no longer productive for team "get on with your life"s work".

Retraction on my first sentence, thank you Tracy and Nancy Crowder. Larry did not nominate nor vote.

Marion, as lovely as it is that we have the right and choice to vote, it obviously doesn't matter in this district. Those that we vote into a seat just resign and then the board puts whoever they want in that seat. I applaud those that voted no. I have an 18 month plan and I am out of here, wish I could do it sooner. Not happy at all with the recent changes in this district, my kids deserve better.

By the way, for those who aren't aware, you can find us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/BWPatch and on Twitter @BWPatch.

Video added.

Bob, I stand corrected. My respect to those on the board who voted against a repeat performance. To "concerned": those who choose to not vote have no right to speak an opinion because they have exhibited complacency, they accept and deserve whatever comes their way.

"Shouting Match, Name-Calling" section added to this story.

For what it's worth to our readers, I truly did not enjoy adding that section, but I can't ignore it.

I was at the meeting tonight as I always am. What a disappointment this is. Over the last year I think that the board from my seat in the audience has worked great together. Disagreed at times, challenged each other but always cordial and RESPECTFUL of each other. There has been no drama in the audience since one board member left a year ago to battle a critical illness....that is until tonight. Here we go again. This is a sad day for all of the Baldwin Whitehall Community. The only thing that we can hope for is that the few board members who truly care about education and the kids of the district continue to serve those that they were elected to serve. The ultimate power to make change lies in the voters though. Get out the vote and make an impression at the polls. There are four seats up in the May primary and in my opinion all four need to be voted out. I hope the voters wake up real soon. If not will the last person out please turn off the light?

How many months before Marty is President of the School Board, that will be next and such a joke.

He called her white trash. Seriously? Does he use the N word, too? I'm appalled.

Marty's back and all his buddies that he put on the school board voted him back in. No surprise. How could it be when this school baord has been controlled by Marty for many years? How can anyone complain with this board majority's selection when this has become the normal procedure for replacing members? Let us not forget that Sam DiNardo replaced his wife who left the board only to be replaced by Nancy when he left the board. And I seem to recall that Palmiere, another ally of Marty, was put back on for a spell before he went somewhere else. Kalwarski was right about one thing: this school board is a joke. But this community has earned this board since the voters keep putting these people back on the board. While I would say that Kalwarski was wrong in her outburst, Martin Leopold Schmotzer showed absolutely no class in his name-calling of her as "white trash." She might want to consult with a lawyer on a slander charge. This is just the start of more of his outrageous behavior. He and his board puppets will stifle all public discussion, name-call and intimidate. That is the way this school board works when you disagree with them.

While I must say the actions of the person who stormed out of the meeting were difinately uncalled for, and out of line. I think the white trash comment by Mr. Schmotzer as even more out of line. For a comment like that in front of the audience that was in attendance made by someone that was just sworn in as a member of the school board is unbelievable. Mr Schmotzer, you owe every student and every parent in this school district a public apology. And if you are not prepared to offer an apology, after that comment then you are the wrong person for the school board position.

"Interview with Schmotzer" section added to this story.

Also, a clarification of what Lora Kalwarski said.

"Just to serve," he said. "I was surprised there was an opening. I did not seek it originally. I was called by a number of board members to apply, and I really thought and prayed about it very long. I applied on the last day.

What a joke, "I was surprised there was an opening" Your brother stepped aside to make an opening, oh what a surprise

'Sciulli DiNardo-Crowder Exchange' section added to this story.

And finally, 'Closing Comments from Sciulli DiNardo' section added.

How much jail time did the $50,000 criminal get? Anyone know?

Seriously? A convicted felon being sworn into office by a wannbe judge is just too funny.

SEE: All 9 Names in Running for B-W Board Vacancy - http://patch.com/A-0s4J

Right Robert, he was not convicted because John Schmotzer paid back the money that Marty stole from the County office where he was working. Wow, wouldn't it be nice if we all got help like that to keep us out of jail .... but Marty Schmotzer has no business being on our school board.

This is corruption at the lowest local level. There should be procedures to have Mr. Schmotzer removed. We need to get this done. I am a tax payer funding this and should not allow him to make decisions about my tax dollars. This school board is corrupt.

Is this B-W school board or Cuba? One Castro/Schmotzer leaves another takes his place!
I agree, how could Marty not know there was an opening?
Vote them out next election.

Something else is coming from this horse's patoot. Anyone who knows this megalomaniac is aware that he is planning something down the road. I would hazard a guess that he is planning on making a run for State Rep. or State Senator again and this is just to keep his wonderful, saintly image out there in public. Get ready for many Marty Moments to be covered in the media. He needs to continue to make a splash so that he is known when he runs for a higher office. I hope whoever he runs against lets the people REALLY know him as the guy who lost his County job and misusing $50,000 of taxpayers' funds for personal use.

First of all, we ALL know that John Schmotzer paid back the money that Marty took from the County office and we ALL know why Marty took the money.

Let's all keep a close eye on this school board. How dare Nancy DiNardo act the way she did and Marty the way he did. We do not work for them ... Remind them that they work for us, the taxpayers.

Let's get rid of each of them starting with DiNardo and Schmotzer and each of them who voted to have Schmotzer put back on the board.

If Schmotzer has ideas of running for some other office in this Commonwealth we can remind people what type of person he is. We will keep reminding people where they can look in the County records to get info on him and they can also GOOGLE his name to see what he has done.

We have decided that we too are leaving this school district. Our two kids went through while the Schmotzers and DiNardos were reigning and our district has gone downhill .... And for the two of them to act the way they did at the board meeting.

Who is calling who "white trash"? Marty .... take a good long look in the mirror.

Why is it that the newest member of the school board was not reprimanded for being disrespectful in his words and cognizant of youth in the audience? Wasn't his daughter there? Men I know would never speak so crudely of another, especially in public and in the company of his daughter.

This outrageous... We as a community need to step up, get a petition together and remove him from this board. Those 5 board members should be ashamed of themselves for voting this so called "man" back onto this board; but then again what would BW be without a Schmotzer on the board. I have never seen a board member so ingnorant and rude to the community at sporting events.. I myself stopped him one night from just walking through the gates of a soccer game with out paying, i ask him kindly if he already had a ticket, his reply was "don't you know who i am?", and not knowing i said, no i do not. He got so furious said "this is a joke" and threw his councilmembers card at me.. and instead of being the bigger "man" and keeping his mouth shut he HAD to get the las word in by saying "white trash" thats a class act right there folks, BRAVO on your selection

Tax Payer you nailed it. DiNardo’s handling of the open board seat has been unprofessional, rude, arrogant, and highly disrespectful of the applicants and the public. She could have easily announced the applicant names, allowed them to address the board, allowed the public to voice their opinion, and allowed the board to openly discuss the reasons for their choices. She deliberately chose not to so she and her cabal could get Marty. And Marty, it’s time for you to put up or shut up. Let's see your expereience in action, starting with the budget. You have the next month to review the budget and audit, get the business manager to generate a new 5 year projection, and demonstrate to the public your deep, thorough understanding of the districts fiscal condition. Next, we want to hear specifically what new educational initiatives you will lead to move this district forward. I’m not talking about meaningless statements such as “we need more kids participating in science fairs”, I’m talking about specific actions you will take to give this district the world class science and math programs our kids need to be competitive. You took bold, decisive, action a couple of years ago to round up funding intended to move the sign on the wall in front of the high school to please a handful of people. I’m sure you can do the same to raise money so hundreds of our graduates each year have the best chance possible at good schools and good jobs.

I understand so I removed the comment, but why is a "guideline" listed under Administrative Regulations. I am a resident, property owner, and parent and this whole situation doesn't pass the smell test. I don't believe that any of the board members have bad intentions but there is definitely an "alliance". Its not Survivor, its our children's education here.

http://www.psba.org/contact-us/staff-telephone-directory/index.asp
Pennsylvania School Board Association contacts for anyone that would like to put action to your words.

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/rs9f/ruthbob3.pdf
Interesting research by CMU on State Laws Governing School Boards.

@AllenMatthews: A petition alone would not be enough. It would be necessary to follow the Pennsylvania Constitution-“removal of elected officials”. A formal complaint would also need filed with the Governor or Attorney General.

Thank you for finding that regulation You Can't Be Serious. It's 004 BOG-1, Filling A Board Vacancy, 4/20/12 and uses the word 'will', describing the required process. It doesn't say "should". or "can", it says "will", as in mandatory and probably even legally binding. Where was our vaunted solicitor Ed Lawrence in all this? I contacted the PSBA earlier this week when it was clear there would be no public announcement of the names, etc., and before I knew of this regulation, and they told me there was nothing we could do as long as the board met the 30 day deadline. I will call them first thing in the morning to ask what options we have now that we know the board clearly violated a mandatory regulation. In the end, the most important thing is that the specified procedure be followed, all the candidates get a fair hearing and the public gets to provide their input.

I wish you guys payed as much attention to the presidential election. look we're all just sheep led to slaughter. We all run our mouths and do nothing. In a week everyone will be too busy to think about this anymore. Don't you understand, this is what progressives do. They know everyone will soon forget. If you keep telling the same lie or repeating the same injustice, soon it will be accepted. Read rules for radicals by Saul Alinsky. You know, Barrack and Hillary's hero. This all trickles down to small time politics so suck it up,crawl back into your hole because nobody will remember when elections come around. FORWARD!!

Pennsylvania School Code of 1949, Section 323 states "Ineligibility.--Any person who has held any office of trust or profit under the laws of the United States or of this Commonwealth, or in any county, city, borough, incorporated town, or township therein, and has been removed therefrom for any malfeasance in office, shall not be eligible to the office of school director."

Additionally, let's connect the dots: "Schmotzer was fired April 14, 199, a month after the missing money was discovered by auditors in county Controller Frank Lucchino's office" (Belser, 1997). Like a bad penny, our mistakes come back to haunt us.

Belser, A. (1999, July 24). Row office clerk pleads guilty to stealing $50,000. Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

How is it Schmotzer has ever been able to serve and be requested to return by members of our sitting board? Does this particular PA School Code not distinctly state because of theft and subsequent removal from his position deem him unfit and ineligible to serve as a school director? Help me understand.

If Bernie Madoff pays back what he stole can he too run for the Baldwin school board?

Folks, I had to delete some comments. Please do not make accusations here w/o proof.

Is there a lawyer who lives in the BW School District or anyone else who reads this that is a lawyer or knows a lawyer who might want to help out with this ....... let's start the ball rolling to look into whether or not we THE TAXPAYERS can and should do whatever we can to remove Schmotzer from OUR school board. These people forget that they work for us, not the other way around. And, while we are at it, let's see what we can do to get DiNardo removed. That would be a great start.

I think some are missing the point here. #1 Charges were dismissed on a technicality.

#2 Pennsylvania School Code of 1949, Section 323 has no loophole. It does not excuse a person from the law because he was not convicted, it clearly states if a person "has been removed from office" that person SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO BE A SCHOOL DIRECTOR. Please let's call it what it is, Schmotzer is not eligible and should be removed. He should have never served previously why is this continuing when it is clearly illegal?

Okay. Let's get something going to get Schmotzer removed and do what we can to get DiNardo removed. The taxpayers are shown no respect at these meetings and this has to STOP. She is on some power trip and we need to get people in there who will treat the taxpayers with the respect they deserve.

What can we do. Let's get a meeting place. I am betting we can get a great amount of people to help out with this. Look at how many comments are on here and NONE of them are praising either DiNardo or Schmotzer.

Let's do it.

Tom .... how can we get the ball rolling on this?

We can meet at the Panera Bread, Southland Shopping Center. It has a meeting room in the back of the store which can be reserved for free for people to meet.

Yes, lets all band together to remove an unpaid position. If you are posting on here at 3:10 PM get a life and a job. How about this, spend your free time making our district a better place for kids rather than gossiping more than the south cafeteria at 10AM on a Friday.

Allow me to remind everyone, Martin Schmotzer is and was an elected official. Martin won multiple school board elections, at which time he also happened to decreases taxes in each of his terms. In addition to winning multiple school board elections, he ran, won, and held office in the state house of representatives. What is funny to me is that each and everyone of you have had the same opportunity to run and apply the to that same position on the school board. How come you weren't selected? IT IS SIMPLE, YOU JUST AREN'T THAT QUALIFIED! As for those of you who did happen to run for the school board in the past, YOU LOST, GET OVER IT! There is nothing more unbecoming than someone who can not gracefully accept their losses. The key thing to remember is that THESE members were all ELECTED! The majority of people spoke, plain and simple, EACH OF THESE PEOPLE WERE CHOSEN BY THEIR PEERS! Stop your whining and win an election!

I leave you with this quote from the great philosopher Plato, "Ignorance is the root and stem of all evil."

God bless.

Will Rogers, a greater philosopher than Plato who could never do rope tricks while philosophizing, said. “The short memories of American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.” Martin Leopold Schmotzer, aka Martin Michael Schmotzer's success in a nutshell.

Here we go again. Baldwin Graduate 2004 makes the massively idiotic and ignorant statement that those who lost previous elections should just get over i. I ran and lost in 2009, so I take this attack personally and reject it for the load of crap it is. My main issues were the districts educational quality and financial condition, which were still issues after the election when my daughter was about to start high school and are very definitely still issues today as we face our own fiscal cliff and our ranking continues to slide. I’m not going to stop doing what I think is right to please cowards like you who hide behind a made up name and snipe from the sidelines. I’m glad you reminded everyone that Marty led the charge for tax cuts, along with DiNardo, Pry, Fisher, and Kazour, so they are all together and can take full accountability for the effects of those cuts. Did you forget last June when the previous business manager used the word ‘bankruptcy’ to describe a potential outcome if the district did not enact a ½ mil tax increase, which they did not? We face this possibility in huge part because Marty and the others in their infinite wisdom cut taxes two year after we issued the final bonds to pay for the high school renovation that increased annual debt service by about $3M per year through 2025. Nothing is more fiscally irresponsible then to commit to a huge increase in debt, then reduce the ability to pay off that debt.

Ref Post Gazette article of July 24, 1999 ... enough said.

Brian, massively idiotic and ignorant? First off, idiotic is using your real name on a forum like this, make one negative comment that someone doesn't like and they have all your personal information. I would say that is massively idiotic. Secondly, I urge you to try to act like an adult rather than resorting to name calling. As for your qualms about the education and finances of the district, some of which have some validity the tax CUTS were questionable from a fiscal standpoint. However, the tax decreases were enacted by a board who was looking out for the MASSES, that is your responsibility as an elected official, which is probably why you are having issues understanding that concept. In addition, it is evident that your peers do not believe you are most well equipped to deal with educational and fiscal problems as evident by the results in the 2009 election. Now when we analyze the most recent decision to not raise taxes, which Martin had nothing to do with, I fully agree it was irresponsible, but again, that was not Marty's decision! I think the problem here is that you do not like Marty Schmotzer, because he tells you exactly how he sees it, rather than hiding behind facades like many other people in this community. This is a well qualified individual who speaks the hard truth, and sometimes that is unpopular. I would challenge you to have a moderated debate next time the school board elections are held and see how you stand up against Marty on education policy.

Tom & Brian or Batman & Robin, whichever you prefer. No need to ask Panera to turn the heat on for your meeting of the minds, there will be plenty of hot air for all customers to spare.

Tom that is a serious threat, I think you need to be careful what you post on this message board. Robert, you need to take control here, your journalistic integrity and professionalism are starting to fade with each accusation that you allow to be placed on this thread. I would like point out that Marty Schmotzer was CHARGED and not convicted of a crime, thus, if you were true Patriots and bought into the legal system you would restrain from implicating this man as a criminal, when the legal system has cleared him of all charges.

Marty Schmotzer did not face the correction he needs.

He has said this school board is inexperienced. Yet was surprised there is an opening. This shows he was paying attention to the school board closely by who was on it, and then is surprised of an opening???? Really????????

Tom Barchfeld
5:02 pm on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Brad, since you like to mock and ridicule, lets meet face to face. So when you try to mock and ridicule me to my face, you will found out what will happen to you.
````````````````
```````````

Our group is cancelling our plans to join this man at Panera's on the 22nd for information and planning. Threats such as the one above should not be ignored. They can be a sign of very troubled behaviors which could lead to violence, of which we choose not to participate in any way.

NE12Ukid, you are not part of the group of people here who have made posts about Marty Schmotzer. And about Brad, it is just that I do not like being mocked and ridiculed, no one would. Mocking and ridiculing someone to their face is not the same as sitting at your computer making mock and ridicule posts. It was meant to teach Brad a lesson. The meeting is still on at this point to those who feel about the situation as I do. And I noticed how Nancy Crowder said that choosing a school board member is not about selecting your friends before she was cut off. I wonder why she would say that? She and we all know that is obviously happening, other wise she would not have said it, and it is corrupt, since the other candidates are being ignored. The process of appointing another school board member is an important one. I think more time should be taken for that. The process seems to have been short circuited.

" White Trash " a member of Baldwin Whitehall School board (MARTIN SCHMOTZER ) calls a female member of the audience white trash .Yes that's who I want to see on the board making decisions on our childrens education and morals.I'm in favor of rallying everyone to attend these meetings and demand Mr.Schmotzer publicly apoligize to Miss Kalwarski. She to was out of line but she does not represent Baldwin Whitehall school district. And Mrs. Crowder you just keep pushing on. I admire someone who stands alone and refuses to jump under the blankets.

Nancy Crowder Finishes School Board Statement: http://patch.com/A-0zWy.

Marty was guilty as sin. He plead guilty in federal court (http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19990724&id=TSQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F3ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3239,1372143). He later got off on a technicality, Doesn't make him innocent. He once bragged about his best freind being chief of staff foe Rendell. With political ties like that, is it any wonder he got off.