Perkiomen Valley S. Board Candidate Allegedly Called 'Scab' By Union Over Strike Sit-Out

PERKIOMEN VALLEY, PA — A team of Republicans running for seats on the Perkiomen Valley School Board say that negativity has permeated the race, after the teachers’ union president allegedly urged educators to vote against one of the candidates because he did not support a teacher strike many years ago.

The team, dubbed ‘Flip 4 PV,’ claims that Perkiomen Valley Education Association President Bill McGill referred to school board candidate Don Fountain as a “scab,” and urged members of his union to not support Fountain because Fountain crossed a picket line during a past strike.

Patch attempted to independently verify the remarks but was unsuccessful.

When reached, McGill did not confirm or deny the remarks but instead said that an independent committee of PVEA members, of which he is not a part, reviewed all submitted questionnaires returned by school board candidates and ultimately decided to not support Fountain’s candidacy “based solely on his answers.”

That process, McGill said, took place months ago.

“The Perkiomen Valley Education Association is a member-led organization, and decisions about school board recommendations are no different,” McGill wrote to Patch. “We stand by our member-driven process that is not dictated by any single person.”

McGill said union members stand behind those school board candidates who will “best support our students, and who will put educators and support staff in the best position to continue our tradition of excellent public education in Perkiomen Valley.”

The apparent controversy began during a recent meeting of the teachers’ union, according to the Flip 4 PV team.

On Thursday, the team posted online that McGill said the union would not support Fountain because he had crossed a picket line years ago during a teachers strike.

Fountain, publicly responding through the Facebook post, explained that he had the “very unfortunate opportunity to be told that there would be a strike,” years ago while working for the Perkiomen Valley School District as a high school counselor.

Fountain, who said he couldn't recall the exact year of the strike, but believed it occurred sometime in the early 2000s, said he had told his department at the time that he would respect their decision to strike, but that he did not want to be a part of it.

He said he was not a dues-paying member of the teachers’ union at the time, which was his right.

In a follow-up phone call with Patch Friday, Fountain said that while he had always understood the importance of unions, he has also always questioned, on general principle, the idea of teachers being able to strike since it could negatively affect students.

In his Facebook post, Fountain said he believes in the right of individuals to negotiate for “fair compensation,” but he does not believe teachers have a right to strike.

“I see them as essential workers, just like hospitals and first responders,” Fountain wrote. “My actions were made known and my beliefs and convictions were never hidden.”

Because he has never hidden his beliefs on the matter, Fountain said he found it distasteful that the union would tarnish his name these days, during the school board race.

“It’s always been one of those things that they knew that I was not in the union,” Fountain told Patch. “It wasn’t a real big issue.”

But he also said it has caused him problems over the years; he recalled being called a “scab” by a fellow educator some years back over his decision not to join the strike.

That term again allegedly resurfaced during the recent teachers’ union gathering, according to Jason Saylor, one of the Flip 4 PV school board candidates.

Saylor told Patch that a few union members who had been in attendance at the meeting where McGill allegedly tarnished Fountain told him about the remarks, which are said to have been uttered off camera prior to the start of the recording of the Zoom meeting.

Patch was unable to locate any members who may have attended the meeting in an attempt to independently verify the remarks.

Saylor said his team’s campaign has been “accused of so many things,” and that the union could have simply said they’re not going to support Fountain’s candidacy, but instead apparently resorted to name-calling.

“To be low brow about it … it’s just exactly what we’ve been dealing with this entire campaign,” Saylor said. “If we disagree with them, they call us names.”

Fountain said he already knew the teachers’ union and its president, McGill, would not support his candidacy “because I didn’t mind ruffling feathers” throughout the years. But he also said he was offended at the notion of being referred to as a “scab” after all this time, since he said he prided himself on trying to make a difference in students' lives throughout his career as a guidance counselor at Perkiomen Valley.

Fountain said he’s disheartened at the fact that local politics, even school board races, have become so “dirty” as of late, and he wishes community members would see school boards as nonpartisan institutions, which is what they’re really supposed to be.

Saylor said this type of assault was not surprising given the fact that many Republicans in races nationwide are dealing with the same thing during this campaign season.

“To go after Don’s character … it’s pretty sad,” Saylor said.