District emails refute Central Bucks board member 'Nazi' allegations. Here's what they say

A Central Bucks school board member did not describe either the superintendent or a fellow board member as a "Nazi" in an email, contradicting allegations made against her earlier this year, according to emails obtained by this news organization.

The documents were provided through Right to Know requests that sought copies of emails and other electronic communications were the word "Nazi" appeared to, from or forwarded by school board member Karen Smith to Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh and any replies from other board members between March 28 through April 13.

The district provided eight emails responsive to the request including the original March 28, 2023 email Smith wrote to Lucabaugh and his reply on April 1 and an email reply from board member James Pepper on April 2.

The documents confirm Smith’s denial and version of the story, which she provided the day after the April 11 school board meeting where the accusation was made against her

CBSD board member alleges slur Did Central Bucks board member call superintendent, colleague Nazis. What the email says

Pepper, who leveled the accusation, responded to a request seeking comment including how he believes Smith called him a Nazi in the email. The response came Friday after this story was published online after an email sent Thursday.

He maintained Smith's use of the slur is no different than calling him it.

"It is a distinction without a difference," he wrote in the email. "It is gutter level propaganda spewed by someone who has exhibited no interest - whatsoever- in protecting profoundly disabled children in our district and is, very much, historically illiterate about what actual Nazis did to actual profoundly disabled children."

Pepper refused to provide this news organization a copy of the email where he said that Smith called him the slur, which required the filing of Right to Know requests.

Smith, a Democrat seeking re-election this year, is a vocal opponent of the Republican-majority board policies that some have alleged target and harm LGBTQ+ and other marginalized students.

Pepper, part of the board's six-member Republican-majority, accused Smith of using the slur against him and Lucabaugh in a March email and he challenged the public to request the emails through the open records process.

The accusation was leveled after other board members repeatedly interrupted Smith as she was speaking about the continuing controversy over the district’s library materials policy, which allows for the removal of books with "inappropriate” sexual content and nudity.

Board members brought up an email Smith sent Lucabaugh and challenged her to read it, including Pepper who insisted that Smith specifically targeted him with the slur.

“Mrs. Smith called me a Nazi,” Pepper said.

“I did not,” Smith replied.

“Yeah, you did Karen,” Pepper repeated.

But Pepper's reply to the email thread suggests otherwise, according to the copy provided by the district.

The copy of his email response contained links to various mainstream news-related websites that contained posts about the Nazis persecution of people with disabilities before and during the Holocaust.

"There is (much) more. Start here Karen," Pepper wrote, followed by a link to the book, "The Holocaust A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War."

Following the April board meeting, Smith denied the accusation and she immediately provided this news organization a copy of a March 29 email she sent to Lucabaugh. The email was her response to a community message the superintendent had released on March 28 about the ongoing culture wars and divisions within the district over the last year over school board policies.

In the email to Lucabaugh that Smith provided, she wrote: "You do not 'support fundamental human rights' when you are supporting the same actions as the Nazis. Book banning has never been on the right side of history..."

The email content Smith provided is identical to the copy the district provided in response to the Right to Know request. It also affirmed Smith's claims that she sent the March 29 email to only Lucabaugh, who then copied the rest of the board with his response, and she did not respond to any replies.

More about CBSD book challenges Two filed 61 Central Bucks library book challenges. Why their names may remain private.

In his response to Smith, Lucabaugh defended the district's policies allowing books to be challenged and potentially removed from school libraries based on sexual content and nudity, and another neutrality policy that restricts what educators can say or post in classrooms outside the curriculum.

"I ask that you cease associating my desire to keep gratuitous sexualized content from students and my expectation for pedagogical practices and standards to maintain objectivity and fidelity with the tenets of Naziism (sic)," Lucabaugh wrote. "For you to put such a thing in writing to me is, to use your words, spectacularly bad and insensitive..."

Neither Smith's email or the response from Lucabaugh mentioned or identified by name any other school board members.

Smith said that she is "relieved" that her side of the story is being shared, but that it highlights the continued tension and disrespectful tone of recent Central Bucks meetings.

"It is very unfortunate however, that our meetings are an embarrassment to the district," Smith said. "The board majority continues to attempt to divert attention away from their negative actions by making up stories about me and preventing me from speaking in meetings."

More: What books were removed in CBSD Central Bucks School District orders librarians to remove two LGTBQ+ themed books

https://www.phillyburbs.com/contentpackage/12044153002

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Central Bucks School District emails refute 'Nazi' claim by board member