A Moore Township man is being prohibited from attending Northampton Area School District Board of Education meetings and district schools and properties when meetings are held for the remainder of 2022.

NASD school directors voted 7-1-1 at the May 9 board meeting to send a letter to Gerald Bretzik.

“The exclusion from board meetings has become necessary due to a pattern of behavior that has grown progressively disruptive, culminating in a direct threat to at least one board member at the meeting on April 11, 2022; all of which constitutes violations of District Policy 903,” the May 9 agenda item stated.

Gerald Bretzik was charged with two misdemeanors, disorderly conduct and harassment, for the alleged incident at the April 11 school board meeting when he shouted expletives and threatened to confront NASD school board President James Chuss, who asked him to leave the meeting, after which Bretzik was escorted from the auditorium of Northampton Area High School.

Bretzik was also asked to leave a previous school board meeting held in the Northampton Area Middle School cafeteria.

School Director Kim Bretzik, wife of Gerald Bretzik, abstained from the vote.

“This is obviously a little awkward for me because it involves a member of my family,” Kim Bretzik said. “I feel I should recuse myself from the vote.”

“I don’t think it’s right for any organization to silence anyone,” said Director Doug Vaughn, who opposed the letter.

board president “for the purpose of prohibiting him from attending school board meetings and school board committee meetings and entering school district property and buildings when and where the meetings are held.”

The exclusion went into effect May 9 and continues for the duration of the 2022 calendar year.

The letter provided an alternative means for him to communicate with the board about school district business.

A number of the attendees at the meeting spoke out about their disagreement with the decision.

“I don’t believe in banning people for speaking up,” Mandy Housenick said.

“Everyone is not a threat. We have a right to speak,” Jerry Pritchard said.