ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown School Board Director Daysell Ramirez plans to resign after six months on the job.
Allentown School District Communications Manager Melissa Reese confirmed the resignation Friday. Reese said school directors must approve the resignation at their next board meeting, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 25, to make it official.
The board will subsequently hold public interviews for candidates seeking to be appointed to the open seat.
According to state law, the board will have 30 days to fill the vacancy by a majority vote.
“My values and work ethic do not align with the Allentown School District administration, legal counsel and some board members."Allentown School Board member Daysell Ramirez in resignation letter
Ramirez did not respond to requests for comment on her planned resignation.
According to her resignation letter obtained by LehighValleyNews.com, Ramirez is stepping down because of tensions with other school directors and the district administration, she said. Ramirez also cited personal reasons for the decision.
“My values and work ethic do not align with the Allentown School District administration, legal counsel and some board members,” Ramirez said in the July 7 letter.
She also cited “bullying,” “poor professionalism,” “issues with transparency” and a “lack of urgency” related to policy and governing.
The stress of being on the board has affected her health, she said in the letter.
Board President Andrene Brown-Nowell did not respond to requests for comment on Ramirez’s resignation.
Tense month for the board
Ramirez's upcoming departure comes after a tense month for the board.
Throughout June, school directors publicly and privately discussed what constitutes a conflict of interest for board members — particularly those who have day jobs with community organizations that serve district students.
Some board members were at odds with one another throughout the discussion. Ramirez didn’t speak on the matter publicly, and she didn’t respond to requests for comment for that report, either.
During the election, Ramirez said she was passionate about providing students with financial literacy education and social-emotional skills. She said all ASD students “deserve a good education.”Daysell Ramirez said in a previous interview with LehighValleyNews.com
Ramirez, a district parent, was first elected to the board in November 2023 to serve a four-year term.
During the election, Ramirez was selected by local Democrats to run on their party’s ticket after another candidate dropped out mid-race. That was former school director Evelyn Santana, who bowed out for personal reasons.
According to ASD’s website, Ramirez is a community impact coordinator in Allentown. The organization where she serves in that role is not listed.
When Ramirez ran for her school board seat last fall, she was a supportive services coordinator for a property management company.
During the election, Ramirez said she was passionate about providing students with financial literacy education and social-emotional skills. She said all ASD students “deserve a good education.”
The last school directors to resign from the board were Charlie Thiel and state Sen. Nick Miller. Both resigned in January 2023.
Thiel and the school board did not share the reason for his resignation. Miller resigned to serve in the state Senate.
