MONTVALE, N.J.—After appealing at two consecutive board meetings for a person responsible for making vulgar comments about her on Zoom to come forward, resident Carolee Adams said she received an apology from the person on April 13.
“A very sincere, real and kind apology was made and the case is closed,” Adams told Pascack Press on April 14.
Adams was speaking her mind, opposing the process used during the recent mascots’ replacement decision, at a contentious March 8 Pascack Valley Regional High School District meeting when someone whispered “some very deplorable, vulgar things about me” into an open microphone during the Zoom meeting.
Adams, a frequent presence at Montvale Borough Council meetings and regional school board meetings, among others, is a critic of the regional trustees’ unanimous June 22, 2020 decision to retire the Pascack Hills Cowboy mascot and Pascack Valley Indian mascot.
At a half-dozen or more meetings since the controversial decision, parents, students, high school alums, area mayors, and Pascack Valley residents have spoken out repeatedly—and sometimes forcefully—against the decision. The board has not reconsidered its decision.
Following votes at both schools, PV’s new nickname will be the Panthers; PH’s will be the Broncos.
Adams complained at the April 12 school board meeting about the inappropriate language used about her, requesting the district’s help in identifying the critic who uttered a short burst of expletives.
She said the remark was uttered by “an attendee with an open mic” and offered to meet with him or her over a cup of coffee to accept their apology.
A Pascack Press reporter who listened to the March 8 recording during Adams’ public comments can barely hear what sounds like low mumblings at times in the background during one point while she is speaking.
At about the 55:30 mark, while Adams speaks, someone appears to mumble lowly in the background what sounds like an F-word, although it is almost inaudible and so low as to be open to multiple interpretations.
Adams, in contrast, claimed to hear what seemed to be a conversation “and then came these very vile comments.”
Adams told trustees she was considering requesting a forensics investigation of the recording to identify the individual but said she preferred to have a personal apology from the offender.
She said the person “said some very vulgar things about me” and she preferred to receive an apology rather than take further action.
She said she knew that someone knew who the offender was and she asked them to turn the person in, reiterating that she just wanted an apology.
Board President Tammy Molinelli told Adams, “I give you my word that I will look into it.”
Molinelli also asked Superintendent Erik Gundersen to look into Adams’ allegations. She noted everyone on the board believes in “respectful conversation.” She also had promised to report back at the next meeting.