JAMES PARLA WITHDRAWS FROM DISTRICT 1 SCHOOL BOARD RACE

Former New York Superintendent James “Jim” Parla withdrew from the School District of Indian River County District 1 race. Parla had only been filed for about a month to run for School Board when he withdrew. Mr. Parla had been running against Father of Three and Internal Medicine Doctor, Dr. Gene Posca, MD.

This comes after former New York School Board Member and local resident John Lacenere gave his endorsement for Dr. Gene Posca MD in the same race. Lacenere gave his endorsement when he saw Mr. Parla had a resignation as Superintendent with a health insurance benefit in the Wappingers Central School District, which is in Wappingers Falls, New York. Lacenere saw what he found as the Wappingers Central School District using a common method of peacefully getting rid of a Superintendent they no longer want in a New York School District. Lacenere’s School District in Middletown, NY (where he served as a board member) is not too far from where Mr. Parla was in Wappingers Falls, New York where this specific resignation happened.

Update: More information came out after publication of this story. Below are updates to this story as of May 20th, 2022

James Parla released the following statement which can be viewed below about why he had withdraw from the School Board race:

I’m sorry that I have to cancel my campaign for School Board District 1. My lady needs more surgery and I just can’t commit the time required to run an effective campaign.

By the way, some folks have asked for my dissertation. While it may be moot now, for those interested, my dissertation was purely 100% about school finance; nothing at all about pedagogy or any of the current or past issues that plague our educational system.

I thank all those who reached out in support of my candidacy.

John Lacenere also made a comment on Facebook regarding his Editorial of Mr. Parla. The the comment, Lacenere said “I meant no disrespect in my editorial. I just stated how New York politics in schools seem to work. I do have great respect for Mr. Parla as he brought a district from the verge of bankruptcy to a thriving institution that still holds today. My prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time.”

If you like this article, please share it.

If you would like to support the work of Indian River News, click here to go to our SubscribeStar page to become a Subscriber today. Your monthly contribution will help Indian River News continue its Journalism and News Reporting in Indian River County.