A School Board Member's Sudden Exit: What Really Happened?

A school board member in New Jersey decided to leave her position early. Rebecca Petersen was part of the Raritan Township school board for three years. She chose to step down a month before her term ended. This happened after a long argument about some old social media posts. Petersen said her time on the board was tough. She blamed others for making things hard for her. She said they cared more about power than the school's best interests. The board president did not want to talk about it. People said Petersen had an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter. This account posted mean things about transgender people. It even criticized a school display about women's history. The display included transgender icons Marsha P. Johnson and Laverne Cox. The account also misgendered Rachel Levine, a former U. S. health official. Petersen said she did not do these things. She said the school leaders punished her unfairly. She also said a judge found no proof linking her to the posts. But she did not win re-election this year. After the school started investigating, Petersen filed a complaint. She said the board president and vice president were not being fair. She also said the vice president, Dorothea Kellogg, wanted her to quit. Kellogg did not respond to requests for comment. Petersen left the meeting after saying her goodbye. The other board members kept working as usual. They planned to talk about her leave in a private meeting.