The Allegheny Valley School Board voted down a resolution to designate the district a “welcoming school” amid a divisive federal immigration agenda that has touched the school community.

Most of the dissenting members said they felt the resolution, which lacked immediate policy changes, was unnecessary. Two of nine members voted in favor.

“This resolution ain’t gonna do nothing,” said board member Antonio Pollino. “We’re picking out something that’s already in place. The community needs to understand, we have that covered.”

Board member Amy Sarno, who introduced the resolution, said the goal was to prompt the board and administration to review policies and consider changes as needed to support students and families.

The proposal would have designated AVSD schools “Safe Zones” and committed the district to updating its policies to ensure the district is a “welcoming place for all students and their families.”

It would have directed the administration to seek out policies that would clearly guide the district’s response in the case that:

• Law enforcement officers seek to enter schools
• Detention of a parent or guardian leaves a child without care
• A minor enrolled in the district is detained on immigration grounds. 

The proposal emerged last month after a parent of the district, Randy Cordova Flores, was arrested during a traffic stop by Springdale Borough police and turned over to ICE. Flores, a Peruvian in the asylum process, was taken to Moshannon Valley Processing Center, where he remains detained.

An officer’s take on ‘illegals’

Springdale Borough police are one of two departments in Allegheny County operating under special agreements of cooperation with federal immigration agencies, according to a nationwide database published by ICE.

The police department, and the views expressed by one officer, were a point of concern for a parent who, during public comment, referenced a Feb. 11 social media post by Paul Perriello, a Springdale Borough sergeant and former school board candidate. 

Parent Dani Jameson read from Perriello’s statement, which claimed without evidence the district enrolls “illegal” immigrants, who are taking resources from students with learning disabilities.

“Does your kid need extra support because he stutters? Too bad,” Jameson read from the post. “There is no teacher to help your kid because they’re busy teaching the illegals English.”

Jameson said her child gets extra support in math and denounced the suggestion his education was under threat from immigrant students.

“It’s racist, it’s false and it’s frightening,” said Jameson, who helped start a GoFundMe to raise support for Flores’ legal fees.

“The reason that that is so frightening right now is because some of the kids have lost their dad because he’s in a detention center,” Jameson said.

Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub did not respond to a phone and email request for comment. Perriello did not immediately respond to a message via his Facebook account.

Another parent, Judah Marroquin, said her husband is a naturalized citizen born in Guatemala, and she is concerned for her daughter. She urged the board to pass the resolution.

“I’m a parent who believes that our children are taught to treat everyone the same regardless of who they are or where they come from,” Marroquin said. “We as adults should lead by example.”

One resident, who provided only a first name, spoke out in opposition, saying, “There’s two sides to every story with this whole ICE thing,” and suggested some immigrants pose dangers to children across the country.

“Let’s make sure we’re looking at the whole picture, what laws are in place, and let’s make sure everyone follows the laws.” 

Interviewed after the meeting, Sarno said she remains committed to ensuring student safety in the current political climate.

“I’m really not discouraged in any way to keep advocating for this issue,” she said. “I just need to find another avenue for that.” 

Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org. 

This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.

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School Board shoots down welcoming schools resolution at Allegheny Valley

by Jamie Wiggan, Pittsburgh's Public Source
March 11, 2026

<h1>School Board shoots down welcoming schools resolution at Allegheny Valley</h1> <p class="byline">by Jamie Wiggan, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />March 11, 2026</p> <p>The Allegheny Valley School Board voted down a resolution to designate the district a “welcoming school” amid a divisive federal immigration agenda that has touched the school community.</p> <p>Most of the dissenting members said they felt the resolution, which lacked immediate policy changes, was unnecessary. Two of nine members voted in favor.</p> <p>“This resolution ain’t gonna do nothing,” said board member Antonio Pollino. “We’re picking out something that’s already in place. The community needs to understand, we have that covered.”</p> <p>Board member Amy Sarno, who introduced the resolution, said the goal was to prompt the board and administration to review policies and consider changes as needed to support students and families.</p> <p>The proposal would have designated AVSD schools “Safe Zones” and committed the district to updating its policies to ensure the district is a “welcoming place for all students and their families.”</p> <p>It would have directed the administration to seek out policies that would clearly guide the district’s response in the case that:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Law enforcement officers seek to enter schools</li> <li>Detention of a parent or guardian leaves a child without care</li> <li>A minor enrolled in the district is detained on immigration grounds.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260214-Springdale-School-Board-ICE-01.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1330617" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">More than 100 people gathered in Springdale Feb. 14 to protest the ICE arrest of Randy Cordova Flores and the borough police department’s formalized partnership with ICE. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)</figcaption></figure> <p>The proposal emerged last month after a parent of the district, <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/ice-detains-springdale-asylum-seeker/">Randy Cordova Flores</a>, was arrested during a traffic stop by Springdale Borough police and turned over to ICE. Flores, a Peruvian in the asylum process, was taken to Moshannon Valley Processing Center, where he remains detained.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-officer-s-take-on-illegals"><strong>An officer’s take on ‘illegals’</strong></h2> <p>Springdale Borough police are one of <a href="https://www.publicsource.org/coraopolis-overturns-ice-agreement-following-community-pushback-and-council-shakeup/">two departments</a> in Allegheny County operating under special agreements of cooperation with federal immigration agencies, according to a nationwide database published by ICE.</p> <p>The police department, and the views expressed by one officer, were a point of concern for a parent who, during public comment, referenced a Feb. 11 social media post by Paul Perriello, a <a href="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/springdale-promotes-2-police-officers-to-sergeant/">Springdale Borough sergeant</a> and former school board candidate.&nbsp;</p> <p>Parent Dani Jameson read from Perriello’s statement, which claimed without evidence the district enrolls “illegal” immigrants, who are taking resources from students with learning disabilities.</p> <p>“Does your kid need extra support because he stutters? Too bad,” Jameson read from the post. “There is no teacher to help your kid because they’re busy teaching the illegals English.”</p> <p>Jameson said her child gets extra support in math and denounced the suggestion his education was under threat from immigrant students.</p> <p>“It’s racist, it's false and it’s frightening,” said Jameson, who helped start a GoFundMe to raise support for Flores’ legal fees.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1330612" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Facebook posts of Paul Perriello for Allegheny Valley School Board. (Screenshot)</figcaption></figure> <p>“The reason that that is so frightening right now is because some of the kids have lost their dad because he’s in a detention center," Jameson said.</p> <p>Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub did not respond to a phone and email request for comment. Perriello did not immediately respond to a message via his Facebook account.</p> <p>Another parent, Judah Marroquin, said her husband is a naturalized citizen born in Guatemala, and she is concerned for her daughter. She urged the board to pass the resolution.</p> <p>“I’m a parent who believes that our children are taught to treat everyone the same regardless of who they are or where they come from,” Marroquin said. “We as adults should lead by example.”</p> <p>One resident, who provided only a first name, spoke out in opposition, saying, “There’s two sides to every story with this whole ICE thing,” and suggested some immigrants pose dangers to children across the country.</p> <p>“Let’s make sure we’re looking at the whole picture, what laws are in place, and let’s make sure everyone follows the laws.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Interviewed after the meeting, Sarno said she remains committed to ensuring student safety in the current political climate.</p> <p>“I’m really not discouraged in any way to keep advocating for this issue,” she said. “I just need to find another avenue for that.”&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:jamie@publicsource.org"><em>jamie@publicsource.org</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p> <p><em>This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/allegheny-valley-school-district-ice-resolution-defeated/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1330611&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/allegheny-valley-school-district-ice-resolution-defeated/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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