To the Editor:

At Berne-Knox-Westerlo School, bullying starts at the top. The day my letter to the editor [May 10, 2018: “You can’t hide from your votes and actions”] came out in The Altamont Enterprise, I was being bullied by the school board president, Matthew Tedeschi.

He called me names, said I didn’t know what I was talking about. He was very nasty to me.

I told him to leave the business place we were in. Several people were there with me and heard all of this.

Being Tedeschi didn’t want to leave, I got my phone and was about to call 9-1-1. He left.

Also, he is 46, and I’m 81 years old.

I think Berne-Knox-Westerlo School would be better if he left the school board.

Philip Stevens

Berne

Editor’s note: Matthew Tedeschi responds: “I told Mr. Stevens, ‘You want to attack me publicly, perfect. When you start making comments about my family, you better attend a meeting and get your facts straight.” Tedeschi said further that a week or two after the incident, he told Stevens, “I wanted to let you know, in the heat of the conversation, if I offended you, I’m sorry.” Tedeschi concluded, “He accepted my apology.”