School board votes to fire principal accused of making antisemitic remarks
LOWER GWYNEDD, Pa. (WPVI) -- The Wissahickon School Board has voted to fire a principal after he allegedly left antisemitic remarks on a parent's voicemail.
During the vote on Tuesday night, the board also approved the appointment of an interim principal.
Philip Leddy, who was the principal of Lower Gwynedd Elementary School, reportedly made the comments last week after a phone call with a parent about a student issue.
Action News obtained the voicemail. The father, who asked not to be identified, said Leddy called him in response to an email about an incident involving his daughter.
READ MORE | Parent shares antisemitic voicemail allegedly left by Lower Gwynedd Elementary School principal
District leaders say Leddy believed the call had ended when he made the remarks to another employee in the room, which were inadvertently recorded on the parent's voicemail.
In the recording, Leddy identifies himself, saying, "It's Phillip Leddy, principal of Lower Gwynedd." After appearing to end the call, additional comments can be heard.
"I couldn't believe it, like I was seeing Jew this, Jew that, and I was thinking, 'This can't be the principal leaving a voicemail,'" the parent recalled.
The parent said the comments also included references to his children's summer camp.
"Referred to the summer camp that my kids went to with his kids as a 'Jew camp.' She then asked what my profession was. He said, 'It doesn't matter they have that Jew money,'" he said.
Another portion of the voicemail includes the statement, "They go to Jew camp with... and everyone at the camp hates the family."
"His rhetoric was just too easy; he chose the lowest form of, like, antisemitism," the parent said.
District officials said Leddy self-reported the incident and admitted the comments were not appropriate.
Leddy had served as principal since 2023 and previously chaired an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee in another district, according to his school bio.
