Holmen School Board president under fire for using fake Facebook profile
Cheryl Hancock went by the name Annie Allmaras, and used her profile to respond to critical posts about the school board, and challenge conservative school board candidates
HOLMEN, Wis. (WKBT) — The president of the Holmen School Board admits she created a fake Facebook profile, and Cheryl Hancock is apologizing.
But some members of the Holmen community say an apology is not enough.
On Facebook, Hancock went by the name Annie Allmaras, which she called her alter ego.
Hancock apologized seconds before the school board meeting Monday night.
Before the meeting was broadcast online, Hancock deleted the profile.
Below are screen shots saved by a group of people who connected the profile back to her, including Jennifer Westlie.
Hancock used the page to respond to critical posts about the school board and to challenge conservative school board candidates.
Westlie says the fake profile is more than 10 years old, and she believes Hancock’s use of a fake page violates the school board ethics policy.
Westlie wants Hancock to step down as board president and resign from the board.
Hancock says using the page was a lapse in judgment, and she committed to being a better person.
Westlie says it’s too late.
“She’s been on that board 26 years,” Westlie said. “She’s had 26 years to do better. And this lapse of judgement, she’s had this profile for 11 years. How do you have a lapse of judgement for that long?”
Holmen School Administrator Kristin Mueller would not comment.
Her office referred News 8 Now to Hancock’s statement.
Other school board members weighed in Monday night.
After Hancock’s apology, the board voted to re-elect her school board president.
Below is Hancock’s full statement:
“I can do better and be better. Yes I did have a alter ego profile on Facebook. While my intention was to use the profile to correct misinformation I recognize it was a lapse in judgement which I regret and apologize for.
“Please know that the opinions I shared were entirely my own and do not reflect the opinion of the School District of Holmen, the board, our staff, or our students.
“Although we’re all entitled to our thoughts and opinions, I know that I can do better and have deactivated this account and will step away from social media for a while.
“The district has already been working on a board workshop this summer to address this very type of situation and how to move forward and unite. I am sorry that my actions may have affected our progress but am committed to being a better person and regain the trust of many of our staff, community members and other stakeholders.”
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