The following report by Team 4 investigator Paul Van Osdol first aired on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2006.

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Team 4 has obtained video from a school board meeting last week, before the controversy over the International Baccalaureate program blew up in Upper St. Clair.

This week, board members said they were concerned about the cost of the program.

Last week, one board member expressed very different concerns.

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Previous Stories:
Feb. 21, 2006: IB Curriculum Voted Down In USC; 2 Other Schools Offer Program
Feb. 20, 2006: USC Board Votes To End Controversial School Program

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Here's how Upper Saint Clair School Board member Daniel Iracki explained his opposition to the International Baccalaureate program at this week's school board meeting: "No convincing factual evidence has been presented that IB is a superior education to proven and existing programs, such as AP."

After that -- and despite opposition from hundreds of parents and students -- the board voted to kill the program.

But at last week's lightly attended committee meeting, Iracki was telling a different story.

"The impetus for this in-depth look at the IB program occurred with the election of a new school board in November 2005, when my candidacy and the three other members of our slate were opposed by IB students principally because of my statement at the candidates forum that our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values and we have to be careful about what kind of values our children are being taught," Iracki said.

Iracki admitted what students have been alleging -- that the program came under fire because of the election.

Team 4 tried unsuccessfully all day to reach Iracki to clarify those comments.

But the students had plenty to say.

Van Osdol: "The impetus to review the IB program came because you students opposed him and his slate in the election?"

Student: "It's appalling they're taking it out and it feels like a really personal vendetta."

Parents point to how board members seemingly changed their stories about why the program should be killed from one week to the next.

"They were playing to a bigger audience. They did not expect the public outcry, and then they said, 'We need to come across as reasonable,'" said parent Geralyn Austin.

And, it turns out, the board tried to keep other parents from seeing that bigger audience.

Team 4 has learned that school officials ordered that the cable television broadcast of this week's board meeting to stop when the parents started criticizing the board.

The cable access channel usually airs the full meeting.

School Board President William Sulkowski told Van Osdol by phone that, "As president, I can start the filming when I feel it's necessary and stop it when I feel it's not."

Sulkowski also said, "I just thought for the sake of time, with the number of people lined up, no one would pay attention to the regular meeting if they had two hours of comments there."

"It's disappointing. I think the fact that everyone was opposing them maybe scared them a little bit and they weren't willing to show that on television," said student Leslie Carroll.

Despite the board vote, parents and students who support the IB program are not giving up. They said they are considering a lawsuit and about raising private funds to keep the program.