Charles Hoff, one of the five community members who comprise the Federal Way School Board, has acknowledged making a controversial remark earlier this month, after initially denying it, but continues to be unapologetic about his views.

Hoff told the Federal Way News last week that "there are more PhDs per square inch in State College than anywhere else. It's a fact."

Hoff was defending a statement he made at a community meeting in Pennsylvania on May 15, 2006.

"And this town [State College] has a far better gene pool-so to speak-than the town [Federal Way] where I am now," Hoff said in front of a few hundred people at a public meeting in State College, Pennsylvania, where Hoff attended high school.

The FWPS Board member was invited to speak as a guest of the State College Vision, a community group that is asking the State College school board to reconsider its plan to group all of its nearly 2,700 high school (grades 9-12) students into one large school instead of two, as is the current configuration.

Hoff's statement, as well as others expressed at the meeting, was quoted the following day in a local paper, the Centre Daily Times, a morning daily with a circulation of 30,000.

The reporter who wrote the article, Adam Smeltz, told the Federal Way News on Tuesday, May 16, that he included Hoff's quote in his story because of its bizarre and incongruous tone.

"It was such an odd thing to say, I had to include it in the story," said Smeltz.

Smeltz described State College, home to the Pennsylvania State University, one of the largest universities on the east coast, as being the home to a mostly white, middle to upper middle class population.

The majority of students who attend State College high schools are the children of professors and others employed by Penn State, and are viewed as very academically motivated.

Prior to the above quote, Hoff said that because of having several smaller high schools within the Federal Way school district, our test scores are among the highest in Washington State.

Instead of attributing this fact to more one-on-one attention, student's efforts or stellar teachers, Hoff went on to make the argument that if Federal Way students can achieve high test scores while attending small high school, imagine what the sons and daughters who come from "a far better gene pool" would accomplish.

Since Hoff's remark came to light, those familiar with Hoff's views said that this remark was not uncharacteristic for Hoff.

The Federal Way School District's Director of Communications, Diane Turner, told the Federal Way News last week that Hoff was speaking as a private citizen and was not representing the Federal Way School District during his trip to Pennsylvania.

"Those are his own personal views and we really have no comment," said Turner.