Flanked by fellow board members, Chairman Pete Wildeboer read a statement regarding the $5.75-million settlement with 14 young men who were sexually abused by a former teacher of the year, Michael Earl Kelly, who was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to over 50 counts of sexual abuse and misconduct in the summer of 2019.
“We, the members of the New Hanover County Board of Education, want to publicly acknowledge the suffering that the John Doe plaintiffs have endured as a result of Michael Kelly's abuse, and to express our sincere hope that the resolution provided by the Settlement Agreement will support these young men in their healing process. The board also reaffirmed its commitment to improving its policies and practices in an effort to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again," Wildeboer said.
Wildeboer said the settlement agreement and release of all past, present, and future claims by the plaintiffs was fully executed on July 27.
It’s worth noting that several former New Hanover County schools employees have been charged, and in several cases convicted, of sexual abuse and misconduct — and the district is still being sued by young women who were abused by former teacher Peter Michael Frank, who was sentenced to at least 50 years in prison last summer. There is also an ongoing criminal investigation into the district, stemming from the handling of Kelly's behavior, currently being reviewed by the office of Attorney General Josh Stein.
Wildeboer’s statement was almost completely identical to a statement released by the board on June 9, when the settlement was first announced (it omitted the phrase "both our sorrow for that pain and" before "our sincere hope").
He did not discuss specifics on what policies and practices the district would be looking at — and did not take questions following his statement, saying he would answer them later.
A district spokesperson said questions couldn't be answered following the brief remarks, given at 4:30 p.m., since staff wanted to begin allowing the public in from outside to attend to board's regular meeting, which began at 5 p.m.
