The last item on Tuesday’s New Hanover County Board of Education agenda meeting was the AI security pilot program, which has promoted considerable online debate — and a boisterous town hall — and split the board, although not exactly along party lines.
By and large, the issues have not been with the use of AI itself but the details of the proposed contract with Eviden, a tech firm based in France. Perhaps the most outspoken critic of the program early on was Republican school board member David Perry, who was joined by Democratic members Dr. Tim Merrick and Judy Justice in voicing concerns and ultimately voted against the program.
Related: Q&A: New Hanover County school board considering potential AI security pilot program
Republican school board members Josie Barnhart and Pete Wildeboer were very supportive, with Barnhart recalling the chaotic scene in 2021 after a student opened fire during a fight at New Hanover High School — an act of violence that sparked a wide-ranging conversation about school and community safety. Republican Pat Bradford acknowledged she would ‘hold her nose’ on some concerns, but voted with Barnhart and Wildeboer to support the program.
Supporters also noted that the Superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes had arranged a meeting between board members and district principals, who largely supported the program. Barnes himself noted that, currently, there are not enough staff members to monitor all of the district's security cameras — which are in most cases only useful as a forensic tool after the fact. Barnes also suggested that the pilot program could help update camera equipment in some schools, some of which are somewhat antiquated.
Chair Melissa Mason said that while she had initially been enthusiastic about the program, she’d developed concerns. Specifically, Mason said she’d heard that Eviden had resisted a “third-party audit” to explore data security and other potential issues as part of their contract with Davidson County public schools. As part of the state legislation that is funding the AI pilot in both Davidson and New Hanover, both districts had to use the same vendor; Davidson selected Eviden earlier this year, which essentially forced NHCS’ hand if they wanted to pursue the program.
Mason said “pushback from Eviden” on the audit was a “massive red flag” for her. Wildeboer put forward an amendment to condition acceptance of the pilot on Eviden’s participation in a third-party review — but Mason wasn’t swayed. She voted no, siding with Perry, Merrick, and Justice.
On social media, Barnhart voiced frustration, saying she learned right after the meeting’s ending that Davidson County public schools was, in fact, moving forward with an assessment of Eviden. Barnhart posted an email that she received from a senior Eviden rep.
Davidson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Greggory Slate told WHQR that attorneys for Eviden and the school district had been negotiating a “third-party risk assessment,” rather than an audit. Slate said he didn’t have a sense that Eviden was resisting an assessment, and that ”as a matter of fact, I think we're getting closer to having that resolved and getting this up off the ground.”
Asked about this, Mason said she spoke to Davidson school board Chairman Nick Jarvis, who “expressed concern regarding what he perceived to be pushback and delays from Eviden as it pertained to the third party audit.” She added that, “no contract had been signed by Eviden at that point to do such an audit, which confirmed his information. No new information was shared with me before the Agenda Review until an email from Eviden was received at 6:25 p.m., after the vote was complete.”
Asked if the new information from Davidson’s superintendent and Eviden would change her mind, Mason said, “No, I had other concerns with the company.”
It remains unclear if the program is effectively cancelled for New Hanover County, or if it could be revived at a later time, like next Tuesday’s regular meeting. It does appear that New Hanvoer County is already significantly overdue to make a decision; Superintendent Barnes told WHQR that while he left the decision up to the board, the district was already more than a year into the process, and it was time to "fish or cut bait." Several board members noted that the legislature had expected them to have a vendor under contract by January.
In a statement, Mason said she wasn’t foreclosing the future use of AI, but supported the board’s decision.
“During the Agenda Review meeting, as we discussed AI, I heard from all of my fellow board members that their primary concern is the safety of our staff and students within our schools. Those who opposed the pilot program expressed their concerns, not with the technology itself, but with the company, the process, and the necessary guardrails to ensure the safety of our students' data and prevent the misuse of the technology. While I cannot speak for the entire board on this matter, I can say that I am not entirely closing the door on the use of AI in our schools. What I support is the autonomy of the Board and the district to establish a thoughtful process and choose the company we will partner with moving forward,” Mason wrote.
State Senator Michael Lee, who along with fellow Republican State Senator Steve Jarvis helped craft the legislation for the AI pilot, has not yet responded to a request for comment, asking what the next steps might be for the general assembly and whether legislators would reappropriate the $3.2 million to another project.
Background
The AI pilot was first included in 2023 legislation, offering $5.2 million between Davidson and New Hanover counties. Both school districts put out requests for proposals and received several bids. But updated language that was included in the Helene relief bill passed in late November last year narrowed the field. According to Superintendent Slate, Davidson was left with only one viable vendor — Eviden — and moved forward with that.
Recently, Perry posted a video on Facebook showing Slate addressing Davidson County commissioners during a January meeting. In the video clip, Slate said the state's recommendation was Eviden; one of the Davidson County school board members said school officials presented the state with two responses to an RFP and "[Senator] Steve Jarvis chose Eviden." (You can find the full meeting video here).
Slate said that the clip lacked context, and that while Eviden was the only vendor that met the legislative criteria, he didn’t feel that the general assembly pressured them or prevented them from having a free hand to make their choice. He also noted that the other companies could have adjusted their bid to meet the state's updated requirements. (He also clarified that State Senator Steve Jarvis, a former Davidson County commissioner, was not related to Board of Education Chairman Nick Jarvis, noting it’s a common name in Davidson.)
Because the bill required the same vendor for both counties, New Hanover County school board members could either go with Eviden, or opt out of the program. But they could decide which features of Eviden’s AI package they wanted to implement, along with other potential guardrails for the rollout of the program.
Concerns from the public — including those voiced at the town hall last week — included Eviden’s capacity for license plate scanning and facial recognition programs, as well as the potential for data breaches, a topic that’s been on many people’s mind since the ransomware attack on PowerSchool, which manages data for schools around the country. Supporters of the program like Barnhart said they also did not want these features activated, and the motion put on the table by Bradford explicitly noted it would not be used.
Other concerns included Eviden’s experience and financial stability, an issue raised by Justice. Eviden’s parent company, Atos, ran into financial difficulty last year and had to restructure. Spokespeople for Eviden at last week’s town hall said that restructuring would actually be beneficial for the company, which they claimed was profitable. They also acknowledged Eviden is not currently working in any K-12 public schools in the United States, but said they are working on some college campuses, along with airports and other large facilities.
Another concern, raised first in the Cape Fear Beacon, was Eviden’s ties to Republican Senator Tedd Budd, whose niece by marriage is Mia Budd, an Eviden employee who appeared as part of the company presentation to the board back in January. Budd’s role includes "public sector" work, a detail solicited from Eviden’s spokespeople by Merrick during the town hall, generating an audible response in the crowd, and prompting Merrick to say the Eviden deal “didn’t pass the smell test.” Eviden spokespeople said they were simply responding to the request for proposals put out by New Hanover and Davidson counties. Merrick appeared unconvinced, saying, “the cronyism from the state legislature did not give me confidence.”
