On Tuesday, the New Hanover County school board voted 5-2 to uphold disciplinary measures included in a letter sent by Republican Chair Pete Wildeboer to Libertarian member David Perry; however, during the meeting, the public wasn’t privy to the specifics of the decision.
WHQR later learned from Democratic member Judy Justice that Perry was taken off committees for three months and not allowed to speak at upcoming graduation ceremonies for his conduct and explicit language on social media. WHQR is trying to confirm this with the chair and with the district. The board also voted to assess a $25 technology fee to generate funding for next year’s budget — that was also a 5-2 decision with Perry and Republican Josie Barnhart dissenting.
Perry disciplined, punishment murky
Perry faced discipline from the board after his dispute with Republican Pat Bradford escalated from March into April.
Perry read a prepared statement to the board but was interrupted twice by his colleagues — Democrat Dr. Tim Merrick and Barnhart — because he was raising past squabbles with Republican Pat Bradford.
On March 31, Perry’s proposed committee on employee retention and bonuses was, to his dismay, changed to one mainly led by the district rather than the board. He was also accused by Bradford of trading his vote on a controversial off-campus Biblical program, LifeWise, which would be provided during the school day, for her vote to make his proposed committee a standing one. Later, Perry, on social media, called Bradford a “vindictive bitch” and then posted that he apologized for the expletive but not for her “low character.” He also posted that the Republicans were the “Modern Day Pharisees.”
Perry, nonetheless, said he would rather be censured by the board and not taken off any committees, as he claimed that would violate his First Amendment rights. He did apologize to Bradford for using explicit language and to Wildeboer for including him in the Pharisee post.
Bradford tried to amend the vote to add her comments to Wildeboer’s letter, but that failed.
While the board vote was nebulous — with a motion saying only it was upholding the contents of Wildeboer's letter to Perry. Merrick and Perry voted against it.
WHQR asked the district and Perry to provide this letter, and has yet to receive it.
Board to vote on the final budget ask
The district expects to have an operating budget of $333.3 million, including local, state, and federal funds. NHCS Superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes recommended that the board vote next Tuesday, May 5, to request that the New Hanover County board of commissioners provide $3.3 million in additional funds, roughly a 3% increase compared to last year’s budget (from $107 million to $110.4 million).
The district identified the need for added funds for staffing ($2.2 million), charter schools, contracts, and inflationary increases ($828,366), capital funds ($238,222), and preschool ($238,222).
To shore up the district’s budget, Barnes had the board vote on a $25-per-student technology fee to cover repairs to the district's devices (students on free and reduced-price lunch will not have to pay). That vote was 5-2 with Perry and Barnhart dissenting. The district anticipates bringing in an additional $356,400 from those fees.
Merrick said he didn’t like the fee idea and anticipates hearing from parents asking why they have to pay it. He said he’ll tell them it’s a way to balance the budget, but said hopefully, those families will then go and advocate for more funds for the schools from the county commission and the state.
Justice said this is an example of a school system that is “woefully underfunded.” Bradford said they are forced to do “less with less.”
NHCS is moving two preschool classrooms to either Dorothy B. Johnson or Mary Washington Howe so they can bill NC Pre-K for them. They’re expected to receive an additional $178,560.
Barnes isn't asking the county commission for the funds needed for three assistant principals and pay increases for certain exceptional children, teaching assistants, and occupational and physical therapists. He added that those would be at the top of the list should additional revenue come in.
Turning to a larger budget discussion, Bradford said that Republican NC House Representative Ted Davis asked how the district would account for larger state increases for educators (8-10%) in the upcoming state budget negotiations.
Bradford said that 652 positions are picked up by the New Hanover County Commission and that they would be on the hook to pay the increases for those positions. The state would cover raises only for employees it funds.
Barnes chimed in to say if that happened, then “every county would not be able to make up that deferential; we will have to make cuts to balance that.” He also added he wanted the state to focus on providing increases for veteran staff at 15-24 years of teaching, which has stagnated over time.
Merrick said he wanted to be careful about how they talk about these staff raises, because that's a move in the right direction, but the district would have to make some “huge pivots” if the state made increases that high.
Barnes said the needs are there, and the district is at a “subsistence level” in terms of funding, but that he and his staff had to be “good stewards of the money we are given.” He said he could have asked commissioners for a “4%-6%” increase in its budget, but had to be mindful of what they’re asking the local taxpayers to do, in terms of them supporting the $320.5 million November school bond for district capital needs.
He also hinted at reining in costs with a possible 10-year “sustainability plan” that would outline whether they would need to consolidate schools in the future.
The board also heard a presentation about the state of its facilities. The district has about $491.2 million in needs to address over the coming decade; however, the company Turner & Townsend Heery assessed close to $2.5 billion in overall needs. Jessica Killian, who works for the company, said that most of the critical needs they've identified are included in the school bond ask.
Upcoming teacher rally
A march is scheduled for May 1, called “Kids Over Corporations Rally,” planned by the North Carolina Association of Educators, in concert with local chapters, including the one in New Hanover County. Larger school districts like Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Gaston County Schools have recently had to schedule an optional teacher workday due to the number of staff calling out. The Assembly is reporting that at least 13 districts have canceled classes because of the rally.
A recently released report from the National Association of Teachers continues to show that NC teacher pay is among the lowest nationwide. WUNC reports that the state dropped to 46th in the nation, with an average of $59,971. North Carolina also remains the only state in the country that hasn’t passed a budget, which means raises to address the increased cost of living haven't been approved.
According to district spokesperson Anita Baggie, as of Tuesday, “A total of 325 substitute positions were requested, with 194 filled and 131 still needing coverage. Personal leave requests were accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24. Central Office staff will be utilized to support schools in filling remaining vacancies as needed.”
According to budget documents, there are 1,658 classroom teachers, which means roughly 20% of them will be out. WHQR asked the district to clarify whether teacher assistants could also have their positions filled by subs, or only teachers. The district hasn’t yet responded.
Staff can also take last-minute sick leave, but the district has told staff they may request documentation if they do that.
The district recently sent out a request for substitutes to cover classrooms this Friday. They claimed it was due to the “warm weather.”
WHQR asked whether this was really the reason they needed the coverage, but they didn’t address it; however, they wrote, “Principals will continue to address unfilled absence requests by implementing internal coverage plans to minimize disruption to instruction and maintain continuity of learning.”
Democratic board member Dr. Tim Merrick wanted to add an agenda item to discuss the decision not to switch the teacher workday scheduled for Monday, May 4, to Friday, May 1. He added that the board had received about 120 emails from the public on this issue and that they could discuss it further.
However, the board voted down the discussion 5-2, with Merrick and Justice in favor, as the other members felt they had already discussed their rationale for not moving the workday, and that it was too close to the date to reverse their decision.
Merrick said he was concerned about student safety if so many staff were going to be out, and that it’s an open question whether they’ll take last-minute sick leave or just not report to work.
Bradford said they’ve already told state legislators the needs of the teachers.
“We’re representing their concerns very comprehensively,” she said.
