A conversation with former New Hanover County school board member Hugh McManus

By Rachel Keith

Published December 13, 2024 at 11:27 AM EST

On this episode, WHQR's Rachel Keith takes over hosting duties for a conversation with Hugh McManus, who just wrapped up his term as a New Hanover County school board member. McManus has dedicated four decades to education, and in this interview, he talks about his journey as a teacher, principal, school director, and board member.

Hugh McManus when was the principal at Topsail High School.

Hugh McManus has been in education for over 40 years. He’s worked as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Pender, Columbus, and New Hanover County schools.

He’s also been the director of a local private school, Cape Fear Academy. Most recently, he was elected a New Hanover County school board member in 2020. His last day on the dais was earlier this December.

It was Stephanie Walker and Stephanie Kraybill’s last day, too. Former board chair, Pete Wildeboer, said the first order of business was to thank them for their service.

Wildeboer acknowledged "three wonderful people who mean a lot to us all, who have worked very hard for the last four years, and we’re not going to cry, so we’re not going to do that."

Wildeboer, a Republican, recognized McManus, a Democrat, as the person who gave him his start in Pender County.

“One of his biggest mistakes was to hire me – a long time ago, but I wouldn’t be here without this guy,” Wildeboer said.

During the interview, McManus talked about his relationship with Wildeboer and said that although they disagreed politically, that didn’t get in the way of their longtime friendship.

Pete Wildeboer and Hugh McManus at the December 2024 meeting.

And there were plenty of heated political disagreements during McManus’ four years on the board.

Some of those charged moments included when he staunchly opposed banning the book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You — and pushed back on policies he felt infringed on the First Amendment rights of students and staff.

He said the outgoing board was working on a policy regulating cell phones and hoped the next board would pick up where they left off. McManus was also vocal about the district focusing on proficiency scores, i.e. how well the students did, not just growth ones, which shows how much they improved.

During the interview, he said he believes public education is “in trouble.” He calls for the community, the county, and the state to support the public system through funding and respect for the professionalism of its staff.

He also pointed to the charter funds diverted from the NHCS budget. Last year, $7.1 million was transferred.

This shows how much funding has been diverted from NHCS to county charters. The state legislature funds the voucher program for private and religious schools. $6.5 billion will be available for vouchers over the next decade.

Since his educational path is coming to a close, he said he’ll devote more time supporting the work of the Salvation Army — and says he’ll be hunting and fishing more, another one of his passions.

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