Transparency
I am an “Open Book.” Like everyone, I am not a perfect human being. I have my character flaws. However, a lack of honesty or transparency are not among them. If anything, my family and friends would likely remark that I am too brutally honest! I believe that my Christian faith dictates that I act in such a forthright and honest manner. What that means for you, the voter, is that you can count on the fact that I am, and will continue, to tell you the complete truth about my positions on the issues. Unlike other politicians who campaign on slogans and who are vague on the issues, I am not afraid to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what I will do once I am elected to the New Hanover County Board of Education. If I make a campaign promise, you can take it to the bank! You may end up disagreeing with me on a position or two, but I have faith that most voters will appreciate the integrity and candor I am bringing to the table and find that refreshing.
It is my goal to bring that type of candor and transparency to our entire school district. Here are some of the particular transparency issues I will be working diligently on once I am elected to the New Hanover County Board of Education:
Truly Open School Board Meetings
We all have a statutory right under the NC Open Meetings Law to attend all meetings of our school board. In addition, we all have a 1st Amendment right to petition our elected officials. Not so long ago, during the COVID-19 crisis, the former school board of our county violated those rights. They imposed a mask mandate on all attendees of school board meetings. They made no exceptions for those who could prove they were vaccinated, no exceptions for those who had a valid medical reason for not being able to wear a mask, but instead utilized the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department to forcefully remove any and all who refused to obey the letter of their law.
As a staunch defender of our liberty, I did not take this lying down! In October of 2022, I sued the former board and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office in New Hanover County Superior Court. Former school board counsel Tharrington Smith, LLP motioned to dismiss the case based on the argument that simply streaming board meetings on the school board’s YouTube channel sufficiently met the requirements of the NC Open Meetings law. I argued that only in-person attendance met the requirements of the statute. Judge Herrell found in my favor and the case continued. Eventually the former school board won the case. Judge Harrell never gave a reason why he ruled for the school board. However, it is obvious that because I could not afford to hire an attorney, my prop se legal arguments were never going to be taken seriously, no matter how valid they were. The important thing now is that our current school board needs to form a policy that formally recognizes a statutory right for the public to physically attend all of their meetings. I will make sure they do!
Secondly, I think we need to increase, and not decrease, the level of public participation in school board meetings. Did you know that there was a recent proposal in a school board policy committee to move the “Call of the Audience” segment of regular board meetings to the end of the meeting? These meetings sometimes last hours, and the members of the school board know it. They know that by moving this segment to the end of their meetings, far fewer people will stick around into the late hours of the evening to participate. Shame on them! I do applaud the board’s initiative to create “Town Hall” events where members of the public can actually have a back-and-forth conversation with members of the board. Once I am elected, I pledge to increase the frequency of these “Town Hall ” meetings. It is not enough for the members of the public to be allowed to read a 2-minute speech once a month, if we really want to guarantee the citizens’ 1st Amendment right to petition.
Finally, the public needs to be informed of the nature of all the “closed session” meetings that the school board has with their attorneys. Our tax dollars pay for these attorneys, and we should have the right to have some idea of what is being discussed. There are cases where confidential student or employee information is being discussed, and the public should not be allowed to be in attendance. However, a redacted summary of all these “closed sessions” should be published on the school board’s website in a timely manner.
A Transparent School Administration
The school board serves a very important function by establishing overall policies for the school district. However, the vast majority of what goes on in our schools is handled by the Superintendent’s Office, local school administration, and by ordinary teachers and staff. The fact is that we the public have very little knowledge of what occurs when these people meet and discuss topics that are highly relevant to education in New Hanover County. I seriously doubt that most school board members really know what’s going on at these meetings either. How can the school board effectively manage the school district when they are left in the dark?
This must change. Most of these meetings need to be recorded on video and released to the public on the school district’s website. There will be meetings that have the sole purpose of discussing a confidential student or employee matter, and those videos should only be released to the school board itself. There will be other meetings where a student or employee is mentioned as part of an overall discussion on policy. Those videos should be redacted of this confidential information and then released to the public. Once I am elected to the New Hanover County Board of Education, I will work hard to formulate a transparency plan for our schools that still respects the confidentiality of its employees and students.
Curriculum Transparency
Parents have an inherent right to know what academic subjects and specific topics that their child will be learning, along with what books, other instructional materials, and field trips that the teachers will be utilizing during the course of instruction. Most teachers will gladly relay this information to parents when it is requested, but this leaves parents in the unenviable position of having to pry information out of their kids in order to know if it’s anything worth requesting.
Instead, teachers should be required to prepare a syllabus for each class they teach that outlines these details and have it sent out to parents BEFORE the beginning of the academic term. If revisions are necessary, these revisions should be sent out to parents BEFORE those revisions take effect. By being preemptively transparent, parents become informed and have the opportunity to have their child switch teachers or classes, or at least have their child opt-out of certain instructional activities they feel are objectionable and not right for their child.
My Rationale
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if our entire school district acted in a transparent and forthright manner? From our school board, down to the Superintendent’s office, the principal’s office, the teachers and their aides, and all the way down to the bus drivers and cafeteria workers?
If, like Abraham Lincoln, we truly desire a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” then you think we would have demanded it already. A government body that runs in secret is contrary to the aims of a government established by “the consent of the governed.” Unfortunately, our school district has a LONG way to go before it establishes the type of transparency that it needs. I will work diligently to make sure that it takes steps in the proper direction.
Got Questions?
If you have a question about a transparency topic that I did not cover, or if you just want to discuss a topic I did cover in more detail, then please feel free to Contact Us. I will always make time to listen to voters!
