LUMBERTON — An offer from the North Carolina State Board of Education to consult with the Public Schools of Robeson County was unanimously accepted Tuesday night by the local Board of Education.
In attendance were Olivia Oxendine, who represents Robeson County and the Sandhills Region on the state board, and attorney Eric Snider.
Local board members and schools administrators, including Superintendent Shanita Wooten, already have met several times with state education officials, and Oxendine has attended several local board meetings.
“This is not a takeover,” Oxendine said after the meeting. “We will have a small group, including myself and (fellow state board member) Alan Duncan, to offer guidance and review programs and initiatives.
“This is uncharted territory for us,” Oxendine said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
There will be a meeting at the central office on Wednesday, she said.
School board Chairman Mike Smith said he is among a group who wrote a letter asking the state board to provide assistance. The State Board of Education was not on the original agenda, but Smith introduced it.
“We welcome them here and any advice they can give us,” Smith said.
Board member John Campbell outlined the course of action, saying the state will “collaborate, assist and consult.”
Board member Linda Emanuel went further.
“It is critical they work on board relationships, and board and superintendent relations,” she said.
Board member Craig Lowry went even further.
“They should look at everything, every part of the school system,” he said.
Smith also said the relationship is not a “takeover,” but “to make us the best we can be.”
The county school district is facing a $2 million deficit in the 2018-19 school year, and several efforts from the superintendent and the board to trim expenses through staff cuts, school consolidations and program changes have come to naught. A new budget is due with the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
Smith called another special meeting of the board for 6 p.m. June 19 in the district’s central office on Kahn Drive. The purpose will be to hear Wooten’s plan to balance the budget the next fiscal year, he said.
The board’s unease boiled up during what was to be a routine item titled “Board Policy Updates.”
Board member Steve Martin asked, “Why are there policies if we break them all the time? What’s the penalty for that?”
Member Dwayne Smith agreed, saying, “There are no repercussions.”
Martin said a 6-5 vote to renew 27 employee contracts at a special meeting on May 29 violated board policy by allowing a vote by telephone. He also cited the superintendent’s evaluation as another policy violation.
Member Brian Freeman agreed, saying that the superintendent’s review was “not fair to the superintendent.”
“I am not sure how we can come up with a fair evaluation, if we are not allowing her to do her job,” Freeman said. “I invite her to sue us.”
Lowry, chairman of the Policy Committee, said policy issues need to be addressed.
“If policy is violated, it needs to be brought to the board’s attention, and we need to address it,” Lowry said. “We should not sweep it under the rug.”
In other business, Campbell made a motion to rescind the nomination of Terry Smith to the Robeson Community College Board of Trustees. Smith, a Lumberton resident and former school board member, was confirmed to the 12-member RCC board in May as one of four school board nominations.
Campbell said when he made the motion in May to nominate Smith, he was “not as informed as I should have been about the composition of the board.” Smith’s appointment would give RCC’s board six members from Lumberton and none from St. Pauls, Campbell said.
School board attorney Grady Hunt said the board could change its nomination because Smith had not been sworn in.
“This is nothing against Mr. Smith,” Campbell said. “This gives the impression they are Lumberton Community College, and St. Pauls needs a seat at the table.”
Campbell, who represents all of Robeson County as an at-large board member, said he was contacted by St. Pauls residents. He also noted Red Springs has no representative.
The motion to rescind Smith and reappoint Danny Stedman was approved on a 6-5 vote. Stedman, a former schools administrator, is from the St. Pauls area.
In public comments, the board was soundly criticized by several speakers, including St. Pauls Mayor Jerry Weindel.
“I’m embarrassed,” Weindel said. “If you’re not up to the job, get out.
“If the superintendent has a plan, it deserves a look.”
Three other speakers gave their support to Wooten and asked the board to come together for the good of the students.
The board will look at Wooten’s plan next week, Chairman Smith said.
