Comments for Some Refreshing Change at School Board Meetings | Eastern NC Now
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Is everyone here afraid of their shadow?
Mayor candidate Ellen Brabo is suing the Washington City Govt and Mayor Sadler in Federal Court, and yet there is no mention of it here. It seems to me to be a really Major News Story. It was reported by WITN last week complete with a copy of the filed lawsuit. Read it there: witn.com/2025/10/29/washington-mayoral-candidate-files-lawsuit-against-city-mayor-sadler/ www.witn.com
Commented: Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 @ 12:23 am
By: Befuddled
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SPR: I like the idea of the local attorney being lead and Tharrington & Smith being used for specialized work.
Commented: Sunday, November 2nd, 2025 @ 5:58 pm
By: Van Zant
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Van Zant, the board never voted directly on my motion. I was cautiously optimistic that it could achieve a majority until the member who seconded my motion withdrew the second after I clarified that under the motion Tharrington Smith could still do specialized work as called upon by our local primary attorney in a secondary roll. That member had some serious problems with some advice previously given to the board by our present attorney prior to my joining the board and did not want that firm involved at all. Therefore, my motion never got voted on. With the second withdrawn on my motion, a new motion was then made to accept the RFP as drafted, which passed 5 to 4.
As to who would constitute a "local attorney" I would hope we could find someone from our own Beaufort County Bar, but if not, then from an adjoining county like Craven or Pitt. We need someone who will protect our local interests and willing to stand up to the Raleigh establishment when needed.
Commented: Sunday, November 2nd, 2025 @ 3:30 pm
By: Steven P. Rader
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What the school board needs is an attorney at least smart enough to advise them to order a title search before they build another 54 million dollar school on land that they do not own.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 8:47 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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W: I don't doubt that there is some truth to what you are saying. That's why plenty of board oversight is important in the hiring process. I doubt the best outcome is to put all our faith in a liberal lawyer over 100 miles away like the BC School Board does.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 7:15 pm
By: Van Zant
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To whom it may concern.
The local lawyers are all corrupt. They are all afraid of the City Govt. They are all self serving, hoping to win some gravy appointment from local govt. I pretty sure, if I remember correctly, that the current city attorney was disciplined by the state Legal Board. That stuff is online.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 5:00 pm
By: Washingtonian
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Outside of bidding this out to get the best value on the best attorney available, it is my request that the school board get a smart attorney, with zero Leftist values.
The Ignorant Left has had a huge grip on education, at all levels, for far too long, and our society is absolutely paying a huge price for it right now, and for many years preceding now. I am aghast when I hear the profound stupidity coming out of the mouths of some extremely overpaid and utterly valueless "educators," case in point, any educator that discusses Charlie Kirk and speaking in cliched Leftist language without speaking directly to the issue in a specific many with any credible evidence.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 2:37 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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A local attorney is likely to bring rural eastern NC values to representing the school board. A big city attorney is bring big city values which are likely to be liberal and out of touch with local values. It just makes good sense that the local attorney would be the one on top.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 2:29 pm
By: Bubba
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Van Zant, Those five work for the Big Cheese, they do not work for the public.
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 7:29 am
By: Hood Richardson
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Van Zant, the issue seems to be whether to have a REAL local attorney or a local attorney IN NAME ONLY. Beaufort County citizens deserve the real thing, not a facade. Who is trying to create this mirage. Is it Cheeseman?
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 8:27 am
By: Conservative Voter
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Why are 5 Board of Education members against having a local lead attorney?
Commented: Saturday, November 1st, 2025 @ 5:56 am
By: Van Zant
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Exactly Steve, one must recuse themselves when in the decision making process on issues that might have the appearance of a Conflict of Interest.
I will go one step further: Any business that local officials seek or is offered must be completely bid out, that they must be the low bid, and their service should be unique, one where there are very few individuals who can provide the probable highest level of workmanship in the region. This is my philosophy of correctness regarding Conflict of Interest that supersedes all Conflict of Interest tennants demanded by the North Carolina General Statutes. I rather doubt that these high standards of mine are being followed by any or all local governments in Beaufort County. RINOs and Democratic Socialists are simply not capable of such levels of competent consideration of the People's business.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 1:40 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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Stan, local officials are not excluded from conflict of interest statutes, but the way those statutes work in small counties is that the local official can bid and be awarded a contract BUT they must not take part in the decision making process to decide who gets the bid. If they take part in that decision making process, that can have criminal repercussions as a former county commissioner in Hyde County found out some years ago. As long as those guidelines are followed, a company owned by an elected official in a small county is elgible to bid and be awarded a contract.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 12:58 pm
By: Steven P. Rader
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Jeff: Beaufort County is excluded from any conflict of interest statutes due to the size of the county as per the size of the contract. People involved in government are already doing business with governments for very rudimentary products and services.
Take what I did for the county schools: No one in eastern NC can provide the level of service that we provide for that very technical service where quality control is paramount, so why punish the people of Beaufort County by paying more money for a lesser service from an out of the state vendor? Local is very important in dealing with highly specialized services. That is not economic development or a service to the taxpayer or education at large in this instance, and that is why North Carolina has the Small County Exclusion within its general statutes for Conflict of Interest. Additionally, I had both contracts before I was elected for my third time as a non incumbent, and was pre-promised by management that it would make no difference if I was elected, because of ... drumroll ... "The Small County Exclusion within its general statutes for Conflict of Interest." Additionally, I was assured that my high level of service at a guaranteed lower cost was all that would matter. No, this is RINO /Democrat politics, and that is the only truth here, and I detest lies, corruption and ignorance at all levels of governing. That is how I am built.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 11:58 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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A local atty should be in-place and serve as counsel to the Board. Most, if not all school systems operate in this way and/or have their own in-house counsel. Boards, as needed, hire outside counsel on specific issues and needs, on a case-by-case basis. THE board should hire the local atty.
Billy Mayo was County atty and then Francisco. IF the Bd has local counsel why can't the BOE? City has Holscher as local atty. As for contracts, I will disagree with most here likely in that I believe conflict of interest prevents an elected official and/or their company from providing services. That's my take and my opinion. And with that being said, we find BOE and BOC with husband/wife members serving. And with the BOE we have family members in the school system. The reason I don't worry so much now about the above matters are new board members who seem to be interested in children, the schools, the community and education rather than enriching themselves.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 11:36 am
By: Jeff Williamson
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I have another personal problem as an individual and as a politician: I am incredibly honest.
Long before the NC General Assembly ratified School Choice, I have been a long time advocate of School Choice as a means to break-up t and the public at large for generations ... At least the Millenials going forward, of which I have certain proof. My attitude has changed since late December, 2023 on so many things business and personal, and the part where Stan Deatherage - the business person / the business person being mistreated is pretty much over. I am taking an inventory, not only constantly on myself, but others that wander aimlessly in my sphere.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 11:14 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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STan, from what I am aware, bid recommendations come from staff, in this case probably the superintendent, but are then voted on by the board. If the board acts as a rubberstamp, it is the staff who make the real decisions. The scheme that went down on the website contract was not only a politically motivated attack on you, but it was an attack on all Beaufort County taxpayers. Why should taxpayers get stiffed for higher cost services from an out of state company, when a local company can do the job better and cheaper? Was this intended as punishment to you for allowing free speech on your site that sometimes embarasses them? If so, then they are punishing Beaufort County taxpayers with their vendetta.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 10:34 am
By: Concerned Taxpayer
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I agree Steve, and bid these people out in a much more solid manner than the RINO /Democratic Socialist coalition did controlling the Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners.
Thanks for doing your job on the Beaufort County School Board. We need just a few more members like you to get the finally get job done there. Overall, throughout Beaufort County's many local governments, RINOs are pathetic governing leaders.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 10:06 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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Stan, I think the first order of business is to get a solid local primary attorney in place, and then to look at their experience and skill set to see what specialized legal services we would anticipate needing from time to time beyond that skill set. We would then make appropriate arrangements as needed to cover those, and cost factors would be a consideration, but so would theiir ability to handle those specialized areas. I would be open to the most cost effective arrangement to obtain competent backup for those areas where the primary attorney's skill set may be lacking.
The Craven County School Board, for instance, has a local primary attorney whose policy viewpoints are in sync with the community and the board majority. The main area they farm out to a specialized firm is personnel disputes, and that is sent to Tharrington Smith, and occaisionally other matters may also be given to them to handle. Our schools in Beaufort County seem to have fewer of those personnel disputes than larger Craven County.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 9:49 am
By: Steven P. Rader
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You are so right CT.
The great irony is that the Administration /School Board took the business from me, and gave it to a National Company for much more tax payer money; the same National Company that we took the business from during the tenure when Superintendent Don Phipps adroitly managed the Schools, simply because they were not getting the job done; the site's overall performance was poor. In the greatest of all ironies, the site, now managed by the overpaid National Company, eventually went downhill in fundamental performance, as determined by SNI months later when we monitored the platform, especially in the all important ADA puzzle piece of compliance, which is crucial for a government funded site. This one bold stroke alone fiercely proved to me that the Administration /School Board was, and still is poorly managed. As a tax paying citizen and a county commissioner representing all Beaufort County taxpayers, I would love to know just how much the school board spends on all informational platform technology in terms of their digital interface with the public at large, teachers, students and parents. The site we gave them could do it all. We are local, and were much less expensive, and have proved to be more capable. Because I am a proven Conservative, I have been banished from bidding any projects for Beaufort County Schools. In the past I was told that needed to neglect my services by the administration that they 'did not wish to anger' the incredibly corrupt, and now discredited "Black Lives Matter." This mindset is our current administration of the Beaufort County Schools.
Commented: Friday, October 31st, 2025 @ 9:40 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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Stan, I think some heavy politics are involved in the school board taking contracts away from prominent Beaufort County Republicans and giving them for higher bids to competitors out of county. As I recall, they took the website contract away from your company and gave it to an out of state company which wanted a lot more money. Then they took away the school grounds contract from a company owned by the finance chairman of the county GOP and gave it, for more money, to a company from Pitt County. I suspect there are more like that but those are just the ones I have heard of. It all looks like political game playing against local Republicans to me.
Commented: Thursday, October 30th, 2025 @ 9:34 pm
By: Concerned Taxpayer
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Steve: When the Beaufort County Schools unwisely sued the Beaufort County Commissioners for elaborate funding, and eventually lost the case in NC Superior Court, the commissioners hired competent outside counsel without having outside counsel on retainer, thereby saving money.
This was a big, precedent setting case. Shouldn't the Schools do the same, and hire competent local counsel that can do more than sit like a lump at government meetings, and offering little else of value. We never had that problem when we hired Billy Mayo as the county attorney back in my early days as a county commissioner. Steve: Make sure they hire competent local counsel.
Commented: Thursday, October 30th, 2025 @ 7:13 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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