Comments | Eastern NC Now

Buzz, the "superintendent problem" is endemic in the public schools. I remember in my first year in law school almost fifty years ago when State Senator Dick Deeb (R-Pinellas) commented to a political meeting I attended that "too many school board members think the superintendent is their boss instead of their employee". That seems to sum up too much of public education, where the bureaucrats rule and the elected policy makers sit quiet.

Senator Deeb had a solution. He introduced a bill in the Florida Senate to make the office of public school superintendent of Pinellas County elected by the voters of the county, not appointed by the school board. The bill passed the Senate but when it got to the House, a number of legislators realized they had the superintendent problem in their county, too, and a bunch of counties got added to the bill. That bogged it down and it never made it out of the House.

In some counties with solid conservative school board majorities, they have no problem in standing up to a superintendent whose proposals they disagree with. The Craven County School Board, this year voted down their superintendent's proposed budget, for example.

I remember back when I was in high school and an undergraduate at Duke and we had a split school board in Mecklenburg County where I then lived. The three newest members had been elected by the conservative Concerned Parents Association and there were four moderate to liberal holdovers from the previous cycle. The superintendent kept ignoring the three conservatives. Then one meeting, the superintendent made a report that was very adverse to an issue dear to the heart of the most moderate of the holdover members. Conservative Jane Scott saw her chance when she saw the reaction on his face, so she immediately moved to fire the superintendent, the upset moderate seconded, and it passed 4 to 3.

As long as the career path of school superintendents is to move from one county to another, to larger counties with better paying positions, I think the superintendent problem will remain. The solution is to elect strong school board members who remember they are the boss, not the superintendent, and keep a firm hand on the tiller themselves.

When the time comes again in Beaufort County, another solution to the problem is to look for a superintendent looking for his last posting at a place he wishes to retire. That way, we should get a superintendent more interested in truly serving our county instead of mainly advancing his career.

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 1:30 pm By: Steven P. Rader

How does this Cheesehead still have a job?

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 11:34 am By: Richard Marvin Butkus

This is ALL about Cheeseman building his resume for that next job. School consolidation is trendy with the education establishment. He does not give a tinkers damn about the kids in Beaufort County, which he will be leaving for greener (better paying) pastures. All be wants is something for his resume. And we have too many pathetic school board members who kowtow to the Big Cheese instead of working for the parents and taxpayers.

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 11:11 am By: Rino Hunter

Great post on the inadequacy of governance on the Beaufort County School Board in what should be the proper administration of our public schools.

In this new age of an evolving School Choice plan for all North Carolina's tax payers, the Beaufort County Schools are on a poor course to provide leadership, fiscal and otherwise.

Now, here is my word of advice to whatever nominal "Republicans" out of nine board members, who are rumored to be Republicans. If, as a school board member, you are a Republican, I would strenuously advise that you act like one. Politics can be a rough sporting play here in Beaufort County, NC, and it would behoove all Republicans, real and otherwise, to learn how to act as if their hearts and brains are wired well together, and are significantly in the right place going henceforward.

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 10:52 am By: Stan Deatherage

This is just a circling of the wagons by the education elite, sensing their comrade Cheeseman is in trouble and wanting to give him some protection. What they are really giving him an award for is pushing the leftwing mantra of school consolidation. Calling Cheeseman, who is a total control freak, someone who "ensures voices are heard" is just laughable. His machinations on the Snowden closure move and total failure to follow state law on public hearings on the Washington consolidation make this statement of this group of Cheeseman's buddies a total lie.

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 8:17 am By: Conservative Voter

I attended the so-called 'hearing' at Southside High School last night. Congratulations Beaufort County School Board. They've joined the ranks of those, exposed on YouTube, fascist school boards that go on extended bickering personal rants, while turning off the microphones of people they do not want to hear. I can't remember if it was the board chairman or the board vice-chairman that tried to justify having the hearing outside Auroara by saying they already did one in Aurora. He forgot to mention that in the meeting in Aurora, the cowardly board was not facing the community. The Superintendent was handling that for them in Aurora. It really is shameful.

Commented: Friday, May 30th, 2025 @ 6:27 am By: Van Zant

When Tillis was Speaker of the NC House, he listed on his economic interest statement that he was "owner" of a small bank in Mecklenburg County that specialized in lending money to the wind and solar electric projects. In actuality the term "owner" was a stretch, but he was a large shareholder of it. Tillis is probably corruptly feathering his own nest with trying to protect the "green" boondoggle.

Commented: Thursday, May 29th, 2025 @ 8:37 pm By: Rino Hunter

CV: A lot of people I speak with are concerned about the hearing process. The two Washington schools to be closed have had no hearings. I've heard they may have them after the fact. That's wrong too. With Snowden the hearing process is sort of being done but in a very strange manner - shoddily done at the last minute. It's leaving a very bad taste and rightly so.

SD: You're right. Predictably, the local ruling coalition is getting set to lay all the blame for these fiascos in the making to be the fault of their chosen boogieman. People need to be paying close attention.

Commented: Thursday, May 29th, 2025 @ 3:06 pm By: Van Zant

And, Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson is the problem here; the really bad guy in these foreseeable calamities in the making.

This reminds of Central Committee governing by directive of blame, rather than consideration of what is real within our community of Beaufort County.

Commented: Thursday, May 29th, 2025 @ 12:14 pm By: Stan Deatherage

After seeing the video of the BoE meeting on May 27th, I was very impressed by the presentations and passion from the speakers from Aurora. It would be heartless to pull the rug out from under those people now.

Commented: Thursday, May 29th, 2025 @ 11:07 am By: Van Zant

I am still waiting for the DPI review of the projected enrollment to evaluate the reasonableness of this projects and size as required prior to issuing the grant for the new K-3 elementary school in Washington, NC as required by NC General Statute.

NCGS 115C-546.11(d)
(d) The Department of Public Instruction shall review projected enrollment to evaluate the reasonableness of a project's size and scope.

Commented: Thursday, May 29th, 2025 @ 10:14 am By: Ray Leary