Proctor Kidwell for School Board | Eastern NC Now

News Release:

    Publisher's Note: This post is one that was published some time ago, but is more germane now as move closer to the November general election.

    Proctor Kidwell has announced his intention to file next week to run for School Board District 5 in the November election. There is no primary in the school board races. The seat is currently held by Mac Hodges and has been for 28 years. Kidwell said "it is time for a change." In a brief interview he indicated that he believes Mr. Hodges is a fine man, but that he has been on the board long enough. Hodges is now chairman.

    Hodges has been closely associated with a number of problems in the school system. He was sued by a group of teachers for violating the law in the role he played in having them reassigned from Eastern Elementary. That suit was settled via a cash payment to the teachers. There were reports that Hodges' motivation was retaliation for the teachers' opposing the imposition of a reading program that Hodges' wife was pushing in her job with the Department of Public Instruction. After the law suit was settled the principal, who was also sued, resigned and went to work for Hodges' wife.

    Hodges was also central to the law suit brought by the School Board against the County Commissioners for additional funding while the board was sitting on over a million dollars that it did not disclose to the court, commissioners or the public until it was discovered after the trial.

Proctor Kidwell making a salient point to Beaufort County citizens in the Beaufort County Superior Court Room, Washington, NC, in March, 2012: Above.    photo by Stan Deatherage
    Kidwell said: "what I am very concerned about is the recent study that showed that the School Board grossly overbuilt the schools in the bond program and that they did not have sound data for deciding how to spend the money. Some say they wasted more than 20 million dollars. We know for a fact that they went $3.6 million over budget. We just can't afford that kind of fiscal irresponsibility. That money could now be used to help our classroom teachers. As a businessman I believe I can help bring better accountability to the school board's decisions."

In making his announcement he issued the following press release:

    Proctor Kidwell has announced that he will file as a candidate for District 5 on the Beaufort County School Board. District 5 covers the western part of the county and includes Tranter's Creek Precinct. Kidwell lives on Cherry Run Road in Beaufort County with his wife, Lisa. This is Kidwell's first run for public office.

    The Kidwell's have three sons, all of whom attended Beaufort County Schools. They have a grandchild who is 15 months old.

    Kidwell owns H&R Block franchises in Edgecombe, Martin and Hertford counties, and has worked for H&R Block since 1970. He attended Beaufort County Community College and East Carolina University, where he received a degree in Computer Science with minors in Business and Accounting.

    When asked why he was running for the School Board he said: "I know the value of a good education. I am an employer in the community and I hire graduates of local schools. I believe in this so strongly that, through my business, I support scholarships for students. But having a young grandchild, and hoping for more, I have become more intimately concerned about the future of education in this county and state.

    I believe we have some excellent teachers and educators in our county and they deserve our support. I also believe there are many good things about the Beaufort County School System, but the challenges our children will face in the future demand that we do a much better job than we have been doing.

    I'm not sure that means we need to spend more money as much as it does that we need to spend what we have more wisely. We have all seen reports of wasted money spent on adding more classrooms where they were not needed. That problem needs to be corrected and the best way to do that is to develop a sound long range facility plan that includes a preventative maintenance program to keep what we have in good shape and reduce energy costs. Sound planning is essential, and that is the Board of Education's responsibility.

    I strongly favor an emphasis on the basics. We need to focus on reading, writing and math in the early grades particularly. I also believe we need to strengthen our current programs for our best and brightest students to insure they are prepared to further their education. One way we can do that is expand the dual enrollment programs with Beaufort Community College. But the area I see as a business man and employer that needs to be improved on is our trade and vocational programs. We need a closer relationship with the business community and I believe I can bring something to the board in that regard.

    I also am involved in the Beaufort County Committee on Constitutional Studies and I have a passion about teaching the Founding Principles of this great nation to every student. We've got to insure that every student learns to be a good citizen and that means knowing what the constitution is all about.

    While I realize a local school board member cannot do much directly about the state educational system, I am interested in seeing that system improved. It looks to me like a great deal of the money we've added to education in recent years has not gone directly to the classroom and that needs to be changed. The teacher is the most important part of the system. In order to keep them, we need to make sure they are paid what they are worth and we need to be sure our teachers have what they need to get the job done in the classroom.

    I ask for your support and vote if you live in District 3 or know of someone who does. I would appreciate it."


Visit Mr. Kidwell's official website for more information @ kidwelleducation.com