Excerpts from the 4-25-23 school board meeting | Eastern North Carolina Now

Public Comments – April 25, 2023 School Board Meeting

There were four citizens providing public comments. The most notable was Steve Rader shedding light on the discussion which occurred during the budget discussion the prior week. The newly elected board members were chastised for contacting Representative Kidwell for assistance with having the Hillsdale College curriculum added to the list for consideration by the school board for the new social studies curriculum. Steve Rader apprised the board he had worked with a local civic organization to facilitate the discussion with Rep Kidwell to amend a local airport bill to include the Hillsdale curriculum.

Minutes – April 25, 2025 School Board Meeting – Approval of Minutes

Approval of the minutes of a previous meeting is usually a simple matter requiring no more time than 30 seconds. However, two board members asked for changes. Both were to correct the votes they made in an earlier meeting. The minutes were not approved and after correction they will be presented for approval during the next meeting on May 2, 2023.

Dr. Matthew Cheeseman – April 25, 2023

After a lengthy presentation reviewing the mid-year progress of all the Beaufort County schools, Dr. Cheeseman cautioned those in attendance to not read too much into the report. He emphasized the information is a snapshot in time and a number of factors influence what the end of year results may show. He also reminded every one of the fifteen-point spread between the grading scores, A, B, C, D, and F. He said that schools at the mid-point of a D score may not be able to attain a C score in one year and those schools that are close enough to get to a C score may not be able to sustain it next year.