Opinion: Closing S.W. Snowden Is Wrong | Eastern North Carolina Now

OPINION

Observations Related to Questions Posed By Ray Leary Regarding the Closure of the Snowden School

By:  Dave Hudson

I would like to thank Mr. Leary for his observations regarding the potential closure of the S.W. Snowden school.  These are thought provoking and should be considered in detail as he mentioned in his article.  I have several observations and opinions of my own regarding many of Mr. Leary’s observations.  I have included his original observations for reference along with my own thoughts and opinions to each in bold.

Is it because the superintendent is responsible for assigning teachers to individual schools with limited board oversight?  Yes, this is a problem plaguing all of Beaufort County schools.  Cheeseman acts as an autocrat and has nothing but a weak School Board serving as the rubber stamp to his every whim.

Is it caused by a decrease in funding by the local school board for maintenance and capital funding? Maybe. This is discretionary by the board utilizing local funds provided by the county commissioners. Withholding funds or allotment of funds is a school board decision based upon priorities determined by the school board and the available funding.  Most likely, Yes!  I have been to Snowden several times a year over the past 3-4 years and unfortunately, it is the least maintained school in the county.  The only reason I can come up with for this issue is either a total lack of care on the part of Cheeseman and the School Board for Snowden or a continued sign of their overall incompetence in governing and administering.

Is it because the state DPI, by state statute, will not provide compensation for a 12-month principal to schools with less than 100 students?  The NC Statute can be found in Session Law 2011-145, House Bill 200., Section 7.14.(a).  Yes, this is Cheeseman’s primary reason he gave at the School Board meeting last month for why the school must be closed.  This can be easily solved by the county providing the additional funding required to retain a 12-month principal at Snowden.  It is also less expensive than Cheeseman’s preference for consolidating schools south of the Pamlico and the cost for busing those students to Chocowinity.  However, Hood Richardson and Stan Deatherage have both spoken in support of keeping Snowden open.  This includes paying the supplemental money, approximately $30,000, out of county funds to keep a 12-month principal on staff at the school.

Is it because the Beaufort County schools’ leadership and the NC state DPI are focusing on and supporting large, consolidated schools as opposed to smaller community schools? This is debatable, but it appears to be the case. One of the criteria for receiving lottery funds for public schools is consolidation of one or more schools in a school district.  Absolutely!  The NC State DPI and Cheeseman are in favor of consolidating schools.  This brings many issues to the communities that lose their local school.  It is a way to limit parental/community involvement in the education of our children and turning our schools into “indoctrination centers” for the socialist agenda that has plagued our nation in higher education for over half a century and is now entering our primary schools.  If Cheeseman and the School Board had any competence, ability to plan or even think critically, it would have been apparent that a better option for the lottery funds would have been a consolidated school somewhere between Chocowinity and Aurora serving those students south of the Pamlico.  Instead, they decided to use the money on Cheeseman’s pet project and resume builder, the new mega-school in Washington which is costing the Beaufort County taxpayer $10.5 million dollars already.  Remember there was no public hearing about that consolidation and was a back door deal pushed on our county without the consent of the governed or more frighteningly, the participation of all county elected officials responsible for such matters.

Is it because the Beaufort County school superintendent assigns teachers to the Aurora school to encourage them to quit or move to another county? Does he assign teachers to Aurora that requires them to travel one hour or more to get to their job? There is no evidence of this, but it should be considered by the school board. As noted above, the superintendent is responsible for teacher assignments. The history of teacher turnover at Snowden should be reviewed.  Yes!  Cheeseman has created a hostile work environment within the Beaufort County school system.  He relies on intimidation, fear and retaliation as opposed to true leadership to keep people in line.  He has a reputation for holding grudges against those who disagree with him.  This has gone as far as not speaking with elected officials who refuse to cater to his demands.  We have lost way too many good teachers and principals in Beaufort County over the past six years of Cheeseman’s time as superintendent.  His policies and management style have been their reason for leaving in many conversations I have had.  Others are only still teaching because they can’t afford to not work or need the benefits.  This is shameful, if not illegal, on his part and must be corrected.  Our students, faculty and community are suffering because of his ego!  Enough is enough.

Is it because the Beaufort County commissioners will not provide sufficient salary supplements to qualified teachers to encourage them to teach in eastern Beaufort County? Again, this should be considered by the school board and county commissioners.  No. Beaufort County commissioners have provided the school system with enormous amounts of money.  It is the mismanagement of those funds by the Superintendent and the School Board that would make this question true.  You should only look at the $500,000 spent wastefully on four acres of land that could have been acquired for free for proof of their incompetence.

Is it because the leadership of the Beaufort County school board does not value the citizens of Aurora and the Richland Township as the majority in this district are minorities? As divisive as this issue is, it must be considered.  This is a biproduct of the flawed system of electing school board members in Beaufort County.  They are elected to represent districts as opposed to being elected county wide.  Therefore, board members cater to the needs of their respective districts with little concern for anything that takes place outside of their district as it doesn’t impact their chance for reelection.  Cheeseman weaponizes this against board members who don’t support his agenda in an attempt to manipulate them for fear of losing support in their respective districts.

Is it because the district school board representative in District 2 supports closing this school? No, he does not.  Charles Hickman has been one of only two voices on the School Board advocating for Snowden.  He is the only board member who visits the school routinely. Furthermore, he is actively involved in assisting the school above and beyond his duties as a board member.

Is it because the superintendent wants to close a low performing school to increase the average performance scores of the other schools in the school district? This is another debatable issue the school board should consider.  If this is the case, it is another example of the superintendent not having any common sense.  Unfortunately, Snowden scored a 47 out of 100, which is a “D” ranking on its school report card from the NC DPI last year.  That is the second lowest ranking school in the county.  Chocowinity Primary scored an 89 out of 100, which is an “A” ranking while Chocowinity Middle scored a 60 out of 100 which is a “C” ranking.  Consolidating students from the second lowest performing school in the county to the school with the highest score in the county will not improve the average performance of the school that is not being closed.  Basic math would tell you that the overall score for Chocowinity Primary will drop.  The average score of Chocowinity Middle will most likely drop as well.  It will take more than a single year to improve those scores and provide the underperforming students from all three schools with the resources they need to bring up those school report cards.  Furthermore, this scenario assumes that there won’t be a decrease in high performing students as parents move their children to private or charter schools instead of remaining in Chocowinity after consolidation.  This issue is debatable, and time will only tell for sure what the outcome may be.  However, Cheeseman lives in a fantasy world if he thinks the scores of these three schools would improve in the span of a year or two by consolidating alone.  Remember, we had zero (0) schools considered underperforming before Cheeseman came to BCS.  We have six schools currently underperforming, meaning they receive a “D” ranking.  Don’t believe his false narrative. Look at the direct results of his failed policies and performance.

Is the consolidation of the S. W. Snowden school with Chocowinity schools to enhance the resume of the superintendent like the consolidation of Eastern Elementary and John Cotton Tayloe as some have suggested? Will the school board support this?  Absolutely! Cheeseman believes in the leftist agenda of school consolidation and sees this as another bullet point on his resume before he leaves the county for another, higher paying job in a larger county.  He has little, if any, regard for the Beaufort County residents and students he is responsible for serving.  It appears his only concern is what is best for himself.  We only have to look at the mess surrounding his mega-school pet project at Eastern to realize this.  Unfortunately for everyone in Beaufort County, he has a weak school board that rubber stamps his agenda for some unknown reason.  They don’t realize he works for them, not the other way around.

Is it because two of the school board members are spouses of two Beaufort County commissioners and the superintendent has the support of these four in whatever he wants? This seems to be the case over the last four years.  Yes!  This group of four all vote in lockstep with the superintendent.  It makes one wonder what Cheeseman holds over their heads or what they may be gaining personally for this absolute loyalty.

The possibility of getting assistance from the local legislative representatives should be explored. A local bill could provide financial or other administrative relief for Snowden.  It is doubtful that the local legislative representative will intervene in this issue.  Remember one was responsible for helping secure the deal for the mega-school which the county doesn’t need in a process that violated policy and state statute.  That same representative is the one who endorses and supports the commissioners and school board members who vote lockstep with the superintendent.  Frankie Waters has already suggested potentially building another new school south of the river.  It is doubtful any more lottery money would be available for this endeavor which would mean the county taxpayer would bear the cost of this potential project.  Based on this year's revaluation and the impact that has on the future tax rate, all citizens should be concerned about this train of thought.

All of these potential causes/reasons must be debated before this community school is closed. The current proposal by the Beaufort County school superintendent and some members of the board are to close Snowden and bus the students to Chocowinity elementary and middle schools. This will require a 1 – 1 ½ hour bus ride each way for elementary students. This may even require elementary students to transfer to other buses to complete the journey to the town of Chocowinity from Southside High School.  Busing is NOT the solution.  This is detrimental to students and parents alike.  It will limit the opportunity for students to participate in after-school activities.  It will require extremely long days for young children due to the added commute time.  It will also require more of our hard-earned county taxpayer dollars to pay for this transportation annually than it would cost to keep the school open.

There is a public hearing related to this school closing on April 16, 2025, at the S. W. Snowden school at 6:00 pm. Please come out and support the community as they fight to keep their school open!  Remember there was a public meeting held in Aurora on September 5, 2024, to discuss the potential closing of the S. W. Snowden school. Principal Dr. Patricia Horton-Albritton and school board member Charles Hickman were there to hear and address the concerns of the attendees. No other school board members attended. The superintendent did not attend. That should tell us everything we need to know.