NEW HANOVER COUNTY — After one board member’s change of stance, the New Hanover County Board of Education will continue to use Vogel Law Firm as its legal counsel, at least until June 30, 2024.
READ MORE: ‘Surprise parties’: NHCSB member splits from Republican majority on attorney contract extension
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Melissa Mason motioned to extend Vogel’s contract, despite stating Vogel needed more time to prove itself last month. The boutique firm run by Jonathon Vogel was hired in May on a six-month term, a compromise for board members with reservations over Vogel’s qualifications.
This week’s vote fell along ideological lines, Mason siding with her right-wing comrades Chair Pete Wildeboer, Vice-Chair Pat Bradford and Josie Barnhart in favor of the extension.
Democrats Hugh McManus and Stephanie Walker, voted against, along with moderate Republican Stephanie Kraybill. Kraybill prepared a litany of reasons to hold off on the extension that revolved around Vogel’s missteps while performing his duties and his connections to the state and local GOP.
During Tuesday’s meeting, she called out Vogel for his proposal to hire Woody White Law Firm as a subcontractor. White is a right-wing leader that has held various positions, including in the North Carolina Senate, New Hanover County commissioners, UNCW board of trustees, and most recently, the UNC System board of governors.
He was also recently appointed to the New Hanover Community Endowment board in a split vote by county commissioners.
Kraybill pointed out during the meeting the lawyer’s contract forbids him from assigning any duties to another interest without the board’s written approval. She also raised the concern that Vogel could not handle the district’s workload.
Wildeboer hinted it would be unfair to hold Vogel to that standard.
“We never went to Tharrington Smith [the board’s former firm] and told Tharrington Smith that they could hire somebody or they couldn’t hire somebody,” Wildeboer said at the meeting.
On a phone call with Port City Daily on Thursday, Kraybill explained the board was surprised — and the board member has been vocal against surprises — when Vogel brought up the subcontract during a closed session last week.
“Number one, it was just unprofessional that he would even consider hiring an attorney that had endorsed him … that just seemed to me just unethical,” Kraybill told PCD Thursday.
White sent an email to the board on April 30, days before its vote, encouraging the approval of Vogel. It cited the need for a fresh perspective on the district’s legal cases and to “recalibrate the liberal orthodoxies that have made their way into our local system.”
Kraybill said Vogel dropped the proposal to hire White Law Firm and that, as far as she knew, the issue was not moving forward. She noted the matter would need to come before the board in open session if continued.
White was not the only Republican to endorse Vogel. As reported by WHQR, the New Hanover County GOP sent out a call to action ahead of Tuesday’s discussion dubbing Vogel the “only conservative law firm in the state.” It lauded Vogel’s guidance in the implementation of the Parents Bill of Rights and Fairness in Womens’ Sports Act, along with the recent “Stamped” book appeal hearing.
“I don’t appreciate the emails that we get politically for this law firm,” board member Walker said at the meeting. “I feel like the email we got originally from Mr. White crossed the line for me big time. And I don’t appreciate getting sent things to me that that pressure is on for conservative members to vote.”
Port City Daily asked Mason, the only GOP-endorsed member to vote against the contract extension last month, if she felt pressured by the party to change her position. She did not respond by press.
At the meeting, Mason said she reviewed Vogel’s receipts compared to Tharrington Smith’s, and Vogel was a cheaper option. This was the same argument Bradford made during September’s meeting discussion, though both board members were comparing apples to oranges.
According to Vogel’s July 2023 invoice, the board was charged $32,000 for legal expenses. By comparison, Mason said Tharrington Smith’s bill from August 2022 was over $45,000. However, that bill was for July and August’s services.
At the September meeting, NHCS Chief Financial Officer Ashley Sutton even clarified some of Tharrington Smith’s invoices covered two months. She stated the former firm’s average bill was $28,000.
Mason did outline one stipulation for Vogel’s extension.
“I think that the concern is that the board as a whole needs all of the information,” Mason said. “And so I would like to request that if we do this, that with every board member inquiry that there’s like a summary from the law firm sent to all members of the board so that we can all be on the same page and we can all have the same information.”
Her request speaks to one of Kraybill’s grievances: that Vogel was sending some information only to certain members of the board. She told PCD on Thursday any board member is allowed to ask Vogel for advice, but as a courtesy, should notify the board chair. Then, when an answer is received, which Kraybill said Vogel copies the board chair on, the courtesy is to provide that information to the entire board.
Kraybill, who makes up one-third of the policy committee, noted Vogel often sends information to the other two members, Barnhart and Bradford. For example, she said she was surprised at the inclusion of section Z, governing classroom discussions of race, gender and political views, in a proposed new policy outlining standards for professional conduct.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Christopher Barnes said the section, taken verbatim from an unpassed General Assembly bill, came from Vogel. Kraybill also said the lawyer worked with Barnhart in drafting it. Though at the September meeting, Vogel clarified he did not recommend the policy but was happy to have it.
Kraybill also noted several mistakes Vogel has made. She said he violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act when he failed to redact identifiable information on NHCS students in multiple public records requests that she saw.
She also cited an incident at a leadership retreat where Vogel stated in his speech that principals should not be involved in custody arrangements and should let whomever is present pick up a child from school. Doing so would be a violation of NHCS policy 4005, Kraybill said, which states school personnel be aware of physical custody rights over the child and “take reasonable steps to keep from releasing the child to such person and shall notify law enforcement and the other parent promptly.”
Port City Daily made multiple attempts to reach Vogel offering a response to his critiques. When reached Thursday, he said it was not a good time to speak and maybe someone would get back to PCD at a later date.
“I am just worried he’s gonna be giving us bad advice,” Kraybill said to PCD.
PCD reached out to several other board members, none of whom responded by press.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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