NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The New Hanover County Board of Education approved its delegate list to the North Carolina School Boards Association at their Tuesday meeting, though not without resistance.
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Board member Josie Barnhart put forth the motion to name herself, Melissa Mason, Pat Bradford and Pete Wildeboer as the delegates, all Republicans, raising a red flag for the Democratic board members.
“I don’t want to play politics, but what I just heard was very political,” Judy Justice said.
She was interrupted by Barnhart, who accused Justice of going against decorum for surmising a board members’ motive. Chair Mason upheld the objection.
Barnhart said no one was being left out of the conference, though there were only a limited number of slots for delegates. The representatives get a say in shaping the NCBSA’s legislative agenda, which informs what the nonprofit organization advocates for at the state level.
“Five of us attended last year, all from the same political party; no Democrats attended, so you’re welcome to come,” Barnhart said.
She added her suggestions were based on expressed interest.
Justice — who said she was not invited — questioned if either Democrat Tim Merrick or Republican David Perry, were asked if they were interested. Perry said he was, but he requested more information on the delegate commitments and didn’t want to commit without a full understanding.
Merrick said he was not asked — thus, Justice’s point about partisan politics was well received by him.
“The optics don’t look good,” Merrick said. “I would have liked to have been asked. I think that having a mix of different ideologies, if we want to use that word, would be healthy, both for the conference and for our board.”
Justice then put forth a motion to nominate the two newest board members — Perry and Merrick — because they have the most to gain, and fill the remaining two spots based on interest and experience. Though, she noted, she was not going to volunteer to go due to the three-day time commitment.
Justice’s motion failed 5-2, with only her and Merrick voting in favor. Perry said he didn’t vote for it because he was unsure of his availability.
Barnhart’s original motion to approve her slate was then approved in a reverse vote, with Merrick and Justice dissenting.
After the meeting, Barnhart took to social media to defend her choices, calling them the “four best representatives.”
“Last year ONLY Republicans chose to go to the convention,” Barnhart wrote. “These were the same delegates as last year. I pointed out that last year while only four delegates were allowed a 5th member attended, which all members can do. Many bipartisan and some unanimous votes occurred at our September meeting. Despite that Democrats attempted to cloud partisan motives and did not support their colleagues to be delegates, preferring no representation, rather than supporting Republicans. Bipartisanship works when it is respected both ways.”
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