Orange County School Board's reorganization faced criticism at their Monday meeting

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the Board waived policy 2200. The Board motioned to waive the policy, but the motion did not pass. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error.

Blue sheets of paper with the phrases “We support Brenda Stephens” and “We demand transparency” littered the Gravelly Hill Middle School auditorium. Some people held Clorox wipe containers in the air along with signs that read “Clean up this mess.” 

For 15 minutes at the beginning of Monday night’s Orange County Board of Education meeting, community members approached the podium to read statements disapproving the recent ouster of former Board Chair Brenda Stephens, who was replaced by Will Atherton.

“To Mr. Will Atherton and those who voted to install him as chair: the community is beyond disappointed by your presumptuous power grab,” Heather Redding, Orange County resident and activist, said at the meeting. 

The early reorganization at the May 6 Board meeting came as a surprise to many Orange County residents. While the Board was prepared for Sarah Smylie to step down from her position as vice chair for personal reasons, Stephens was expected to complete the three meetings that remained in her term as chair. 

Stephens announced at the May 6 meeting that members Stephen Halkiotis and Atherton suggested they hold the vote for a new chair that night. The early reorganization was approved in a 4-3 vote along gender lines. 

Atherton and Tony McKnight, who was elected vice chair, both won with 4-3 votes.

Board member Matthew Roberts motioned to policy 2200, which would have allowed Atherton and McKnight to hold their positions until the next reorganization in 2020. The motion did not pass.

The vote wasn’t a surprise, Atherton said in an interview on Saturday, May 18. 

“If you look at the agenda it clearly says “vice chair or reorganization” so there weren’t any surprises,” Atherton said. “Every board member knew that that was going to happen and the public had the agenda.”

At the May 20 meeting, Hate-Free Schools Coalition organizer Latarndra Strong said the close vote should have caused concern among members voting for reorganization.

“If you notice that you have a vote that’s split along gender lines, you might want to stop,” Strong said. “You might want to ask some questions. You might want to talk to the board members who have not joined with you. It’s an indication that something is not OK.”

Others expressed concern about the future of work done by the board in recent months. The Board approved a racial equity plan in February with help from the county’s Equity Task Force. The Board also approved the creation of a chief equity officer position. 

Atherton made a statement on behalf of the board at Monday’s meeting reassuring their commitment to racial equity. 

Orange County Schools parent Nedra Johnson said in a Sunday, May 19 interview she isn’t letting the reorganization discourage her.

“We left (the May 6 meeting) motivated to continue our work,” Johnson said.