Three residents at a Craven County Schools meeting urged fellow community members to complete a district survey designed to inform the selection of the district’s next superintendent and praised the board’s decision to engage an outside agency to assist with the search.

Speakers said the survey asks for input on the qualifications and characteristics the community wants in a superintendent. “Today, I got to give my opinion about different questions that were asked and my feelings about hiring a new superintendent and the kinds of characteristics and things that that superintendent would most have that would be most helpful for Craven County Schools,” Speaker 1, a public commenter, said.

“I believe it's an advantage for a district like Craven County to offer to their citizens like myself an opportunity to give their input when it comes to selecting their next superintendent,” Speaker 2, a public commenter, said. “We may not have a vote, so to speak, to get that superintendent elected, but to know that they care about our opinion to the point that they will take our feedback into consideration when that time comes is [a] marvelous thing to me.”

Speaker 3, a public commenter, described the board’s use of a consultant: “I I I don't think it was lost on the group here today that, you know, the extra time and effort to bring in an outside agency that really specializes in finding the right superintendent for communities, that the school board here, did the right thing in in pulling those things in. And everybody is very appreciative of this opportunity.”

Speakers also directly encouraged residents to participate. “Be on the lookout because Craven County is offering a survey for the members of our community to give survey for the members of our community to give your input and to express to them what you believe a superintendent may need that we will be hiring soon. So please, don't lack or hesitate to give your feedback, your parents, your grandparents, you are stakeholders here, and your opinion is very important. So look for that survey, and please give them your opinion and your desires, the qualities that you believe our next superintendent shall possess,” Speaker 2 said.

The remarks in the transcript were statements by members of the public; no motion, vote, or formal board action appears in the available excerpts. The speakers did not specify the survey’s timeline, how the school board will weigh responses, or the name of the outside agency; those details were not specified in the provided transcript.