Parents and residents raise school bus safety, gifted staffing, records access and tennis-court conditions during public comment

Four members of the public used the March 20 public-comment period to press the Onslow County Board of Education on student safety, staffing and facilities.

Rachel Pitts, a parent, described two unprovoked assaults on her kindergartner while riding the school bus and said the school and transportation office did not provide written incident or injury reports. Pitts said school staff told her the student who assaulted her child remained on the bus after both incidents and that an assistant principal told her, in Pitts’ recounting, “the bus is the least supervised place in school.” Pitts said she was told a child would need three to five write-ups before being removed from a bus, a threshold she called unacceptable given the assaults she described.

Janice Alon, identified herself as a parent whose son attended Onslow County Schools, thanked school staff who supported gifted and academically talented (AIG) students but said district AIG specialists are stretched thin and some schools share specialists. She praised named staff members for their work supporting high-school opportunities that contributed to her son’s college applications.

Nancy Cook, who identified herself as a retired federal prosecutor and frequent public-records requester, said she sought district records about staff-paid education benefits. Cook said the district’s initial response stated there were no records “responsive to the request as written” and questioned whether the public had adequate transparency about who received taxpayer-funded education assistance and how those payments were recorded. Cook cited the public-records law in her remarks, referencing “general statute 132-1.”

Laurie Mayer, a Jacksonville High School parent, urged the board to repair tennis courts now owned by the school system after a 2018 transfer from the city. Mayer said the courts had not been resurfaced in at least 18 years, that a net had been down for more than two years and that cracks and lifting asphalt create safety risks; she said matches must be played at an offsite municipal facility and urged school officials to pursue grants she identified through USTA and USDA to fund repairs.

Board policy and speakers’ remarks: during the public-comment introduction the board reiterated that speakers have three minutes and that “Onslow County Board of Education policy code 2310, public participation at board meetings” requires respectful remarks. The board also read language citing a state statute on removal for disruptions, quoting the transcript’s wording about a misdemeanor for refusing to leave when directed.

No board action occurred during the public-comment period; board members later thanked speakers for raising concerns and noted they would follow up through appropriate staff channels.