Craven County Board of Education adds ‘plus-delta’ review to tonight’s meeting; public commenters press for clearer roll-call practice

The Craven County Board of Education on Tuesday voted to amend its agenda to add a short “plus-delta” review at the end of tonight’s meeting, and the board approved routine minutes and closed-session records amid public comments urging clearer roll-call voting and more courteous address of staff.

A board member moved to add a “plus-delta” (a brief discussion of what worked and what could be improved) for tonight only, and the motion passed by roll call with all seven board members recorded as voting in favor. The chair confirmed the change would apply to tonight’s meeting rather than automatically to every meeting.

The amendment followed public comments that criticized recent meetings for unclear vote results and inconsistent formality when addressing staff. During public input, Kelly Muse, a resident of Newbern, said misinformation from prior meetings “puts misinformation out there” and urged board members to call ahead to clarify technical terms. Muse also criticized the practice of board members addressing staff by first name in public sessions as “disrespectful.”

Several other speakers echoed calls for transparency. A resident who identified herself as Christie Frazier praised the newly seated members and expressed optimism, while Jonathan Davis and Paul Hill urged the board to use roll-call votes so constituents can see how representatives from particular districts voted. “I appreciate you asking for a roll call vote,” Davis said after the board’s roll-call on the agenda amendment, and urged that roll calls be used “on everything you guys vote on so everybody from their respective district knows exactly who voted for what.”

Board members and staff also reported out on work-session items at the start of the meeting. Board member Patty Mason summarized presentations from the prior Tuesday work session, saying the superintendent provided ADM (average daily membership) information for the 2025–26 budget build and that the board received an update on Craven Virtual Academy enrollment and course offerings. Mason said the board received a presentation on an arts-education diploma endorsement and that the board-approved list of arts-related extracurricular activities was recommended by stakeholders and “unanimously passed” in that earlier session. Mason also recapped reassignment-process data from school policy 4150, reporting there were 754 reassignment requests last year with 407 approvals.

In regular business, the board moved and approved several sets of minutes and records. The board voted unanimously to approve the December 2 oath-of-office minutes, the December 2 organizational meeting minutes and the December 19 meeting minutes. When the board approved the December 17 work-session minutes, one board member stated she would “abstain” (that member identified herself during the approval process), and the chair directed the correction be recorded; the amended December 17 vote was then approved by the board. The board also approved closed-session minutes from December 17 by a unanimous voice vote.

Board discussion later acknowledged technological limits to camera framing on livestreams; a board member said the district’s equipment cannot reliably “zoom out and scan” so the public cannot always see all seven board members when votes occur. That limitation, members said, is one reason to be more deliberate about taking roll-call votes on matters likely to generate confusion. One board member suggested inviting community clergy to give invocations in future meetings to encourage public involvement.

The meeting included a scheduled public-input comment period featuring six speakers. Several speakers urged civility and careful pronunciation of staff names; others praised staff presentations given at the prior work session, including praise for school-nutrition sourcing and community engagement efforts. Superintendent Dr. Miller and board members also recognized educator awards and school achievements during celebrations.

The meeting adjourned after the added plus-delta discussion and routine business completed. The board asked staff to consider the public’s requests about roll-call visibility and said members would take the technology limits into account when planning future meeting procedures.