York County speakers fault board transparency over Magruder name and superintendent search

York County School Board members heard extended public comment on Oct. 27 from residents and educators who said the board mishandled a recent review of Magruder Elementary’s name and treated the superintendent search survey as a public-relations exercise.

Pam Puccio, a District 4 resident, told the board she feared national politics would influence the division’s hiring and curricular decisions and said the board had "no problem imposing its bigotry on York County schools," adding later, "Don't be afraid to teach the truth. Don't ban things." Sam Ray of District 3 accused the chair of telling a private gathering that the name survey was conducted "for the optics," and said that comment, along with a misleading cost estimate used in the survey, had "damaged faith in the board's integrity and transparency." Mary Lassiter, also from Bruton District, questioned the $25,000 signage cost shown in the survey and urged the board not to erase the history of the Magruder village and its community.

The public comments followed the board’s formal reading of public‑comment rules under school board policy KDBDDH and a separate public hearing on the superintendent search survey. Several speakers asked the board to explain why some members had not publicly disclosed reasons for voting to retain the existing school name after receiving historical materials about the namesake.

Board members did not take additional public action on the Magruder name during the meeting. The public hearing on the superintendent search survey was opened and closed during the session; no final appointment or candidate selection occurred that evening.

The comments reflected a broader request from residents that the board provide clearer documentation of process and costs associated with name changes and that it signal how it will address community concerns when historical research surfaces contested legacies.