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Southampton County supervisors call for resignation of school board chair and superintendent
Summary
The Southampton County Board of Supervisors on May 14 adopted a resolution calling for the immediate resignation of the Southampton County School Board chair and the school superintendent, citing what the board described as incompetence and failure to cooperate; the resolution passed with one abstention.
The Southampton County Board of Supervisors on May 14 approved a resolution calling for the immediate resignation of the chair of the Southampton County School Board and the school superintendent, requiring a written response by May 26, the board said.
A supervisor read the resolution aloud at the meeting, stating the board’s position that “the Southampton County School Board and its superintendent of schools have demonstrated incompetence and dereliction of duty” and have repeatedly refused to cooperate with county requests for records and reforms. The motion to adopt the resolution was seconded and the board adopted it on voice vote with one member abstaining.
The resolution followed a closed-session discussion earlier in the meeting in which the board cited state law authorizing consultation with legal counsel on an investigation of the school division and on a potential solar project agreement with BAP Power LLC. Separately at the meeting the board voted to authorize payment of an appropriation tied to a public-records matter so staff could obtain documents, which the board said was necessary to continue its review.
Board members who supported the resolution framed it as a governance and transparency issue and as a response to repeated failures to provide information the board had requested. One member said the resignation request was intended to prompt cooperation and a timely explanation; another member abstained, saying they were not ready to vote at that time.
The board did not receive a public response from the school board or the superintendent at the meeting. The resolution sets a May 26 deadline for a response to the county administrator.
What happens next: the resolution does not itself remove officials; it is a formal expression of the supervisors’ position and asks for voluntary resignation and a prompt reply. The board also directed staff to obtain public records relevant to its inquiry and to continue the review of the matters raised in closed session.
