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Policy committee adds requirement that board members meet Level‑2 volunteer screening
Summary
The New Hanover County Schools policy committee voted to add language to Policy 21‑20 requiring board members to align with Level‑2 volunteer screening; members discussed fingerprinting, the district’s Guardian tracking system, and an $85,000 estimate to fingerprint outstanding employees.
The New Hanover County Schools policy committee voted to add language to Policy 21‑20 saying board members "will align to Level 2 volunteer requirements," moving the proposed change to the full board for final approval.
The committee debate centered on whether board members should be held to the same screening standard as volunteers who work directly with students. Chair introduced sample language drawn from another county and said the intent is to ensure student safety and accountability. "We can walk into a building, and that means open access to kids," the Chair said, arguing board access requires consistent safeguards.
Administrators and staff explained current practice and tools. A staff member said the district has always performed background checks and uses a Guardian system that flags new offenses, but fingerprinting is an additional level of checking. "Fingerprinting is an additional level of checking," the staff member said. Committee members noted the district fingerprints only a subset of employees and asked for cost estimates: one board member cited a preliminary estimate of about "$85,000" to fingerprint outstanding employees.
Supporters said aligning board members to Level‑2 volunteer requirements would create parity with volunteers and be a deterrent to inappropriate behavior; one member said it would help reassure the community. Opponents urged caution about requiring current members to comply immediately and recommended setting a clear implementation timeline. The Chair and others agreed to bring a refined proposal to next month’s policy committee meeting for further review before placing it on a full‑board agenda.
The committee recorded the motion to add the Level‑2 requirement and seconded it; the Chair announced that the motion passed. The committee also separately approved placing Policy 7720 (employee political activities) on the next policy meeting agenda (vote 2–1).
What happens next: staff will refine the draft language, provide implementation details and cost estimates, and the policy committee will revisit the item before forwarding a final proposal to the full board.
