Parents, teachers press Onslow County Board on staffing, safety and planning time

Parents and teachers used the public comment period at the Onslow County Board of Education meeting to raise staffing, safety and planning-time concerns.

Jennifer Barrick Banning, a parent of a Dixon Elementary second-grader, described repeated classroom disruptions over three years after teachers left midyear and said the school repeatedly used short-term splits across classrooms instead of hiring replacements. She said attempts to reach the principal have not been answered and urged the board to prioritize stability and safety for students, asking whether higher pay or use of district reserves could improve teacher retention. "Stability in our school needs to be a priority," Barrick Banning said.

Jesse Horstman said his child was sent home after spraining an ankle because the school required a physician’s note describing diagnosis, activity restrictions and contact details before the student could attend classes. Horstman questioned the district’s medical‑note policy and described inconsistency in personal‑item rules, saying staff sometimes use items students are told not to use.

Brandy Cochran, an Onslow County teacher, told the board she receives 3.75 hours per week of duty‑free planning time, short of the 5‑hour minimum described in policy code 31.20. She asked the board to clarify its responsibility to ensure the policy is met districtwide, to explore instruction‑schedule changes that would allow elementary principals to provide the five hours, and to define precisely what counts as duty‑free planning time. "Teachers need adequate planning time to develop lessons," Cochran said.

Christine Harris, a parent and educator, urged the board to press state lawmakers for more funding, saying the recent Leandro decision removed billions in promised school funding and citing an estimate that Onslow County would have received about $66 million. Harris asked how the board will advocate for a "sound basic education" at the state level.

Eric Rakowitz asked the board to end religious favoritism at public meetings, citing invocations that, he said, have exceeded time limits in the past. He also suggested the board consider using school buses and common bus stops to transport voters to polling places on election days to improve access.

The board did not respond during the public comment period; board members reserved any responses for the board member comment segment at the meeting's conclusion. The record shows concerns raised fall into three areas: (1) classroom staffing and teacher retention, (2) inconsistencies and clarity in district policies (medical‑note requirements and allowable personal items), and (3) teacher workload and duty‑free planning time. Several speakers asked the board to clarify policy implementation and to consider whether district reserves or advocacy at the state level should be used to address staffing and funding shortfalls.

Next steps: board members thanked speakers during the board comment period and discussed continuing community engagement; no formal action on staffing, policy changes or reserve spending was taken or recorded at this meeting.