Board rejects proposal to change committee appointments; original agenda approved

The Lenoir County Board of Education on March 19 rejected a trustee proposal to change how the board appoints committee members and approved its regular meeting agenda after the amendment failed 4–3.

Board member Mr. Brick moved to add an action item asking the board to revise policy code 2210 so that committee assignments and chairs would reflect “the will of the board as a whole” rather than being appointed solely by the board chair. In presenting the change, Brick said committees are “committees of the board, not of any individual officer,” and argued a collaborative process would let each elected member “contribute meaningfully to the work and decisions of this board.”

The board polled members on the proposed amendment. Recorded responses in the roll call portion included Mr. Anderson, Mr. Hill and Mr. Wood voting “no,” while Miss Davis, Mr. Wiggins and Mr. Brick voted “yes,” resulting in the motion failing on a 4–3 split. The board then returned to the originally posted agenda and approved it.

Later in the meeting the board approved minutes from the prior meeting following a motion and second. Other procedural items approved during this session included field trip requests, a list of surplus property, and the personnel report after closed session.

The naming request to dedicate the South High School baseball complex to retired coach Troy Ean (submitted through the school and approved at the facilities committee level) and the recommendation of Brain Specialty Company as the preferred furniture vendor for the new EB Frank Middle School were presented as items that will return for formal board action at the March 30 meeting.

The meeting adjourned after the board completed routine business.