Public commenters say superintendent has pushed out Black leaders and cited racial discipline gaps

Several members of the public used the board's public-comment period to press the Wayne County Public Schools board to address personnel decisions and racial disparities in student discipline.

Richard Taylor, introduced by staff as speaking for the people of Goldsboro, told board members he was addressing Superintendent Mark Witchard and said the superintendent had “systematically dispersion of many of the qualified Black administrators and principals in this school system,” naming several administrators and alleging the creation of new positions filled by allies. Taylor also referenced a prior lawsuit he identified as “Biggs versus Edgecomb,” and said that during that administrator’s prior service as a Title IX coordinator a reported sexual-assault allegation had not been handled appropriately, an allegation he connected to a pattern of discriminatory behavior.

Darlene Jackson, who said she was terminated July 2 from her position as principal of Wayne Middle High Academy, told the board she considers the district’s removals of Black women from leadership roles to amount to “professional genocide” and described a pattern of replacing Black women with white men. Jackson said several Black women in leadership had been asked to resign or retire and that the superintendent’s cabinet now had no Black members.

Jocelyn Wallace, speaking as a parent and advocate, cited the North Carolina school report card and a local “Wayne County” equity report, saying Black students in the district receive short-term suspensions and in-school suspensions at far higher rates than white students. Wallace quoted data presented to the board, saying Black students in Wayne County receive short-term suspensions at about 140 per 1,000 students versus about 130 per 1,000 white students, and in-school suspension at roughly 380 per 1,000 Black students compared with about 107 per 1,000 white students. She described a case in which her daughter, who had repeatedly reported bullying, was sent to an alternative program after an assault rather than being protected.

Board members did not provide substantive responses to the detailed allegations during public comment. The record shows public comment was received and will be part of the board’s public record; no formal board action was taken during the comment period to investigate or resolve the allegations on the spot.

What happens next: speakers asked the board to examine disciplinary disparities and to address personnel practices they described as discriminatory; the board did not announce any immediate investigations on the record during the meeting. Members and staff may follow up in future meetings or via the superintendent’s office.