Sweeping change on local boards isn’t coming, but we can still send a message

When Wayne County’s remaining registered voters head to the polls Tuesday, they will not have the opportunity to bring sweeping change to the dynamics of local boards.

Unlike last year, when the outcome of races for the Goldsboro City Council could have drastically altered the future of the city, the truth in 2020 is that when residents wake up Wednesday, the same majorities that existed on the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners will still hold the power to guide this community’s future.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t important statements that can be made by the electorate on Election Day.

And it will be interesting to see just what messages this community decides to send.

If it were up to us — and we are smart enough to know that in the current climate, many, if not all, of our readers have already picked a side — we would use our votes to support decency, accountability and a commitment to setting party differences aside to see this great county move forward.

For what it’s worth, here’s what we are considering:

DECENCY

When we weigh the significance of decency, we are talking about two races — the one for Register of Deeds and the one that will determine who takes the late John Bell’s District 3 seat on the Board of Commissioners.

We have long been outspoken about our reservations about electing Constance Coram or Bevan Foster to any post.

Both have engaged in what many, including this publication, perceive as race-baiting. Both have trashed the city and county and blamed “the good old boy” establishment — if you know anything about dog-whistling, they mean white Republicans — for what they see as a community that has long been on the decline.

Both play the victim and see anyone who doesn’t vote their way as an enemy.

And for that reason, both have been criticized by senior members of their own party.

Take what former Wayne County Democratic Party chairman Barbara Dantonio said a few weeks back:

“After careful thought I cannot support Constance Coram due to the blatant racism, the plagiarism and assumption that because she has a D by her name, I should support her. … The Democratic Party does not support racism. I cannot be a part of this charade. I also do not support Bevan Foster due to his racist comments. Please vote for Tina Arnder and Kenneth Coley, both honest and hard-working Democrats who will serve all Wayne County Citizens.”

The last line of her statement should resonate, because Foster has not been shy about his feelings for the Republican commissioners currently serving on the board. He has no intention of finding common ground with his political “enemies” — foes who, we’ll remind you again, will still, regardless of the outcome Tuesday, hold the majority.

Coley, on the other hand, has pledged to greet his fellow commissioners with an open mind. He’ll give them the benefit of the doubt — much like Bell did with the late Ray Mayo and current commissioner Wayne Aycock, men with differing political views who he still respected. And that respect can bear fruit for the citizens of District 3 inside the boardroom. Bell proved us that countless times during his tenure.

We have, during this election cycle, already outlined why Coram would be a disastrous pick. You can read those thoughts by clicking here.

ACCOUNTABILITY

This community seems to understand that a change is desperately needed on Royall Avenue — that there are several members of the Board of Education who either rubberstamped Wayne County Public Schools into an embarrassing and damaging budget crisis or were just too inept to recognize that the district’s financial ship was going down like the Titanic.

Either way, it is our contention that every member of the board who had a front row seat to the train wreck that remains an ongoing bloodletting should go.

Sadly, Len Henderson is running unopposed.

Board chairman Chris West and vice chairman Jennifer Strickland aren’t on the ballot tomorrow.

Joe Democko and Wade Leatham aren’t on the ballot Tuesday, either, but neither can be blamed for the budget.

And if people were being honest, neither can Ven Faulk, who finds himself fully entrenched in a battle for the board’s at-large seat he was appointed to less than two years ago.

But here’s where things get odd.

If voters wanted to send a message about WCPS’ financial debacle — if the groups supporting, say, Faulk’s opponent, Tommy Sanders, were really about sweeping change, they wouldn’t also be backing board member Patricia Burden, who is running to keep her seat, too.

In fact, one could argue that if anyone up for reelection should have to answer for the 100-plus beginning teacher jobs that will likely be cut at the end of the school year, it’s Burden, not Faulk, who was appointed to the BOE long after the train left the tracks.

But that’s not what is happening.

It’s just the opposite.

Burden supporters are actively campaigning for Sanders — many of them laying blame for the financial crisis on Faulk, while they push voters to check the box next to the name of a woman who has been on the board since 2014, long before the district’s fund balance took a nosedive.

How does that make any sense?

News flash: It doesn’t.

Is Sanders a change agent?

Absolutely.

Could he represent a vote against other members of the board — namely West and Strickland — who are absolutely culpable in the mess that is WCPS?

Yes.

But voting for Burden isn’t even close to a vote for change — or accountability.

It’s a vote to retain the only board member with any classroom and administrative experience.

It’s a vote for one of the only board members who backed teachers, principals and Central Office staff when the decision to reopen schools was being debated.

Those qualities should not be overlooked.

But change?

Nope.

Accountability?

Not even close.

So, while we would vote for accountability, many in the community, from what we’re hearing, aren’t.

It’s bizarre and, frankly, disingenuous to vote for Burden because she’s a “champion for educators and students” when she was among those who sat by while the district’s financial house came crashing down — a crash that will lead to more than 100 fewer teachers, hardly any classroom supplies and much larger class sizes by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

And it’s brazen and irresponsible to blame Faulk for it — when he literally had nothing to do with the collapse — simply because he’s a Republican.

But for the sake of discussion, let’s say Sanders and Burden win on Tuesday. Do voters really believe that West, Strickland, Wade Leatham and Joe Democko — all Republicans — are going to, all of a sudden, start voting with Burden and Henderson?

We highly doubt that’s going to happen. So, no. There is no real “change” happening on that board unless it’s voting Burden off it.

She needs to answer for her lack of oversight as the school district’s general fund balanced tanked — just as fellow board members West, Strickland and Henderson do. In other words, even though she will probably win, if voters want to send a message about the financial crisis, she shouldn’t.

And while Henderson has shown some backbone lately — speaking up against the majority on everything from the district’s COVID-19 policy to its financial dealings — he was silent when it mattered.

So that brings us to what the Faulk vs. Sanders race should really be about.

Faulk has his problems — most prominent among them, his cringe-worthy support and public defense of West and Strickland. And he will not, in our view, be successful as a board member if he carries water for the board’s controversial chairman and vice chairman.

If he is his own man, and makes decisions accordingly, he will be a valuable board member. Don’t forget, he is one of only two current members of the board who actually has children who attend Wayne County schools and his wife is a local educator. He has skin in the game, so to speak.

But that doesn’t mean that his opponent is not a quality candidate.

Sanders has been involved with schools in the southern end of the county for a long time. He is a fervent supporter of athletics and education of all types, but is focused on expanding opportunities for vocational education — a goal which Faulk has also championed.

Sanders’ strength is that he is his own person — with opinions he is not afraid to express.

He says he knows he does not have the experience with budgets and school policy, but that he knows who to ask for help.

Sanders will say what he thinks — and we hope his promise to remain transparent holds if he is elected.

But we also know he has an axe to grind with the current board chairman and perhaps the party leadership — so that might be his motivation for running as a Republican against a Republican (the board race is, on paper, nonpartisan).

He will have to set that all aside if he is going to serve responsibly and effectively. And we have a lot more faith in his ability to do so than we do in someone like, say, Foster.

Sanders will have a learning curve as well — at a time when the district is in crisis. And even if he votes against the “powers that be,” they still have the votes to control the district’s future.

He will speak up when necessary, which is a major plus, and if he is the catalyst that makes others think about different options and directions, great. But if he is just the cantankerous grain of sand that is there to irritate those in power — West in specific — we won’t get anywhere.

Change can be a good thing, when it’s real change. But when there are serious challenges ahead, and rest assured, there are, reactionary votes are not enough and party loyalty above real, hard analysis of what went wrong is disastrous.

But this particular race is not about accountability — and anyone pinning the financial crisis on Faulk doesn’t know the facts.

So, the decision is about your gut.

Who do you think will be what we need to get Wayne County Public Schools’ ship righted?Who will make sure it happens if the scrutiny of the board continues?

Whatever you decide, we will keep watching — closely — and fighting the district’s new “silence is golden” communication policy.

THE ABILITY TO PUT THE COMMUNITY BEFORE PARTY

There is only one candidate on the ballot tomorrow that we believe has the rare ability — think former Goldsboro Mayor Al King or the late Rick Pridgen and the late Ray Mayo — to set aside political party loyalties for what they feel is “right.”

That person is no fancy college-educated slickster. He is a country boy who grew up with the values and experience that go along with it.

He doesn’t pretend to be anything he isn’t. He is a man with a high school education who grew up in a family where a promise and a handshake were an unbreakable bond — and saying what you mean and meaning what you say were a matter of honor.

He understands hard work and hard times, and his faith is part of every decision, every interaction, every discussion.

He knows that agriculture is the community’s bread and butter and that decisions made in the county commission have serious repercussions on the farms and for agribusinesses in the area. And yet, he knows that while economic development and expanding the county’s industrial base are vital to Wayne County’s future, there are also hundreds of county businesses that deserve support, too.

He knows that preserving a community that is thriving and growing will keep the county’s second-largest employer — Seymour Johnson Air Force Base — right here.

And to do that, the county has to keep an eye on expenses, on investments that will grow its tax base and the quality of its schools.

He has said it is time to start thinking about giving the schools more money, as long as it is used responsibly and that there is some kind of accountability — and thinks county residents will support more taxes to upgrade schools if WCPS gets its financial house in order.

But more importantly, Wayne Aycock is his own man.

He is not afraid to consider another option and to talk to anyone on the other side of the aisle — or to say what he really thinks.

Aycock says he learned a lot from one of his fellow commissioners, his friend, John Bell, who passed away earlier this year.

They were on opposite sides — Bell was a Democrat, and they did not always agree. But they talked — a lot — and sometimes found common ground, Aycock said.

And that respect, integrity and willingness to share a conversation over a cup of coffee is what Aycock says has been his priority over the years.

He wasn’t going to run for another term. At 74, he had hoped to be able to enjoy his retirement with his wife.

But he said leaders from both sides of the political aisle told him the county needed him and asked him to run one more time. And he agreed.

“When you are approached by respected Democrats to run again, that’s big,” he said.

That isn’t to say we weren’t impressed by his opponent.

In fact, we believe Alicia Britt Pierce could grow into a force to be reckoned with, and could, in the future, be a part of some very necessary change in Wayne County.

But at this moment, our feeling is that there is too much at stake to turn over the commission’s at-large seat to a candidate without the experience necessary — and the relationships with those who will, on Wednesday, still hold the majority — to find a way to sell the tough decisions that need to be made to the community.

With that said, should Pierce earn the seat, we are confident she will serve the county with dignity, passion and class. And that’s not something we can say about some of the other candidates on local ballots.

So, there you have it — our two cents, for what they are worth.

Just remember that what happens Tuesday is only the beginning. There’s a chance for real progress on the horizon if we find the right men and women to step up to the plate and throw their names into the arena when we do this again next fall.

And whether or not your preferred candidate(s) win or lose, you can still ensure your voices are heard — from stepping up to the microphone during boards’ public comment periods to speaking up when things run afoul.

This community belongs to all of us. Let’s work, both tomorrow and well into the future, to demand it is the very best version of itself — for ourselves, our children and our children’s children.