Sounding the alarm

It is all about the kids.

You have said it. We have said it. And Wayne County Public Schools has said it.

Heck, it is even in their mission statement.

But saying it is one thing. Living it is another.

So, putting children first, really first, what does that look like?

Let’s talk about what it isn’t.

It isn’t about having dozens of teachers advertising on a crowdfunding site trying to get basics — like colored pencils and ink for their printers — for their classrooms or to get carpet squares so their kindergarteners don’t have to sit on the floor.

It isn’t spending so much money on consultants and training for Central Office leaders who should already be trained that your budget ends up in such shambles that you have to use COVID money to bail yourself out instead of using it to get ahead like other state school districts.

It isn’t dropping mega-dollars on the latest “fix-my-reading-scores-quick program” rather than developing a real plan to address catastrophic reading test scores.

And it isn’t going to the beach for a fancy board retreat to “plan” while teachers are trying to figure out how they are going to manage the workload and the extra hours covering for open positions — let alone find a substitute in case they have to miss a day of work.

It isn’t making bad hire after bad hire — and refusing to do something when confronted by the absolute evidence that leadership is the problem at a school, or in the Central Office.

And it certainly isn’t blowing $115,000 — with tens of thousands more still budgeted — on window dressing at your schools when there are children without a playground.

And, if you care about propriety and careful stewardship of public money, you don’t hire your son to do $24,000 of that “beautification” work.

Let’s talk about what putting kids first really means.

It is about parents and volunteers raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a playground at Meadow Lane Elementary School.

It is about showing up for an actual beautification project at Spring Creek Elementary School and having so many volunteers who just show up and ask, “What can I do to help?” that you really could redo the entire school.

It is about being the one School Board member brave enough to speak up when something just isn’t right — even though the self-important twit shadow-running the show threatens you not to speak — pointing to a board policy of a vow of silence because it is the one policy that suits him.

It is about being courageous enough to stand up to threats, intimidation, and gaslighting to get the best — administrators, Central Office professionals, and teachers — rather than perpetuating the same old nepotism and “whom you know” hiring that has led to disastrous results.

And it is also about caring so much about your students that when there is a need, a real need — one that you have repeatedly gone through the proper channels to get addressed, without success — that you blow the whistle for help to get the work done.

And you do it, at great personal risk, because you cannot stand the thought that a child might not have what she needs to thrive. You shouldn’t have to worry about whose sights you are in because you made him look bad.

That is putting kids first.

We really don’t know what else we can say about what is going on in Wayne County Public Schools.

But every time we think we have heard the worst, well, it gets worse.

And this time, it really touched us and made us angry — all at the same time.

Did you know Meadow Lane Elementary does not have a playground — and that the new Fremont school won’t either?

Did you know that there is a ready, willing, and able school PTA at Spring Creek Elementary that has been trying to scrape up enough money to buy air conditioning units for sweltering kindergarten classrooms and replace a broken slide at their school — while the plants that the school just spent hundreds of dollars on are already dead?

And we bet you also did not know that there is no librarian at the school, but that there was a new, $4,000 “reading patio” built with part of that beautification money.

The nook is dedicated to the school’s beloved principal, the late Charles Ivey.

And while the gesture was, indeed, a beautiful one, we bet he would have something to say about what is going on in WCPS.

Those who knew him would tell you Ivey’s first priority was the kids — always.

Instead, these days, it’s round and round, here we go again, same old spin.

The problem with the current leadership on the Board of Education is that the focus is not on the students or even the schools.

It is about power.

It is about a former board chairman who says one thing and does another, and who is much too cozy with a fancy Raleigh attorney who, despite outrage expressed at his bills by the community, has continued to earn millions and has done a pretty good job of convincing the board that he and only he could possibly guide its legal affairs.

Many of you think he calls too many of the shots.

You have said as much — to us and members of the board.

But yet, the board still makes decisions under the advisement of that Raleigh attorney who has no dog in this fight.

When he drives home, he isn’t going anywhere near Spring Creek Elementary or Northwest Elementary School.

He doesn’t stop to check in on the students at Goldsboro High School or Brogden Primary.

And that matters.

Because the bottom line is this:

These are our schools — and it is time to start rolling up our sleeves and getting them fixed.

That means there need to be some changes — and really, really hard conversations.

We cannot accept excuses and “Oops, did I do that?” anymore.

We cannot sit by and watch as the board violates its own policies with its left hand and then forces a principal out with its right for violating her contract.

We need a plan and a real one — not one cooked up over king crab legs and filet mignon on Ocracoke Island out of the view of the public that funds this district.

And we might even need an influx of money — whether it be by a sales tax or other means. But before that comes, before this community trusts this district with one more dollar, there has to be a change.

We need new blood on the board — and for the new blood that we all helped put there to speak up, louder and braver.

And if they can’t, or won’t, they need to step aside.

“Thank you for your service, now move on.”

And that includes the county schools’ newest hire, Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard.

There comes a time when someone serves too long, when he or she becomes so full of self-importance, that it is not about the hard decisions anymore.

It is about rubbing elbows with bigshots and getting and keeping power.

We are there.

And we know we are there because there was a visit to Northwest Elementary School and lots of calls, but there is still no ADA-compliant ramp for that wheelchair-bound student.

And the changing table? It’s sitting in a box in the hallway.

But there has been an email sent to staff about “not talking to the media” — and threats about “unprofessionalism” and “insubordination” that “will be dealt with in time.”

Want to know what is unprofessional in the case of the Northwest teachers who spoke to New Old North?

According to WCPS, unprofessional is putting the kids first — above the fragile ego of board member Chris West and perhaps a few others in the Central Office.

And that is not right. Not even close.

Not if the kids — or the teachers who care about them — really do come first.

We will be watching to see how this is handled.

And we will also be ready to call out some “unprofessionalism” you are reporting to us via email, phone calls, and Facebook Messenger every single day.

You see, there are more than a few of us over here who know exactly how schools work in general and how WCPS works in specific. And we really aren’t afraid to call it out.

But, believe it or not, there is some good news.

If you have been on our site this week, you saw that a flurry of people showed up to volunteer at Spring Creek Elementary.

There are others, many others, at schools all across this county.

They are community members, business owners, parents, and grandparents — people who would gladly do anything to make Wayne County schools better not just for their children, but for all children.

Think about that.

There is an army ready to mobilize.

Perhaps the next Central Office hire should be someone who knows how to capitalize on that resource rather than someone who just happens to be the son, wife, cousin, or daughter-in-law of a board member — or a member of WCPS’ fraternity/sorority of choice.

You know, just an idea.