Oh, look. A contract extension.

 

I was examining the agenda for Monday night’s Moore County Board of Education meeting (3PM work session, 5pm closed session, 6 PM open session)  when I came across something rather curious.  The board will be voting on a contract extension for the superintendent — right at the tail end of the long 4th of July weekend while a lot of people are still traveling or not paying attention.

 

 

 

 

Why the rush to extend Dr. Bob’s contract?  As is, he’s good until June 30, 2022.  And you also have to ask:  Why do this when there are so many open issues and concerns bubbling to the surface out there?

 

 

  • Money Management.  Public schools account for HALF of the county budget.  Yet, Dr. Bob and his team go in front of the county commissioners each year crying about not having enough money to teach the little crumb-crunchers.  How much money is ENOUGH?  (And why does he keep adding all of these “doctors” with fancy new titles and six figure salaries to the administrative side of the organizational chart, IF there is not enough money to properly educate the kids?)

 

  • Construction.   The school system has already received negative statewide publicity for buying land and building a new school in an industrial area in close proximity to EPA-managed environmental hazards.   Dr. Bob and his team have also gone to the county commissioners begging for MORE money to cover “unexpected” construction costs.  THAT is on the architect.  He or she knows how much money you have to work with.  And he or she SHOULD have the expertise to draw plans for a facility that fits within those cost parameters.

 

  • Redistricting.   “Racial and economic diversity,” and other leftist touchy-feely terms have guided this process (instead of what SHOULD HAVE:  proximity to the children’s homes, convenience to the children’s families).  Opponents of the redistricting plan — concocted behind closed doors by Dr. Bob and his cronies — raised valid concerns about property values and having to ship their kids cross-county or cross-town in the name of “diversity.”   A house currently in the district for Pinehurst Elementary will be worth a lot less if it gets moved into the district for the new Aberdeen Elementary (being built in the EPA-managed industrial area on Highway 5).  Dr. Bob trotted some useful idiots out in front of the useful idiots at The Pilot to complain about the lack of “civility” by the redistricting opponents.  I could imagine it being hard to stay polite and civil when folks elected to represent you are ignoring YOU and your best interests.  The Pilot even managed to slimily insinuate that redistricting opponents might be a wee bit racist.

 

SO, to sum up, there is a lot of turmoil out there.  There are a lot of issues out there that need to be dealt with.  The public servants at the schools office and the members of the school board need to actually talk to (and listen to) the stakeholders in the county school system.

 

 

 

Bob Grimesey has not yet proved he deserves a contract extension.  He still has two years on his current one.  Grimesey could and should get to work instituting a team effort to clear these matters up.  He and his puppets on the school board need to at least act like they’re interested in what their stakeholders are saying and thinking.