2024 Elections: David Perry runs for NHCS Board of Education

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A software engineer, Republican David Perry is campaigning for one of three seats open in the 2024 race for the New Hanover County Schools Board of Education.

READ MORE: What to expect when voting in NC during the 2024 election season

This is Perry’s first time running for the board of education, though he has launched campaigns for the North Carolina House of Representatives’ District 19 in 2018 and 2020.

“I really only started thinking about public service in 2016 when my grandson was born here in Wilmington,” Perry said. “When you start getting a little older you just want to do what you can to improve things for the generations to come. The future for Lucas (and for all our children and grandchildren) can be bright, but that future is dependent upon our young people receiving a top-notch education and becoming the well-informed critical thinkers of tomorrow.  I am seeking this position because I recognize that our schools are broken and that we need to transform them into centers of academic excellence.”

The candidate faces off against Republicans Natosha Tew and Nikki Bascome, as well as Democratic candidates Tim Merrick, Judy Justice and Jerry Jones.

Absentee ballots are already being mailed and early voting opens mid-October. Locations include:

Absentee ballots are already being mailed and early voting opens mid-October. Locations include:

• Carolina Beach Town Hall, 1121 N. Lake Boulevard
• CFCC Downtown Campus, Health Sciences Building, 415 N. Second St.
• Future NHC Board of Elections, 226 Government Dr. 
• Northeast Regional Library, David Poynter Room, 1241 Military Cutoff Rd.
• NHC Senior Resource Center, Multipurpose Room, 2222 S. College Rd.

Voters will be able to cast ballots at any of the above places and even register to vote beforehand on Oct. 17-18, Oct. 21-25, Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27, noon – 5 p.m., and Nov. 2, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

Election Day is Nov. 5, with polls opening at 6:30 a.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m. All voters will have to go to their precinct to cast a ballot, as shown on their voter registry.

An ID must be presented to cast a ballot in the election. Acceptable forms of ID include NC drivers license or state ID, U.S. passport, college or student university ID, some state employee IDs and out-of-state drivers license or ID, as long as voter registration was done within 90 days of the election. IDs not in good standing can be expired by one year or less.

Port City Daily has compiled candidate questionnaires so voters can read up on contenders’ stances before heading to the polls this election season. All answers have been edited only for clarity; the candidates’ opinions and statements are not a reflection of Port City Daily. 

The paywall is dropped on profiles to help voters make informed decisions ahead of the election.

Port City Daily: What makes you right for the job? 

David Perry: Coupled with my master’s degree in education and experience in special education, I believe my career as a software engineer makes me a good fit for the job. For the last 29 years I have been working with companies of all sizes to transform business processes through the innovative use of technology. I know how to work with a team and I am always asking myself “What if?”

PCD: Name an issue you struggle to find a solution for that affects your district and how have/would you go about determining a path forward? If you have a personal anecdote to share that has helped guide you in deciding how to move forward, please, share. 

DP: I have been struggling to find a solution as to what books and other materials should be present in our school libraries. On one hand, I am a firm supporter of the First Amendment and firm opponent of censorship. On the other hand, I am a firm supporter of the rights of parents to shield their children from books and materials they believe are not age-appropriate. In a public library environment, all books and materials should be made freely available, and if a parent has a problem with what their children are reading then they have the opportunity to go with them and provide supervision. However, parents don’t have this opportunity at the school library. What should we do?

Some have suggested that a digital check-out system could be set up at the school library, and parents could go online and mark the books and other materials they don’t want their child to check out. Although burdensome to the parent, this system could work when it comes to checking out books. However, it will do nothing to stop a student from simply perusing that book at the school library. 

Initially, I could not find a solution and therefore suggested that the selections at our school libraries need to be overwhelmingly supported as age-appropriate by the community at-large. However, this policy would obviously remove some books and materials that other parents think are completely age-appropriate for their children. This is less than an ideal solution that I was not completely at ease with.

However, sometime solutions appear from the most unlikely of sources. Recently Richard Kern (a candidate for District Judge) and I were talking about the old Blockbuster Video stores. In the days before streaming, people would go and rent VHS and DVD movies to view at home. The cases for all the available movies were on the walls of the store. You could read the movie’s description, and if you decided to rent it you brought the case up to the clerk. After scanning your Blockbuster Video card, the clerk would retrieve the actual VHS tape or DVD, place it in the case you brought up, print you a receipt, and you were on your way.  

And it occurred to Richard and I that perhaps we could set the school library up in the same manner. Instead of the books themselves being on shelves, perhaps just the “covers” could be. A student who wants to have a closer look could then retrieve the actual book from the librarian, who has them stored behind their counter. Furthermore, like movies, parental warnings and categories could be set up, and this would make it a lot easier for parents who wish to restrict what their children are reading. Those restrictions would be tied to the student’s school ID and would prevent them from viewing or checking out those books and materials. Obviously, this is just an idea, but one that I think warrants further investigation.

PCD: The district’s recent climate survey and town hall feedback shows many teachers are requesting a separation of politics from the classroom. Can you talk about three issues you’re campaigning on and what evidence you’ve gathered to indicate this need for change? 

DP: I believe most of the negative feedback received came from teachers and staff that were and are not happy with some of the policies the board has made over the last few months and believe those decisions were politically motivated. I have been supportive of some of these measures, but openly critical of others. 

I am not God, and I have no idea regarding the intentions of the current school board. I will say that the members of the current school board have not always been 100% transparent about the reasons why they vote a certain way. This lack of transparency is likely to encourage charges that the board is politically motivated.  People want to know that school board members are voting in good faith and not because they have been instructed to vote a certain way by the leaders of their political party, or have given in to the undue influence of others. The way I see it, inserting politics into the school board happens anytime something or someone stops you from voting your conscience. Voters can be assured that I will always vote my conscience.

I do believe that a good number of school administrator (and some teachers) have injected politics into our actual classrooms by injecting DEI, social emotional learning (SEL), gender ideology, and other leftist and corrosive ideologies into our curriculum. This must be eradicated. That doesn’t mean we don’t teach our students about political viewpoints. However, it does mean that ALL viewpoints are taught, the strengths and weaknesses of each viewpoint is discussed, and the student develops the critical thinking skills to decide for themselves what they believe.

PCD: What are your priorities when it comes to the school board’s oversight of the budget and how would you improve upon the budget-making process?

DP: The primary mandate of our school district is simply to provide an outstanding education that prepares our students to become the well-informed citizens and leaders of tomorrow. Sadly, we have diverted from our primary mandate and are spending millions of dollars every year trying to be part-time social workers, social justice warriors, psychotherapists, and co-parents for our students. Because of this diversion, way too many students are graduating with sub-par reading and math skills, and not even the semblance of a competent education, nevermind an outstanding one. If we are going to fix this, we need to cut all the spending on “nice to haves,” “pet projects,” and “outright waste,” and use that money on what’s important. If it’s not for hiring and retaining more good teachers, for constructing and repairing our school buildings, or for security, then that expenditure needs to be a candidate for the “chopping block.” 

However, sometimes these unnecessary expenditures are hidden deep in the budget  I would immediately call for an audit of our budget, and do this annually during the first quarter of the school year. That way there will be plenty of time to discuss and decide on our next budget, and not wait until there is a budgetary crisis.  

Finally, my Democrat opponents just want to keep asking for more money without suggesting any ideas for budgetary cuts. Many of the citizens in this county are already stretched financially, with the increased cost of living here. They can’t afford a tax hike. I have no problems going to the county commissioners and asking for more funding for necessary expenditures. But we owe it to the taxpayers to cut out the waste before we do that.

PCD: NHCS’ attrition rate has increased in recent years; the most recent data shows an increase by 3 percentage points to 12%, which is higher than the state average. What do you think has caused attrition to rise and what is your plan for retaining staff within NHCS?   

DP: I attribute this rise in attrition to two main factors: 1) The top-heavy dictatorial management style of former Superintendent Foust; 2) The large increase in the cost of housing in New Hanover County.

Teachers are the school district’s most valuable asset. They are the professionals who are on the front lines. They did not choose the teaching profession because they want to get rich, but they rightfully desire respect and an opportunity to be heard. They don’t want to be micromanaged the way they were by the central office under Dr. Foust. They don’t want to have to fear reprisals just for providing constructive criticism to school and district policies, like they were under Dr. Foust. They have been saying this for years (as evidenced by the online petition of a couple years ago when over 1,000 of them called for Dr. Foust’s termination), but the school board did not listen until just this year.

Over the last few years, it has gotten really expensive to live in New Hanover County. Besides the rampant inflation that has plagued all of America, the cost of housing in our community has gone up dramatically. The price of buying a home or even renting an apartment have gone up substantially. Even those homeowners who bought their home in years past have seen their property taxes and home insurance costs go up, up, and up! Teachers may not desire to get rich, but they still have families to provide for. We need to pay them a higher salary that is commensurate with how important they are. 

In addition, I propose that we set up a performance-based bonus system that is based on student progress, instead of on the subjective evaluation of school administrators. I plan to work with New Hanover [Community] Endowment committee to fund and implement this vital program that will help us retain our best teachers.

PCD: The district held a town hall meeting with employees in August where staff were asked to give their honest feedback on superintendent qualities, student behavior and district climate. WHQR recently reported an employee was referred to HR for their comments made at the town hall and this employee sees the referral as proof of district retaliation — something addressed in the climate survey this year as to why people don’t speak out. Do you think the board and NHCS is doing enough to support employees’ honest feedback? What would you do to mend this relationship? 

DP: We need to create a culture where our teachers and staff meet regularly with school administrators and their best ideas bubble up to the entire school and the entire district. An occasional town hall to air grievances is not going to suffice. 

I do think things have started to get better under the direction of the interim superintendent, but it’s going to take time to build that trust from teachers and staff who have been micromanaged and disrespected for years. We need to create an environment where frank discussions can occur, but where personal attacks (and the animosity that stems from them) is not tolerated.

I would also investigate the possibility of video recording all the aforementioned regular meetings, and setting up a system where teachers and staff can call for a hearing (in front of a closed session of the school board) if they feel they are facing reprisals for simply engaging in frank discussion.

PCD: As the district searches for a superintendent, what will you evaluate candidates on to ensure the best hire for the district?  Many are concerned about politics also playing into this hire; how will you maintain a bi-partisan approach in finding the best candidate? 

DP: Political pressure (regardless of its source) will not factor into my decision on who to hire as permanent superintendent. However, the candidate’s political viewpoints regarding what a proper education looks like can’t be ignored. The elected school board sets the strategic plan for the district, and sets policies to make that plan a reality. 

This is an important job, but only a part-time one. We are dependent on the superintendent (who does 95% of the work) to implement the policies of the board and make the strategic a plan a reality. Therefore, we need to find a superintendent that is ideologically aligned with the vision of the board. Otherwise, like the current school board found out with Dr. Foust, the relationship between the board and the superintendent will become adversarial.

Besides ideological alignment, I would also prefer to hire a superintendent with prior classroom experience, and one who presently lives in our community. Such a hire will inevitably be able to better relate to our teachers and care more about what happens in our schools.

PCD: NHCS has a list of much-needed capital projects, especially for the aging New Hanover High School. Capital funding from county commissioners is tight, which has implications on student safety, overcrowding and academic success. As a board member, how would you prioritize capital funding among types of projects and among schools with limited funds? Do you support a bond to pay for some of these bigger capital needs?

DP: Our school buildings need to be in good repair and of equal quality to each other.  They are not! For too long, our school board has ignored the problem and attempted to mask the inequities of the situation by busing kids to schools far from their homes. I believe in neighborhood schools, and so we need to fix these problems ASAP.

As I mentioned before, the school board needs to cut the “nice to haves” and downright wasteful spending out of our school budget before we go asking the board of commissioners for more money. But once we do, I have no problems working with the county commissioners to make these capital projects a reality. Hopefully, they can find some cuts they can make in their budget that wouldn’t make a bond a necessity. However, even if does require a bond and a small tax hike, I would have no problem lobbying for these needed capital projects.

PCD: Educators have reported more behavioral issues since the Covid-19 pandemic and cellphone use as concerning issues cited by middle and high school teachers. Can you outline steps you would take to address student discipline needs in the district and any ideas or plans you think are worth exploring to reduce student discipline complaints.

DP: Disruptive student behavior impedes the learning of all of our students and makes the tough job of our teachers even harder. Our students need to have a clear understanding of what is expected from them and what the consequences will be if they act inappropriately. Sadly, this is not happening.

Some school principals are tough but fair, but others are far more lenient in their approach to student discipline.  Other principals are more concerned with maintaining their DEI scorecard rather than administrating the proper level of discipline. 

The school board needs to desperately enact a uniform student conduct policy and a set of just disciplinary actions for conduct violations that will deter future bad behavior. My Democrat opponents are suggesting we implement restorative justice into our disciplinary policies. This would be a huge mistake and would just allow students to make excuses for their bad conduct.

We also need to get rid of out-of-school suspensions, in favor of in-school-suspensions that have teeth. We shouldn’t be “rewarding” the misbehaving student for acting inappropriately by giving them what they want — which is to skip school.  These in-school-suspensions can’t be the joke they are now. Instead of sitting in the principal’s office and doing nothing, these students need to be assigned enough additional work so they will never want to repeat their bad behavior. In addition, in-school suspensions will keep even our misbehaving students learning.

Finally, cellphones are a big distraction and impede learning. I realize that parents want to communicate with their children, but I would simply ban them from the classroom, and only allow their use during free periods and meal breaks.   

Read more about where David Perry stands on issues from Port City Daily’s primary Q&A here. 

 Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.