NEW HANOVER COUNTY — One newly minted board chair is already taking the heat after appointing members of the opposite party to lead several committees.
READ MORE: NHCS’ expanded finance committee commits to transparency in budget process
New Hanover County Board of Education Chair Melissa Mason, a Republican, was accused of “playing footsie with radical Democrats for personal political power” by the head of her own party last week. New Hanover County GOP Chair Nevin Carr wrote it in a party newsletter on Jan. 14.
He also added:
“After being elected as the chair by the only two Democrats and one other Republican this past month, [Mason] has now decided to put a left wing crazy person, Judy Justice, in charge of the curriculum committee, and radical leftist newcomer Tim Merrick in charge of the Title IX committee, which is the committee the Democrats have used to project their weirdness on our kids, like having guys playing in girls’ sports.”
Carr goes on to write that the public should give its political leaders some grace as they navigate their roles, but noted Mason’s actions were so “atrocious” as to be exempt from this consideration.
In a statement shared with Port City Daily, Mason said the working draft of the committee assignments — first shared after the Jan. 7 board meeting — has caused unnecessary alarm and that many of the board’s decisions go through revisions before finalization.
She added that NHCS and state guidelines “require all board members to remain impartial and unbiased.”
“I am fully committed to upholding these principles and will never let any individual or party exert undue influence or manipulate my decisions,” Mason said, but did not answer specific questions regarding her appointments.
Now, Merrick and Justice are defending their chair and the appointments she’s made so far. They both denied there being any political favors; Carr suggested Mason secured the two Democrats’ votes for chair by offering them lead positions on committees.
“I met with all the different people who said they wanted to be chair, and I listened to what they had to say, and I really felt that Melissa was going to be the one who’s most open to doing what she’s doing, which is really being fair and even-handed and doing it for the best of the schools,” Merrick said.
Justice echoed Merrick’s description.
“She’s honest, she’s extremely intelligent, I know if she doesn’t know something, she’s willing to listen and she will learn,” Justice said. “She may not learn what you like, but the point is, she will try. It’s not a political agenda with her.”
In her two-year stint on the board, Mason has demonstrated a willingness to stray from the party line. Her vote has sometimes parted with her Republican cohort, like when she initially chose to oppose Vogel Law Firm’s contract extension. Vogel was considered a conservative-leaning firm and favored by the board’s Republican members, but Mason wanted more information before extending their contract. She would eventually vote to extend.
Mason’s process, according to Justice, was in line with how other chairs have conducted committee appointments in past years. Each board member submitted their requests, along with why they think they would be a good fit. Merrick and Justice said they received the committee list after the Jan. 7 meeting, but there’s been a few adjustments since, as expected.
Justice, who was originally assigned to the curriculum committee, said Mason asked to switch the new soil and water committee a few days after the list came out.
“She was having a conflict with another committee she was on that I’ve never been on, and so I said, I’ll take that,” Justice said.
Justice clarified the switch happened before Carr’s email and said she didn’t think any changes were made since.
The board has 20 committees, only some of which are standing committees that meet regularly, such as the policy committee or legislative committee. Some of the committees are advisory, with one board member leading the meeting of NHCS staff; some committees, such as the policy committee, have three members with voting privilege. However, each committee decision must be voted on by the whole board.
Merrick shared a list of the committee appointments with Port City Daily that he said he received on Jan. 8 (he was absent from the Jan. 7 meeting) and was told it was subject to change. The list shows 12 of the lead or sole appointments went to Republicans and nine went to Democrats.
However, not all committees are valued equally; Justice and Merrick pointed out the most influential positions — on the policy committee, finance committee — went to Republicans.
The finance committee was recently expanded to increase collaboration and communication on the NHCS budget process; it is made up of board members, NHCS staff, county commissioners, New Hanover County staff and other business leaders in the community. It is chaired by Pat Bradford, who founded the committee, and Merrick occupies the other board seat.
The policy committee meets monthly and is charged with creating and amending the district’s policy handbook. The Jan. 8 list shows David Perry was named head of the committee, but Perry’s Jan. 20 Facebook post stated Mason had demoted him to member, with former Republican board chair Pete Wildeboer becoming the head instead.
Perry, who did not respond to PCD’s interview request, wrote he was unaware the list could change when he announced his leadership role on Facebook days earlier. He then also attempted to quell the Republican Party rumors that he “sold his vote” for board chair for a promised policy committee chair.
“Such accusations are unfounded and ridiculous! It is well documented that I have been a supporter of Ms. Mason since she ran for the school board in 2022,” Perry wrote.
He said he desired to be chair of the policy committee and Mason told him he would be excellent in that role, yet didn’t elaborate on the reasoning behind the switch-up.
“At this point I am tired of all the ‘castle intrigue’ and the ‘Game of Thrones’ drama,” Perry wrote. “Moving forward I just look to serve our schools and our students to the best of my ability, regardless of what committees I am assigned to.”
PCD reached out to the other Republican board members asking if they agreed with the GOP chair’s condemnation of Mason’s actions.
Board member Pat Bradford expressed some discontent with Mason’s process, noting it took the chair a month to put together the assignments. She was pleased to remain chair of the finance committee, though according to a document she shared with PCD. Bradford asked to remain on the legislative committee and serve on to the bond committee and the Student Voice committee if an assignment should open up. She said she would not turn down being named to the Turnaround Task Force or Legion Stadium Committee.
Additionally, Bradford asked to be removed from the curriculum committee and the policy committee.
“You have named a freshman board member as that chair,” Bradford wrote in a Dec. 4 email to Mason. “David told me you had promised him chair of policy. In my personal opinion, it would be too steep of a learning curve for any incoming freshman to be the chair unless there was no experienced policy member option.”
Vice chair Josie Barnhart asked if Mason needed assistance picking the committee members.
“The chair said she did not,” Barnhart said. “I believe no matter what committee you serve on that we need to do it to the best of our ability, which is what I plan to do.”
Barnhart shared she is personally not a fan of issuing “statements of distaste” like Carr’s but she respected everyone’s freedom of expression.
“It’s our job as elected officials to do our job the best we can for the school district, even if it comes with political scrutiny and communicate why we chose the decision we did,” Barnhart said.
PCD asked Wildeboer for comment on his committee assignments and the GOP’s criticism of Mason.
“I would refer you to Mrs. Mason, the current chair, who makes those decisions,” Wildeboer wrote in a text to PCD Monday.
Almost all board members expressed in some way the desire to focus on the district’s students. Barnhart wrote in her response to PCD that she looks forward to “an article where you make it about what is doing what is best for kids” — instead of political infighting.
However, the committee controversy will continue. Bradford said she has requested a discussion of the committee appointments at the board’s Feb. 4 meeting.
“I look forward to this open and transparent board discussion so we may get back to the business of our children’s education and safety,” Bradford said.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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