To the Editor:

I want to thank each County Commissioner for conducting an exceptionally informative meeting with the Board of Education on Monday evening, October 16, 2011. What the Board of Commissioners did for the citizens of Carteret County on Monday is what the Board of Education should  be doing for the taxpayers of Carteret County, but unfortunately are not. In my view, the Board of Education should be as well versed in the details of the school  budget as the Superintendent, however,  it was apparent on Monday that some on the BOE do not understand their own budget, and more importantly how to effectively oversee the expenditure of that money. Some of the BOE seemed to struggle throughout the meeting to remember what version of the school  budget was provided to the Board of Commissioners and when. Near the end of the meeting the BOE Chairman claimed to have provided revised budget information to the Board of Commissioners that clearly had not been seen by any of the Commissioners. The Chairman of the BOE then launched into a rather unprofessional tirade on transparency (that currently is non-existent)  bringing the meeting to an end.

I want to be clear, I am not opposed to adequate funding of the Carteret County Schools. I do however want to know that our taxpayer money is being well spent and well managed by the Board of Education. I did not get the feeling Monday night that either the School Board or the Superintendent are fulfilling these expectations. Thankfully, the Board of Commissioners is there to do the job that the Board of Education should be doing for the taxpayers who elected them for that very purpose.