School board drills those interested in empty seat

Six applicants for the vacant Western District school board seat were in the spotlight at the Burke County Board of Education's meeting Monday night.
The need for a seventh, tie-breaking member couldn't have been more obvious after the meeting got under way. The board repeatedly failed, on 3-3 votes, to approve the meeting's agenda.
The board's tentative agenda — still on the schools' Web site Monday night — said the board would interview the applicants who want to fill David Barnard's vacant seat until November's elections.
But the printed agenda awaiting more than 250 people who packed the Olive Hill Room at the Staff Development Center said, "Interview candidates and selection for vacant board seat."
When the meeting got under way and Board Chair Tracy Norman asked for a motion to approve the agenda, board member Sam Wilkinson immediately challenged the selection item.
Wilkinson asked whether the board intended to go ahead with a decision without first running criminal background checks on the applicants. Wilkinson said board members have free access to the schools and children. He said the board members owe it to the community to make sure they learn as much as they can about the applicants for another board position.
Rob Hairfield at a previous meeting proposed the schedule for selecting applicants, which would have resulted in a final selection at the board's June 30 meeting. He also opposed making a choice Monday night. Hairfield said he wasn't prepared to vote a few minutes after hearing the applicants speak.
Buddy Armour joined Hairfield and Wilkinson in a motion to strike the agenda's selection decision.
The motion failed when Norman, Tim Buff and Karen Sain voted "no."
Buff then moved, with a second from Sain, to adopt the agenda as written.
That motion, too, failed on a tie.
And so it went, over and over, as the two sides volleyed back and forth.
The school district's attorney, Jon Jones, said in a response to a question from Norman that North Carolina law prohibits some felons from holding public office.
And special counsel Richard Schwartz said although the law requires no criminal background checks on candidates in the school election, it's within the board's power to do so before making an appointment.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Norman called a recess about 5:45 p.m.
During the break, Jones pointed out that as long as the 3-3 split held, the board wasn't going to be able to select a replacement board member that night.
When the board members returned about eight minutes later, they agreed to require criminal background investigations of all the applicants who consent to have their records checked. If the background checks can be done in time, the board members may fill Barnard's seat during a special called meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday back in the Staff Development Center.
Seven people applied for the seat. James O. Stamey withdrew before the meeting started and Andy Brandon, a former school board member, withdrew during the meeting after speaking briefly and throwing his endorsement behind the Rev. Flemon "Mac" McIntosh.
There were two sharp confrontations during the series of interviews.
The first involved John Aulgur, who operates Mountain Harbour Marina in Nebo. Armour asked him about an incident in April 2004 when two men accused Aulgur of pointed a rifle at them at the marina. The men filed a complaint before a magistrate, but the case ultimately was dismissed. Aulgur told board members he'd never pointed a gun at anyone.
Norman asked each of the board applicants a series of questions about facts concerning the school system, such as the size of the budget, the schools' "cohort" graduation rate, the percentages of minority students and all other students who failed math and reading end-of-grade tests, and the number of schools that did not meet the goals for adequate yearly progress in 2007-08. She also asked each applicant to write down a brief statement about the most important issue facing the schools next year.
That request triggered the second confrontation.
McIntosh refused to answer the questions. McIntosh, who once did publicity and public-relations for the school district during his 41-year career in the schools, criticized Norman and the board for not publicizing the information.
Norman pointed out it's in the district's annual report at the board office and on the Internet (at http://www.ncpublicschools.org).
The other applicants all gave their own estimates in reply to Norman, who gave the answers when all were done. Aulgur came closest (though he stumbled when Wilkinson asked him what "AYP" actually means and Aulgur said "approved yearly progression").
Earlier, Armour asked Aulgur pointedly whether anyone from the board talked with him before or after he applied for the seat. Aulgur said no one did so.
The other applicants are Justin Tate, David Turbeville and Nellie Yancey.
Tate, whose wife is a teacher at Draughn High School, contended the schools remain strong, though the past several months' controversy has left them in turmoil. He promised to bring "a little calmness" to the board.
Turbeville, a prison chaplain for Foothills Correctional Institute, talked at length about his experience working with 18- to 25-year-old convicted felons. Buff asked Turbeville (and all applicants) what he'd do to improve the schools' graduation rate. Turbeville replied, "I work the dropouts every day." He stressed starting to instill an appreciation for education at an early age.
Yancey, a long-time teacher, stressed the contribution she can make to the board by helping refocus its attention on children's education.