THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508100474
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAMDEN LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The Camden County Board of Education has stuck by its guns and left intact a decision to switch its middle and high school principals.
The board heard from angry residents in open and closed sessions Tuesday night but did not reverse its transfer of JEB Stuart to the middle school and Ron Melchiorre to the high school.
About 150 people attended the meeting, which was moved from the high school media center to its cafeteria to accommodate the crowd. Board Chairman David Meiggs said it was the largest turnout the board had ever had.
``The board greatly values the input of all citizens and is especially appreciative of those students, parents and citizens who spoke at the meeting,'' says a statement signed by Meiggs and Superintendent Carole C. Smith.
``This evening's public input and the consideration by the Board of Education brings this matter to a conclusion. The Board of Education encourages everyone to work together to make the 1995-96 school year as productive as possible.''
Representatives of those who spoke at the meeting, primarily residents who believe Stuart should remain at the high school, said they were angrier than ever.
``They have done a complete and full injustice,'' Mary Jo Hoover, an organizer of a group called Concerned Citizens of Camden, said Wednesday.
Critics of the change have argued that Stuart, who has been at the high school for 25 years but principal for one year, should have been given more time. The school board has said the change is better suited for each man but declined to give details, calling it a personnel issue.
``We're not stopping,'' Hoover said. ``We're going to have another meeting and decide just what steps we're going to take. . . . We're not going to quit.''
KEYWORDS: NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS by CNB