Board again evasive; 'The past is behind us'

Despite a certain amount of resolution Monday, the odd silence of the majority of the Beaufort County school board continued Monday during and following a 4 1/2-hour special meeting to discuss the conduct of its superintendent.

After nearly 90 minutes of listening to public comment and three hours of behind-closed-door talks, the board reconvened to announce, among other things, that Superintendent Jeff Moss' wife had resigned on Saturday. It was Darlene Moss' hiring that sparked more than a week's worth of outrage and venom directed at the Mosses and the board itself.

After the meeting, it was clear the board just wanted it all to go away.

In particular, the six members who have steadfastly refused to tell those who elected them where they stood on Moss' hiring stayed true to form, avoiding direct questions about whether they thought the hiring and the circumstances around it was appropriate. Those six are Evva Anderson, Laura Bush, Earl Campbell, Mary Cordray, Joseph Dunkle and Paul Roth.

"It is not black and white. I feel like the process was followed appropriately," Cordray said. "But there are things that we might need to address in the way we handle policies."

Bush and Roth argued that the issue of the hiring needs no more comment after Darlene Moss' resignation.

"That is history. It is done," Roth said. "The past is behind us."

The other five board members have made their positions known. Michael Rivers and JoAnn Orishak previously spoke out against the hire. Bill Payne, Geri Kinton and board chairman Bill Evans supported the hiring.

Some members of the public who attended Monday's meeting blasted the board's inaction.

"The board's lack of response, your lack of willingness to face this problem is distressing to me," Beaufort County resident David Rockwell said.

WHAT'S NEXT

The school board will:

• Review and create its own nepotism policy.

• Review and approve all future district hirings on a monthly basis.

• Insist on more oversight over the district’s other rules.

The superintendent will:

• Evaluate all administrative jobs to determine which are necessary and appropriate in light of budget constraints.

Follow reporter Erin Heffernan on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_ErinH.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Board again evasive; 'The past is behind us'."