Bertie Educators Refocus Efforts

by Cal Bryant - February 19th, 2007 - Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald

WINDSOR - Judging from his remarks, Rickey Freeman is prepared to move Bertie County Schools forward.

During a Thursday forum in Windsor, the Bertie County Board of Education chairman said the time was now to turn the page on past history and refocus efforts on the future . . . . [snip]

“As elected officials, we are held responsible and must be responsive to the needs of our constituency,” Freeman said. “We expect that many of the comments and questions from our citizens will be expressions of disagreement with the board’s actions and frustration due to questions that by law cannot be answered to your satisfaction. I respect that and believe that in our democracy we can disagree and yet exercise our freedom of expression in a civil manner.”

Thanks Rickey, for putting things in perspective.

The most important issues going forward are the need to cut waste from our school budget and the need to find someone to lead our schools and parents in revamping the effectiveness with which we teach our children.

The first, is hopefully being addressed by Dr. Priddy in this interim period.

The second is in the hands of the board. All of those who care about our children need to support and encourage our BOE at this time. Hiring the right person will not be easy. It will take much time and hard work and an atmosphere of cooperation. We appreciate what they are doing and wish them well for our children's sake.