Letter to the Editor: Thoughts on school board replacement

Published 5:30 am Thursday, November 21, 2019

To the Editor:

I found the article on the replacement of Mr. Ben Sproul on the school board to be very interesting. I was surprised that there is not a process for replacing a school board member who leaves due to any reason including in Mr. Sproul’s case a resignation but it could be due to death, move or some incapacitating event. Considering that one of the most important functions of local government is education, I would think a specific process would be in place. It seems the school board has the option to appoint a new school board member to replace the one leaving. This could give this school board the opportunity to appoint an underrepresented demographic or in the case of the current school board a non-represented demographic.

The Latino population of Dare County is reported as about 10% but may be higher. There are many Latino children in our school system. The current administration recognizes the importance of this population and has implemented a Spanish immersion curriculum. I suspect for whatever reason the Latino population is underrepresented in our electoral process. This opening seems like an ideal opportunity to add a representative of the Latino community to our school board. Why not consult with some of our local faith leaders to help identify leaders in the Latino community and add one to represent this important community on our school board?

Get the latest headlines sent to you

Lyle Cady

Manteo

FOR MORE COLUMNS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, CHECK OUT OUR OPINION SECTION HERE.