By Nelson Smith

Many in Tyrrell County know me, but for those who don’t, I have lived here for well over 50 years, and was employed by the Tyrrell County School Board for 35 of those years. My last 21 years of service to the school system was as Assistant Superintendent and then Superintendent, and I oversaw all of the building projects taking place during that time. I have been retired for over 17 years.  When I retired I felt the need to walk away completely from school board and local county politics, however, when the school system received a 62 million dollar grant from the state to build a new PK-13 consolidated school my interest was once again piqued.

First, I must apologize to the county commissioners and board of education for my lack of involvement since my retirement.  However, I recently attended my first county commissioners meeting and left with a sense of deep concern.  I was dumbfounded at the lack of knowledge shown by some commissioners as they were unable to answer many questions regarding financial matters. 

Most questions regarding the budget asked of the chairman for which he did not have an answer, should have been answered by the county manager or county finance officer.  These things caused me to question whether this was truly a lack of knowledge or lack of the desire to be transparent.

Much has changed since my involvement with the County Commissioners involving budget issues.  It has become apparent to me that lack of transparency is at the top of that list.  

I recently met with the county manager to have him answer some questions I had. 

My first question was why I had been ejected from a joint, informal meeting to which I had been invited by the school superintendent. This meeting was between the county manager, superintendent, and the chair and vice chair of both boards. It was regarding how to receive the funds to purchase land adjacent to the existing high school campus on which to build the new consolidated school.

When I posed this question to the county manager he stated, “You were not on the list.” I explained to him that I was an advisor to the BOE and with my past experience in construction and budget I thought he would appreciate that I could shed some light on the subject. 

In response to that, he became very agitated and tried to end the meeting.

Fortunately, I was able to deescalate his emotions and the meeting continued. I asked about why the commissioners passed a motion that we consider building on the existing site or out in the county. The only rationale Mr. Clegg could give me for these recommendations was that, “Other schools have done it that way…” and for the suggestion of building out in the county, Mr. Clegg stated that the commissioners felt that would be safer. 

While working in the school system through the years, I served as an EMT, EMT instructor and state EMT examiner. When the county decided to fiscally separate the EMS from the Fire Department, I was asked by the chairman of the County Commissioners at that time, to serve as the Director of the Tyrrell County EMS which I did for a number of years. Because of this involvement, I know that having the school closer to the sheriff’s department, fire station, and EMS would be MUCH safer for our students.

My concern about the lack of transparency from the county has actually moved into a concern about possible deceit. The county receives money from the state in four separate categories that can be used for land acquisition and construction.  It was these pools of money that I negotiated over 20 years ago with the commissioners to be used to pay off the loan they took out on behalf of the school system to build the new gym.

A few years after I retired, in an informal discussion with a commissioner, I was told those monies were no longer being sent from the state and that the county had to then absorb the cost.  Needless to say, I felt terrible about this and apologized profusely.  However, in my meeting with Mr. Clegg, I was told that there has NEVER been a lapse in the county receiving those state funds and in fact, the gym was paid off in December 2021. That commissioner was dishonest.

Additionally, in the previously mentioned meeting, which was set to discuss possible funding sources for the land acquisition, I was told, since I had been ejected from that meeting, that every suggestion the school personnel made for the purchase of new land was turned down. They were told there was no money available for this purpose.  In fact, they were flippantly told that “maybe we will just need to return the 62 million dollars.”  Never during this meeting was it stated that, in fact, since the gym had been paid off there was more than enough money to be used to purchase the land. I am utterly confused as to why the county manager wouldn’t have shared this at that time.

To the community, please know that this new school building will not cost the taxpayers of Tyrrell County one penny.  And in fact, if the school is able to move in the direction they’d like, the existing gym will be surrounded by new football, baseball, and softball fields, and a tennis court to be used as a “Sports Complex” for the schools and the community! 

In closing, I will be attending more county commissioners meetings in the future, and I feel honored that the BOE has asked me to serve in an advisory capacity on this new building project.

Nelson Smith is a resident of Tyrrell County.

Editor’s NOTE: I’m not usually one for letters to the editor that may stir the pot, but Mr. Smith has paid his dues in service to the community and then some, so he deserves to have his say.

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