New Hanover Schools hear parent, teacher concerns as new school year begins

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Just two days into the new school year, New Hanover County school leaders are already hearing concerns, priorities, and more from parents, teachers, and staff.

The New Hanover County Board of Education held a town hall Tuesday night, allowing families and school employees to raise questions about issues ranging from student safety and transportation to artificial intelligence and screen time.

Among those speaking was parent Joe Spatola, who said he became concerned after his daughter brought home a letter from New Hanover County Schools warning parents about asbestos at her school.

“Upon further inspection, when I was looking it up, there was an utter lack of transparency and I couldn’t frankly find any relevant reports that were up to date, even sharing on what kinds of plans of action were coming up or what they were planning to do about it,” Spatola said.

Spatola’s concerns were among several raised during the town hall, held one day after the new school year began.

Superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes said the event allows district leaders to hear directly from families and staff and address concerns early in the school year.

“It’s a good way to do a jumping off point. It’s a good way for me to get my fingers on the pulse of what’s going on with parents, students, staff, families,” Barnes said. “We don’t let asbestos get in the way of where the kids are, however we have some very old buildings.”

The discussion also turned to the challenges posed by new technology.

Artificial intelligence and student screen time were two of the major topics discussed during the town hall.

Parent Melissa Marciano questioned the impact of artifical intelligence on students.

“The realities of what is this technology, this information, big data, that we’re going to be dealing with and balancing how do we prepare our kids for the future but also how do we make sure that they are maintaining critical thought?” Marciano said.

While Board of Education member Pat Bradford said some parents want students to spend less time using screens and more time learning from traditional books.

“Everybody seems to want more books back in school and have the kids learn from books, not just on a piece of software on a computer,” Bradford said.

Barnes said the district plans to conduct a study examining how much screen time students receive throughout the school day and over the course of a semester or school year.

Parents weren’t the only ones raising concerns.

Teachers and other school employees also brought up issues including pay, the number of available school buses and chronic absenteeism.

Barnes said addressing the concerns will require the district to balance competing needs while making decisions about how resources are allocated.

“It’s a question about allocation of resources,” Barnes said. “We have lots of different folks that work very, very hard. All of them are concerned about making sure that money is going as far as it can.”

The next Board of Education town hall is scheduled for Oct. 20.

That meeting will also provide an opportunity for parents, teachers, and staff to learn more about the district’s $320 million bond referendum, which is scheduled to appear on the November ballot.