Attorney no longer representing New Hanover Board of Education following controversial post
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Board of Education will be discussing possible new legal representation during next week’s meeting.
This comes after a lawyer representing the board made a controversial social media post over the weekend.
On Saturday, former governor Roy Cooper made a post about the recent ICE shootings in Minneapolis.
Brian Kromke, one of the Board of Education’s attorneys, responded with a post that the board called inappropriate and did not align with its values.
During Tuesday’s agenda review meeting, the board decided to part ways with Kromke, a move that Superintendent Doctor Christopher Barnes said he was glad to see.
“It’s important to me that children feel valued, that families feel like we’re listening,” Barnes said. “And the board has responded in the same way that I would have wanted them to respond, which is quickly and with authority to do what they think is best.”
Kromke will not represent the board going forward, with another lawyer from Wilmington-based law firm Crossley, McIntosh, Collier, Hanley, and Edes continuing that work.
Board member Dr. Tim Merrick said Kromke’s post made fun of people with learning disabilities and that everyone who works for and is on the board cares about such people.
“It is absolutely incumbent that everybody who is involved in our schools makes sure that not only do we represent our students and our staff appropriately, but we help to educate the public about the importance of including people with disabilities, that they’re not different, they’re not wrong, they’re not bad, they’re not a problem, they’re not something to be solved,” Merrick said. “That we are all important parts of this community.”
During the meeting, Merrick suggested the school board re-evaluate its legal representation, once the district’s current contract with the firm ends in June.
He said this is not meant to punish the firm for what happened, but to see what other firms could represent the board.
Despite what happened, board member Pat Bradford said it does not fully represent who Kromke is as a person.
“He made a true remorseful apology,” Bradford said. “But it showed character. I appreciate it when people do make an apology, publicly, and he did that quickly.”
The board approved a motion to discuss the district’s legal representation further at their regular meeting next Tuesday night.
