New Hanover County school board member David Perry defends comments during heated meeting

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County Board of Education member David Perry says he would not be surprised if he receives criticism over comments he made during this week’s board meeting.

Perry raised the issue of increasing compensation for board members during Tuesday’s meeting, but his motion did not receive a second.

The lack of a second led to a dispute between Perry and board Chairman Pete Wildeboer.

“I’m not going to be dealing with people who don’t even follow their own rules,” Perry said during the exchange.

The dispute comes weeks after the board adopted a code of ethics in August that calls on members to model civility, encourage free expression and engage in respectful dialogue with fellow board members.

Perry said he has not received any calls or notifications regarding possible fines or suspension stemming from his actions during Tuesday’s meeting.

He also said he does not regret speaking out about board compensation, saying he believes the issue is important.

“Why don’t you have enough courage to actually just vote on it?” Perry said. “It would have taken five minutes to vote on it.”

“I would have said 3%. Everybody else would have said 7.8%, 8%,” Perry said.

He suggested board members may have been reluctant to vote publicly on a pay increase because they were concerned about how it could affect their chances of being reelected.

He says he felt disrespected, saying that he feels like no one was trying to listen to him. He says the pay raise would allow people without a high salary to be able to run for Board of Education.

“They don’t want to be on the record to actually vote for a raise for themselves because they think it’s going to hurt the reelection chances,” Perry said. “Probably, that’s my guess.”

Perry is no stranger to controversy.

Last year, he criticized fellow board members over their collaboration with the 100 Black Men of Coastal North Carolina. In a Facebook post, Perry questioned how parents would react if there were an organization called “100 White Men.”

Perry has said the post reflected a difference of opinion and was not intended to cause harm.

He later met with Angelo Williams, head of the 100 Black Men of Coastal North Carolina, to discuss the organization and its work.

We have reached out to New Hanover County Schools for any comment, and as of this publication, we have not heard back.