ONLY ON 3: Asking Pender Co. NAACP for specific details and information regarding allegations

Burgaw, NC (WWAY-TV) – During a news conference Thursday, the NAACP called Tom Roper an unfit leader and asked that he step down from his position as Pender County School Board Chairman.

Roper told us that was not going to happen. He couldn’t talk to us on camera because he was going out of town. When we told the president of the NAACP that he wouldn’t be stepping down, she wasn’t surpised.

“Well we figured he would not resign,” said Dr. Rachel Stephens, “but we just assume that since he is in this position and he can see that there are so many people upset with him that he would have the decency to step aside as chairman. We didn’t ask him to step off the board we just ask him to let someone else lead the board chairmanship.”

One of the reasons the civil rights group wants Roper to resign is because of hiring practices. The NAACP says it has a complaint from Melanie Debouse who is African-American and has been an educator for 20 years – working much of that time as a principal in other school districts.

She says she applied for Assistant Principal positions at both Malpass Corner Elementary School and Cape Fear Middle – but she never heard back. Instead, the school hired the sister-in-law of the Assistant Superintendent.

“I was really concerned,” Stephens said. “You know I was like no they wouldn’t do anything like that we are working with them we are trying to get this ironed out here…. I emailed the Superintendent specifically and I asked her was that the truth and she said yes it was.”

Roper says he has absolutely no influence on who is hired. Still the NAACP says he’s the man in charge…and there’s not enough diversity.

“When you have 500 and some teachers and 400 are white and 50 are African-American, Something is wrong,” Stephens said.

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Story Background:

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — For six months the Pender County NAACP has been investigating Pender County School Board Chair Tom Roper. Today the civil rights group released its findings, calling for Roper to resign.

The NAACP received the first complaint against Roper in October. It said Roper did not attend required school board meetings, that he had rare interaction with students and parents and that he made derogatory and insensitive remarks concerning minorities. After the investigation began other complaints surfaced about hiring practices of minority candidates, nepotism and disparity in test scores. Today the NAACP said it found the complaint to be valid.

“We all have a dog in this fight,” Pender County NAACP President Rachel Stephens said. “Every family in Pender County has a dog in this fight, and that fight is for our children, because the success of our children has nothing to do with race, background or gender.”

If Roper does not resign the NAACP wants the community choose someone else to replace him in the next election.

Roper said he did not want to talk yet, because he has not had a chance to review the NAACP’s findings.