Dr. Bettie Starr First Woman To Chair School Board

BY SUSAN DICKERSON
SALISBURY POST

The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education roller coaster is now open and likely will continue running for the next four years if the first board meeting is any indication.

A divided board Monday night elected Dr. Bettie Starr as chairwoman, on a 4-3 vote, and Bruce Jones vice chairman, on a 4-2 vote with one person not voting.

Starr is the first woman to chair any school board, in the city, county or merged systems.

As the meeting began, audience members filled the seats, forcing others to sit on the floor to watch the first meeting of the newly elected board.

Immediately after the prayer and with pensive looks on their faces, the board convened, and Starr, vice chair, opened the floor to nominations for chairman.

After looking at each other for a few quiet seconds, Dr. Ada Fisher, new board member representing the Salisbury/East Spencer area, opened the conversation.

"I spent a lot of time reviewing the law," she said. "I suggest we rotate the chair so everyone will have a chance at that."

Suggesting the board go in alphabetical order, Fisher nominated Vick Bost for chairman.

Bost declined.

"If he declines, then I suggest that we go to the vice chair, Dr. Starr," Fisher said.

Norman seconded the nomination.

Bost then nominated Bruce Jones.

No more nominations came, and board members voted right down the gender lines:

- Fisher, Norman and Starr for Starr.

- Bost, Jones and L.A. Overcash for Jones.

Clyde Miller did not vote.

In the midst of acknowledging a tie vote, Starr asked Miller if he intended to vote.

"I'll tell you why I didn't vote," he said. "The school board needs to be open and honest. We don't need to look at gender or color. It seems like the board is locked into women versus men, and this is not a good way to start off.

"I'm hoping this will be a productive school board, and I hope we don't have block voting. Both candidates are very deserving. I don't want to see a board split because the women want it one way and the men want it another.

And then he changed his mind. "I will vote. I will vote for Bettie Starr."

With Starr as the new chair, Miller quipped: "Let it be known that it was one man who voted for a woman," prompting laughter among audience members.

With one decision out of the way, the board then opened up nominations for vice chair.

Bost quickly nominated Jones with a second from Overcash.

Starr asked for other nominations, and board members looked at each other for a few seconds. Hearing none, Starr asked if she could nominate someone. Finding out that she could, she nominated Norman with a second from Miller.

Once again, Bost, Jones and Overcash voted for Jones.

But only Starr, Norman and Miller voted for Norman. Fisher abstained, leaving a 3-3 tie.

"I think the election of officers in the school board should not only be gender blind but race blind," Bost said. "It shouldn't be a question of men versus women. We really need to vote our consciences. We either need to take another vote or take a recess."

"What would we accomplish during a recess?" Norman asked.

"To study our decisions and think about it," Bost said. "But if nobody else wants it, let's go ahead.

And the vote came out the same.

"Perhaps a recess is in order," Starr said.

Miller interrupted Starr before she could call the break and said in the interest of "unity," he would change his vote for Jones.

Norman piped up: "If that's unity, then I don't know what disunity is."