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A.P. Dillon

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Harm_1_PJ

Strong opinions expressed over proposed Randolph County ‘harm reduction’ plan

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ASHEBORO — Strong opinions were expressed during a faith-heavy discussion about a proposed “harm reduction” plan during a May 22 meeting of the Randolph County Opioid-Drug Community Collaborative.

The Collaborative was established through funding by the county board of commissioners in 2016. Per Jennifer Layton, assistant health director for Randolph County’s public health department, the Collaborative convened in 2017 with community partners to launch its coalition, and in the timespan between 2017 and 2019, the Collaborative began implementing its initial action plan.

The afternoon meeting was held at the AVS Catering and Banquet Center in Asheboro. The public information officer for Randolph County said the meeting had been posted on county social media platforms on May 18, and Layton said there was no public notice posted because it was a “coalition meeting.” Despite the short timeframe, an estimated crowd of nearly 150 showed up.

The main presentation on harm reduction was given by Jennifer Layton.

Remarks were also given by a panel consisting of Elizabeth Brewington, Manager of Health Programs for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners; Pastor Allen Murray of the Asheboro-area “Faith in Motion Ministries;” and Robi Cagle, the program coordinator for the Uwharrie Harm Reduction Initiative.

A tense and, at times, emotional question and answer session followed the presentations and remarks by the panel.

Several faith leaders from Randolph County and the Asheboro area expressed strong opposition to part of the harm reduction plan that involved a program that would supply clean needles to addicts, referred to as a syringe services program or SSP.

The General Assembly authorized SSP’s in 2016 to create needle and hypodermic syringe exchange programs. The intent of the law was an effort to promote “scientifically proven ways of mitigating health risks associated with drug use and other high-risk behaviors.”

Dr. Jonathan Burris, a pastor for the New Center Christian Church, located in Seagrove, cited the low rates of needles returned or collected associated with SSP’s. Burris said he was also a data scientist with his own consulting firm that works in the area of statistics, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and heuristics.

Randolph County Commissioner Darryl Frye opens the meeting up during the H.A.R.M reduction meeting.

“I like numbers. Numbers do not lie,” said Burris. He went on to cite the North Carolina Safer Syringe annual report from 2021 and 2022, which he said shows that “there are more needles and more naloxone being served to the same people year over year.”

Naloxone is a medication similar to Narcan, which rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

“How is this not facilitating more drug addiction when only 5% are actually referred to treatment?” Burris asked. “In addition to that, we see that 19.4 million needles have been distributed. Only 6.9 million have been recovered. That means that 65% of that 19.4 million – over 12 million needles – are unaccounted for.”

Burris pressed the point, saying that he had heard Harm Reduction was collecting the needles, but wondered who had collected the needles from a “bucket” in front of a “local Asheboro business down the street” in the last year.

“It was not the folks doing the Harm Reduction,” said Burris. “It was the business owner.”

“I appreciate the sentiments here, but this is not the solution,” said Todd Nance, a pastor from Ramseur. “These people need help, but I don’t think clean needles is the solution.”

Other attendees, including the pastors present, spoke of finding used needles on the playground areas of their churches as well as drug deals going down at night in their church parking lots.

Layton referred to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ “Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan” as a basis for the work of the Collaborative. The state’s plan includes three components: prevention, reducing harm, and connecting with care.

One slide described the “core values” of Harm Reduction as overlapping the concepts of “love, compassion, and kindness,” while another billed Harm Reduction as “a social justice movement” to “respect the rights of people who use drugs,” and a “practical set of strategies” to reduce negative impacts of drug abuse.

Another slide cited 2021 statistics that 11 North Carolinians die each day of a drug overdose, and eight of those deaths were opioid-related. An additional statistic on the same slide cited 32,000 North Carolinians had died of a drug overdose between 2000 and 2021.

According to the Randolph County Opioid Resources data dashboard, there have been 257 drug overdoses resulting in 28 fatalities so far in 2023. The heat map associated with the 2023 data shows a concentration in Asheboro and in the High Point/Archdale area.

This chart displays details regarding the harm reduction plan.

The data for past years show a steady increase in both overdoses in the county, with 786 overdoses and 84 fatalities in 2022, 610 overdoses and 82 fatalities in 2021, 576 overdoses and 53 fatalities in 2020, and 664 overdoses resulting in 36 deaths in 2019.

The data dashboard does not indicate if the data is all opioid-related overdoses or if it includes other drugs.

Layton warned about making “dangerous assumptions” about the plan and directed those in attendance to “come ask questions from those doing the work.”

Part of Layton’s presentation included a short video of Reverend Michelle Mathis, the executive director of “Olive Branch Ministries,” a “faith-based harm reduction” organization that serves Allegheny, Ashe, Burke, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, McDowell, and Watauga Counties. In the video, Mathis compares the story of Lazarus in the Bible to that of helping addicts recover, stating near the closing that “this work is messy but also miraculous.”

Rep. Neal Jackson (R-Randolph) was on hand to give an invocation at the start of the meeting, as were several of the county’s commissioners, including Chairman Darrell Frye and Kenny Kidd.

Frye opened the meeting with some brief comments which referenced the county commissioner’s intent to deal with the opioid crisis per its 2016 Strategic Plan and the $9,825,790 million in settlement money apportioned to Randolph County for funding the county’s opioid response.

In June 2022, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein announced local governments would begin receiving the first payments from a $26 billion national opioid agreement with the nation’s three major drug distributors (Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen) and Johnson & Johnson. The release stated that the fund distribution could be accessed through the Community Opioid Resources Engine for North Carolina (CORE-NC).

Per the NC-CORE dashboard, so far, Randolph County has received $1,209,154 in two payments during 2022; $377,436 in the spring and $831,718 in the summer.

According to Frye, the over $9.8 million breaks down to $1 million in funding a year that will stretch for the next 18 years as a result of two settlements, one with Purdue Pharma and another dealing settlement money obtained from a lawsuit against distributors of opioids like CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.

“I don’t think the needle distribution program is a good idea, and I agree that if there’s a 150 people here, 100 of them came to say this needle thing is a crazy idea.”

Commissioner Kenny Kidd

Frye mentioned the settlement funds the county has received come with “directed issues and procedures to be followed.” According to the opioid settlement website, a Memorandum of Agreement offers local governments two options for spending the money. Option A is a list of 12 approved strategies to choose from. Option B is a “collaborative strategic planning process” that includes an expanded approved list of strategies.

“We can’t save a soul or rehabilitate a person who is dead,” Frye told the audience. He went on to say that “County Commissioners have not [yet] made decisions or directed any money. This is part of the conversation today.”

In an interview with North State Journal, Kidd said that while the Collaborative was convened to offer solutions, the commissioners would be the deciding factor in what strategies would ultimately be employed.

“The commissioners will decide what to do and what not to do,” said Kidd. “Ultimately, we will make the decision – the five of us.” He indicated the topic might be brought up at the next meeting of the board of commissioners in June.

“A month ago, they [the Collaborative] came to us with proposals for the $1.2 million dollars, and there are about eight different strategies they are going to address with the rollout of those $1.2 million dollars,” said Kidd. “The commissioners tabled it because we knew this meeting was coming up, and it would be a good time for public discussion.”

When asked about the majority of the meeting’s attendees opposing a needle program, Kidd said he “agreed with that assessment.”

Kidd also provided North State Journal with images of syringes found around the Asheboro area.

“It’s Randolph County… it’s a pretty conservative community,” said Kidd, noting the area is a strong, faith-based community. “I don’t think the needle distribution program is a good idea, and I agree that if there’s 150 people here, 100 of them came to say this needle thing is a crazy idea.”

“It is not condoning. It is not enabling,” Murray said during his panel remarks about providing support services, such as clean needles to addicts. “It’s giving them one more chance.”  He later added, “They’re [addicts] going to use anyway.”

Jennifer Layton, Assistant Health Director of Randolph County, talks during the H.A.R.M reduction meeting.

Murray’s Faith In Motion Ministries is relatively new and was formed as a non-profit in August 2021. Murray told North State Journal his organization is non-denominational.

During his comments, Murray also alluded to the fact he is a recovering addict and told the audience not to let politics become more important than people.

The panel did not include a representative of the “Community Hope Alliance,” which handouts for the meeting indicate is leading the harm reduction workgroup. The contact for Community Hope Alliance is Kelly Link, who may have been in attendance but was not on the panel.

Among the other materials given out was a “Stop the Stigma” flier offering alternative language to terms such as drug abuse, addicts, and junkies, as well as terms like clean and dirty needles. Instead, the flier suggested terms like “substance abuse disorder,” “person with substance abuse disorder,” and “sterile/used syringes.”

The next meeting of the Randolph County Opioid-Drug Community Collaborative is scheduled for July 24.

House Speaker Collision

NC House Speaker ‘grateful’ to officers following traffic incident

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RALEIGH — North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) is grateful to the law enforcement officers who were on hand when the vehicle he was traveling in was rammed by an apparent drunk driver.

Moore said he, Rep. David Willis of Union County and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Gurley were returning to Raleigh after a series of events in Wilson. The speaker’s security officer was driving the SUV westbound on U.S. Highway 64 near Knightdale around 9:30 p.m. when it was rammed from behind at least three times, Moore told reporters at the Legislative Building.

Moore praised his driver, Officer Jason Perdue, for controlling the SUV after it was struck and taking action on the road, which has a 70 mph speed limit. Moore said the truck stopped in the left lane of the highway roughly 5 miles later. No one in the SUV was hurt, Moore spokesperson Demi Dowdy said.

“Thank God we’re all just all right,” Moore said, adding he saw nothing to indicate that he or his vehicle was targeted due to politics or his role in government. The General Assembly-owned Chevrolet Tahoe’s license plate resembles a private owner’s plate, with none of the specialized numbering that lawmakers’ personal vehicle plates receive. The SUV didn’t appear severely damaged.

“Many of us have been rear-ended by a car, unfortunately, in the past,” Moore said. “But when you’re moving at highway speeds and another car approaches you at a higher rate of speed and it hits the car … you can imagine the kinds of things that are going through your mind at that point and its intention.”

Moore’s spokesperson said he is very grateful to the State Highway Patrol (SHP) officers involved in swiftly handling the situation and particularly grateful to NC General Assembly Police Officer Jason Purdue, who was driving the state-owned Chevy Tahoe vehicle at the time.

“On Thursday, Feb. 23, at approximately 9:43 p.m., the State Highway Patrol responded to a hit and run collision on I-87 near mile marker 9 in Wake County,” according to a statement from the SHP.  “The incident initially took place on I-87 near mile marker 13 when a 2000 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck struck the rear of a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe multiple times as both vehicles were traveling in the southbound lanes.”

SHP’s statement also says that Purdue activated his emergency lights to signal the pickup truck to pull over, but the driver failed to stop, resulting in Perdue having to give chase.

The driver of the pickup, James Matthew Brogden, 38, of Goldsboro, was arrested after finally coming to a stop near mile marker 9. SHP indicated their investigation indicated that “impairment was a factor with regard to Mr. Brogden,” and that EMS had responded to the

Folwell RR

State Health Plan releases all documents related to third-party contract change

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RALEIGH — All documents related to the change from Blue Cross Blue Shield NC to Aetna as the State Health Plan’s third-party administrative services contract (TPA) are now publicly available. 

Last week, the State Health Plan (SHP) published all of the materials, including requests for proposals (RFP) and the responses, on a specially created transparency page on its website.

“We are the most transparent and open agency in state government,” Treasurer Dale Folwell said in a statement. “I cannot be prouder of the work done by the staff of the State Health Plan and the bipartisan State Health Plan Board of Trustees. This contract doesn’t change the body or engine of the State Health Plan; it is just a modernization of the transmission. We look forward to Blue Cross finishing their current contract strong and facilitating a seamless transition to Aetna.”

The documents on the transparency page include details on the procurement process that led to the change in the contract as well as a timeline of events surrounding the move to Aetna.

The repository of documents has already revealed differences in how Aetna and Blue Cross responded to the RFP, which has ramifications for patient billing and transparency.

One of the RFP requirements related to the assignment of benefits payments states, “Upon request, Vendor will pay all claims, including non-network claims, based on the assignment of benefits.” On that item, Blue Cross checked “no,” while Aetna checked “yes.”

In other words, Blue Cross pays the patient directly instead of sending payment to an out-of-network provider. 

That practice has been criticized as a means of funneling subscribers to Blue Cross’ preferred providers, but also for creating a potentially bad situation where patients are sent a check but end up spending that cash on things other than treatments or surgeries.

During a Feb. 7 call with media, Folwell noted that his office had received a number of records requests for the documents. He said the production of records and posting of the materials online had been held up by the entities protesting the contract change; Blue Cross and UMR, Inc. The treasurer said his office had been in a holding pattern while waiting for those groups to make redactions.  

“ I don’t think there’s been any other state agency who was responded this completely in this quickly to these inquiries as we’re about to today,” Folwell told North State Journal during the media call. “And I think it’ll present a lot of sunshine to folks like you who will really have a full understanding of how this process has gone down over the last year or so.”

Last December, the State Health Plan Board of Trustees voted unanimously to award the TPA contract to Aetna. The contract is for a three-year service period beginning Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027. The contract has an option for two, one-year renewal terms. Until Aetna takes over, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina will continue to be the Plan’s claims processor.

The move to Aetna was announced in early January, with Folwell’s office estimating $140 million in administrative savings with the move and that a partnership with Aetna will lower costs and provide better transparency.

Blue Cross Blue Shield NC and UMR, Inc. both filed protests over the change, which were rejected by the SHP. Future legal action is likely based on statements made by both of the protesting parties. 

The State Health Plan covers some 740,000 state employees, teachers and retirees and is a division of the Department of State Treasurer.

RANDOLPHSubstation

State and federal officials investigating Randolph County substation damage

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RALEIGH — State and federal law enforcement officials are investigating a gunfire incident at a Randolph County power substation. 

The incident involved a transformer at an EnergyUnited power substation in Randolph County that sustained damage from gunfire. Investigators believe the incident occurred sometime around 3 a.m. on Jan. 17, according to a statement from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office received a call there had been damage to the substation on Post Road in Thomasville that morning. 

The substation serves around 1,500 customers, however, none of them lost power because the load was transferred to another area substation. The impacted area of service included Trinity, Thomasville, and areas of Davidson County south of Thomasville. 

EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is headquartered in Statesville, North Carolina.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were informed.  Per the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is conducting a parallel investigation.

The investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations at 336-318-6658 or Randolph County Crime Stoppers tip line at 336-672-7463. 

Anonymous tips may also be submitted via the Sheriff’s Office app or Crime Stoppers app. (Information about those apps is available on the Sheriff’s Office website.)       

On Jan. 17, EnergyUnited issued the following statement:

EnergyUnited officials responded to an alarm that notified personnel of an equipment issue at its Pleasant Hill Substation early Tuesday morning. Crews were dispatched to assess the situation and discovered damage to the substation transformer from an apparent gunshot. The damage was quickly assessed and contained to mitigate the impact to members in the Pleasant Hill area and law enforcement officials were notified. EnergyUnited members who are served by this substation did not experience an outage as a result of the cooperative’s swift response.

“EnergyUnited continually strives to deliver safe, reliable energy to its members,” said Steve McCachern, vice president of energy delivery for EnergyUnited. “While we are glad that our members did not experience any service interruptions, we take this matter very seriously and are currently investigating the incident.”  

Staying ahead of any challenge is a collaborative effort. EnergyUnited is collaborating with electric cooperatives, industry partners, peer organizations, as well as federal, state, and local officials to share information that improves member service and strengthens critical systems. Additionally, EnergyUnited encourages community members to share information with the cooperative and local officials whenever suspicious activity is observed near any of its substations or facilities.  

The Randolph substation incident is the third such occurrence in North Carolina in the last three months.

On Dec. 3, 2022, an attack on multiple substations operated by Duke Energy in Moore County also involved gunfire and caused significant damage. The damage resulted in 45,000 customers being left without power for several days.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a press release on Dec. 7 announcing that the state, Moore County and Duke Energy were each offering monetary awards of $25,000 each in the substation attack cases.

Nearly a month before the Moore County attack, on Nov. 11, 2022, a property owned by the Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) in the Jones County town of Maysville was damaged. More than 12,000 CCEC customers were without power for approximately two hours, according to a statement from the cooperative.

cigna-logo

Cigna and Randolph Health contract impasse causes coverage interruption

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RALEIGH — Cigna insurance plan members received notification that they would no longer be covered at Randolph Health after February 10.

A letter from Cigna on “Continuity of Care” obtained by North State Journal indicates the insurer and Randolph Health have been unable to agree on a contract. 

Cigna’s letter informed members that if hospital stays were approved by February 10, their continued stay would still be covered. For medical care beyond that date, members would have to seek treatment at a different in-network provider. 

A list of in-network providers offered by Cigna includes Chatham Hospital, Cone Health Wesley Long Hospital, and Novant Health Kernersville. 

According to Cigna’s letter, members should check MyCigna.com or use the Cigna app to find out more details on Continuity of Care or to talk to customer service. 

“Especially as our clients and customers are managing rising prices due to inflation, we want to keep their health care affordable and in line with other area providers,” a Cigna spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to North State Journal. “Unfortunately, Randolph Health has notified us they will leave our network on February 10 unless we agree to their demand for unreasonably high rates that would impact employers, their employees, and their families.” 

“We hope that Randolph Health will do what is best for our shared customers, and we will continue to negotiate with them in good faith to reach a fair agreement,” the Cigna spokesperson wrote. “If they don’t, we are prepared to quickly help our customers find other quality, in-network providers nearby.”  

North State Journal also reached out to Randolph Health communications officer Paula Richards who responded with a press statement confirming a contractual agreement with Cigna had not been reached. 

According to the statement, Cigna has not given Randolph Health “is seeking an increase in reimbursements to help cover the tremendous rise in costs over the last decade for labor and other necessary costs of providing quality healthcare to this community.” 

The statement points out that Cigna has not given Randolph Health any reimbursement increases in almost 10 years.

“Randolph Health Over the last ten years, Cigna has seen an increase of 500% in its stock value, and its CEO receives a salary of approximately $20 million per year. It is because of insurance companies like this that community hospitals continue to go out of business,” the Randolph Health statement says. “Now, Cigna is threatening to severely restrict access to health care of Randolph County citizens who are Cigna members by forcing them to go out of network or change their doctors.”

Randolph Health’s statement says the hospital wants to continue to work with Cigna and hopes Cigna will “come to the table to work together to provide the necessary healthcare needed for Randolph County citizens.”  

“Our ER is open 24/7 to treat emergencies for Randolph County citizens, including Cigna customers,” reads the statement in closing. 

A request to the Randolph County manager for more information is still pending.

Randolph Health has struggled fiscally after taking out a bond worth over $49 million in 2007 to build new endoscopy and imaging facilities. 

In August 2020, Randolph County’s Commissioners worked to shore up Randolph Health with a $20 million investment for renovations following the Dava Foundation, a Tennessee nonprofit that had agreed to purchase the 145-bed hospital at that time. The $20 million was to come from the Rural Health Care Stabilization Act passed by state lawmakers in 2019 as part of that year’s policy and budget compromises.

In 2021, the Moore County Journal reported that the state of North Carolina would loan $12 million to aid in renovations to Randolph Health to be undertaken by its new owner American Healthcare Systems.

Folwell RR

N.C. Treasurer delivers over half a million in found funds to state education officials

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RALEIGH — Last week, N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell delivered a check for over half a million dollars to State Superintendent Catherine Truitt and N.C. State Board of Education chairman Eric Davis.

“At a time when so many schools are in need of money and resources, especially in rural and inner-city districts, every penny found to further North Carolina’s educational mission is a blessing,” Folwell said in a press release. “I see that need not only as a member of SBE, but as chairman of the Local Government Commission, which reviews and approves financing for school projects throughout North Carolina.” 

Folwell presented a check for $519,029.16 to Truitt and Davis at the regularly scheduled State Board of Education meeting. The treasurer’s office had identified funds that were the result of unclaimed stock dividends that had apparently been misdirected.

Shares of stock had been issued in the name of “Department of Education State of North Carolina” based on a Prudential Financial group life insurance plan the state board of education had once held.

“Upon the shares and accrued dividends being deemed unclaimed and held by Prudential for the required holding period, the property was placed with DST’s Unclaimed Property Division (UPD), commonly called NCCash.com,” according to the press release from Folwell’s office. 

“As keeper of the public purse, a North Carolina taxpayer and a believer in the power of education to change a person’s trajectory in life to achieve upward mobility and the joy of achievement, I am honored to return this money to its rightful owners so that it can be put to use where it’s most needed,” Folwell said. 

Truitt told North State Journal that no decision has been made yet as to what will be done with the newly found money.

Folwell and his office have routinely highlighted the NCCash program for citizens in the state to find out whether or not they have unclaimed funds. 

According to the program’s website, $105,158,116 has been returned to citizens in the state between Jul. 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Folwell tells North State Journal $110 million was claimed using the program last year. The largest payout to date was around $1.7 million to a single individual.

More information, including how to find out if you are owed money, can be found at https://www.nccash.com/.

Locals governor school

Group files lawsuit against Governor’s School following controversial firing

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RALEIGH — A lawsuit has been filed in Wake County against the state’s prestigious Governor’s School by the Alliance for Defending Freedom on behalf of English professor Dr. David Phillips following his “mid-session” termination in 2021. 

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a non-profit based in Arizona. ADF describes itself as the “world’s largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage and family, and parental rights.”

The North Carolina Governor’s School is a summer residential program lasting four weeks for “gifted and talented high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses.” Its operations are overseen by officials with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, N.C. Governor’s School Coordinator Rodney Allen, and Director Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education Sneha Shah-Coltrane.

According to the lawsuit, Phillips’ firing came after he spoke out about “the harms of the racially divisive ideology embraced by the school.”

The case summary says Phillips had spoken out against the school’s “increasing adoption of critical theory, an ideology that views everyone and everything through the lens of characteristics like race, sex, and religion, labeling people as perpetual oppressors or victims based on group membership alone.”

“After Dr. Phillips delivered three optional seminars critiquing critical theory and the increasing bias and lack of viewpoint diversity in higher education, North Carolina public school officials fired him mid-session without any explanation,” the summary says. 

Phillips had taught at the Governor’s School for eight years, as well as teaching English at Wake Tech and Guilford Community Colleges. In the lawsuit, Phillips also asserts there was “no appeal or other recourse” offered following his firing.

“In an academic environment committed to exploring a wide range of differing viewpoints, as the Governor’s School claims to be, no teacher should be fired for offering a reasoned critique of critical theory. But that’s what happened to Dr. Phillips,” ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton said in a press release. 

Frampton said there was “no lawful explanation for the way North Carolina public school officials treated Dr. Phillips” and that by firing him, “the Governor’s School violated his constitutional right to free speech and unlawfully retaliated against him for deviating from the Governor’s School’s ideological orthodoxy.”

North Carolina is an at-will state when it comes to employment. That means an employee can be fired at any time so long as it does not violate the employee’s civil rights enumerated in the N.C. Equal Employment Practices Act or federal laws like Title VII.

North State Journal reached out to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) about the case.

“Mr. Phillips was an employee of Governor’s School during summer 2021,” NCDPI Communications Director Blair Rhoades said in an email response. “The Department of Public Instruction maintains that it fully complied with all legal requirements. However, as this is a personnel matter, no additional information can be shared at this time.”

The 61-page lawsuit alleges that following the optional lectures, a group of students and staff members showed “open hostility, referencing race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion in their comments and questions.”

Phillips maintains he stayed after class to engage in discussion with students after the lectures. 

The filing also claims staff at the school accused Phillips of racism and made comments that “made it clear they believed the content of Dr. Phillips’ lecture was “worthy of censure.”

Phillips’ lawsuit is seeking his reinstatement, back pay, front pay, and a host of damages for pain, suffering, and reputational harm. The lawsuit is also seeking attorney and court fees.

NCDPI State Superintendent Catherine Truitt is not named in the suit.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit are former Deputy Superintendent and Chief Academy Officer David Stegall and former Coordinator of the North Carolina Governor’s School Thomas Winton.

Stegall left NCDPI in May 2022 to take the position of chief of staff for Blue Ridge Community College.

Current employees named as defendants include the Coordinator of the North Carolina Governor’s School and Site Director for the North Carolina Governor’s School West Campus Rodney K. Allen, and Director of the Division of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education at NCDPI Sneha Shah Coltrane.

Shah-Coltrane is the wife of Gov. Roy Cooper’s main education advisor, Geoff Coltrane.

folwell-treasurer

NC Treasurer announces largest one-time supplemental bonus for state retirees

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RALEIGH — N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced the largest one-time supplemental bonus for state retirees of an additional four percent in this month’s payment.

The bonus will go to benefit recipients of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSRS), Consolidated Judicial Retirement System (CJRS), Legislative Retirement System (LRS) and the Local and Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS). 

“The TSERS, CJRS and LRS payments were appropriated by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Roy Cooper. The LGERS payment will come from retirement funds,” said Folwell in a press release dated Oct. 25.”

“The LGERS one-time supplement was approved by the LGERS Board on Jan. 27 following my recommendation and is in line with the funding policy. We were able to provide the LGERS benefit without increasing the rates we charge to cities and counties across the state.” 

Payments starting in November will return to the levels they would have been without the supplemental increase, according to the press release.

“I want to thank the General Assembly, retirement boards, North Carolina League of Municipalities, North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and staff for recognizing a need and providing those that taught, protected or otherwise served the citizens of North Carolina a timely increase to the October benefit,” said Folwell. 

Rep. Allen McNeill2

Randolph Rep. McNeill receives inaugural “Order of the Keeper of the Public Purse”

RALEIGH — Rep. Allen McNeill (R-Randolph) has been honored as the first recipient of the “Order of the Keeper of the Public Purse,” according to a press statement from N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell.

Folwell, along with the Boards of Trustees of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, passed a resolution honoring McNeill for his work related to the state’s retirement systems.

“It’s hard to say in words the contributions that Rep. McNeill has made to the retirements of those that teach, protect, and otherwise serve the people of North Carolina,” said Folwell in a statement. “But for his leadership as pensions committee chair, our benefit plans wouldn’t be as secure. Not just his constituents in Randolph County, but nearly 1 million current and future generations of public service workers are indebted.”

Per Folwell’s statement, the award is “being established by Treasurer Folwell as a way of recognizing achievements that heed the clarion call of former Treasurer Harlan Boyles in his 1994 book, The Keeper of the Public Purse, to guard fiercely the purse of the citizens of North Carolina.”  

“Order of the Keeper of the Public Purse” will be the highest recognition or award granted by the State Treasurer of North Carolina, according to the statement.

McNeill, the chairman of the House Pension and Retirement Committee, has served over five and a half terms and will not be seeking re-election again this fall.

George_(novel)

Moore County School Board keeps controversial ‘George’ on the shelves

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RALEIGH — On March 14, the Moore County Public Schools Board held its regular monthly meeting which included discussion on the state’s Pre-K through fifth grade reading initiative and a vote on whether to keep the controversial book “George” in the county’s public school libraries. 

The board revisited the recommendations made by the District Media and Technology Committee to keep the controversial book “George” in two of the district’s school libraries: McDeeds Creek Elementary and Union Pines High School.

The book has been heavily criticized by parents for its sexual content and transgender storyline. The book, written by Alex Gino, details a fourth-grade boy who believes he is a girl named Melissa. The publisher’s website claims the book is recommended for children ages 8 to 12 and the book has been re-released this year under the title “Melissa.”

The committee’s justification for keeping the book in McDeeds Elementary included a determination that “the book addresses positive messages about acceptance, diversity and inclusion.” 

“Members of the team expressed that the media collection should reflect the diverse demographics and needs of its community and should provide resources representative of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural groups,” the justification reads.

Similarly, the committee deemed “George” to be “appropriate” for Union Pines High School, stating the book “focuses on relevant topics that high school students may encounter and expresses messages about acceptance, diversity and inclusion.”

Board member Robert Levy made two motions, one to remove “George” from McDeeds Creek Elementary and the other to remove it from Union Pines High. 

The board voted 4-3 each time to keep “George” in Union Pines High school and McDeeds Elementary.  Both times, members Robert Levy, David Hensley and Phillip Holmes voted for removal and Chair Pam Thompson along with members Libby Carter, Stacey Caldwell and Ed Dennison voted to keep the book.

Before the motion was officially voted on, member Stacey Caldwell said she personally believed “George” should be removed from elementary level schools but that it was appropriate for middle and high schools. She followed her remarks by saying “but those are my personal views, and this is why we follow protocols, procedures and form committees.”

“If the committees voted to keep the book at McDeeds Creek and Union Pines, then I need to honor that,” said Caldwell. “You may not agree with it, but we need to think about every student and not just our own.”

At the conclusion of Caldwell’s remarks, member Phillip Holmes interjected, “Excuse me, I have a little girl and I do not want her exposed to ‘penises bobbing in the water’.” His remarks received applause from parents in attendance.

Levy commented that “the bottom line is age appropriateness, especially in elementary schools.” He went on to describe theories involving gender and gender dysphoria and that they are not elementary school topics. 

“What we want to do in the elementary schools is give a child a firm foundation,” said Levy. He went on to point out that the parents on the committees reviewing the book tended to vote to remove the book and that the student members of the committees abstained. 

With regard to age appropriateness of the book, Levy also made the point that sex education doesn’t begin until middle school. He also noted that the reality is kids can pull a book from the shelves and read it without any filtering by parents or teachers.  

Board member David Hensley agreed with Levy the book was age inappropriate for elementary students.

Chair Pam Thompson asked staff if “George” had been checked out, which it had been twice at McDeeds Creek by fourth and fifth graders but not at Union Pines High. Staff said that reviews of the book had “George” rated for grades four and higher.

“I surely hope that everybody that’s come here tonight to speak against this book has actually read this book, because it’s a quick read and one that will not make you strain your brain to get through it,” said board member Libby Carter. 

“We talk on this board about reading proficiency and about being proficient, and yet we’re discussing limiting a child’s opportunity to maybe finally read something that calls to him,” Carter restated after initially being interrupted by boos and complaints from meeting attendees.

Carter tried to bolster her argument by claiming Levy had once remarked after touring a school media center that kids “need books that are about them.”

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