From the Beaufort Observer (10/27/10): The Beaufort County Board of Education, meeting in its regular monthly meeting October 25, approved joining a legal consortium led by the NC School Boards Association to challenge or "clarify" recently adopted changes to NC's public records law.
This law (HB 961) was the infamous Ethics Reform legislation which passed the Legislature in the closing days of the session. It passed the House on a vote of 105 Ayes and 0 Noes, with six not voting. Rep. Arthur Williams, D-Beaufort voted for the bill. It passed the Senate with a concurrence (S169) of 37 Ayes, 1 No, 6 not voting and 7 excused absences. In other words it passed both houses with overwhelming with bi-partisan support.
Now here’s the issue.
In the past about the only thing that a school system could release about an employee’s background was their name and current assignment. Under the new law the idea is that an employee’s work history would be a public record.