RALEIGH -- Wake County school board members will hold a public vote on Tuesday to reaffirm their decision to put Superintendent Del Burns on paid administrative leave through the end of June.
The board had voted in closed session on March 9 to put Burns on leave before making a public announcement about the decision. Amid questions about whether it was legal to hold the vote in private, school board chairman Ron Margiotta said they’ll revote in public.
“It’s a case of being transparent,” said Margiotta.
Margiotta said he still believes that the board was legally in the right to have held the first vote in private. He argued the board has historically had other private votes to put administrators on leave.
Raleigh attorney Hugh Stevens, who has represented The News & Observer and many other media outlets in open-meetings cases, said the March 9 vote ignored open-meeting requirements in state law.
Despite Margiotta’s efforts to keep the closed-session discussion private, school board member Carolyn Morrison said that the vote split 5-4 along the same lines seen in many actions since a new majority took over in December.
Morrison said that Burns ' controversial statements in Feb. 18 media interviews were the sole reason behind the majority's decision to remove him from office.
Burns had surprised board members with the announcement of his resignation on Feb. 16.
In interviews two days later, Burns accused the board majority of engaging in political partisanship and criticized members' intention to end busing for socioeconomic diversity.
School officials say Burns will receive $145,550 in salary and benefits through his announced June 30 resignation date.
