Editor’s note: This column is an open letter addressed to the citizens of Perquimans County.
In 2018, the Perquimans County Board of Education voted to name, posthumously, the future track at the Perquimans County Athletic Complex in honor or Capt. M. Shirley Wiggins, USN (Ret.).
In anticipation of the track’s March 2024 grand opening celebration, there was a rumor in the community that the track would not be named after Capt. Wiggins. Out of concern, the Perquimans County Branch of the NAACP asked to meet with Perquimans County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tanya Turner and the Perquimans Board of Education for a status update.
The board met with the Perquimans County branch of the NAACP and later informed it via letter that the school board had decided to name the track for Capt. Wiggins only after $50,000 was raised to build a storage shed for the complex and signage.
What happened? These new requirements are being made after the school board voted unanimously to name the track without conditions in April 2018.
Here’s the background. On April 23, 2018, the school board voted unanimously to name the future track at the Perquimans County Schools Athletic Complex the Capt. M. Shirley Wiggins, USN (Ret.), Track without conditions. The board has recently admitted that it did not comply with its policy established in November 2011 regarding the naming of specific buildings or portions of the athletic complex at Perquimans County High School with funds raised by private donations/contributions. However, Perquimans County Schools received and built the track with federal dollars.
The board indicated it did not comply with its own 2011 policy because it had not provided that policy to its usual policy service provider; therefore, it was not part of the district’s written policy manual either in print or online. The board provided this as a reason for failing to follow its policy. Moreover, this failure also denied the general public access to the policy.
However, at least two board members from 2018 who are still on the board were aware of the 2011 policy and did not make it part of the April 2018 vote. Furthermore, four of the six board members who voted in 2018 are still on the board in 2024 and have stated that the entire board is still firmly committed to naming the track after Capt. Wiggins.
In addition, the board says it relied on statements made on March 25, 2018, by Mrs. Judie Hoffler, at the time a member of the Perquimans County Schools Athletic Design Committee, when she addressed the board. During her remarks, Mrs. Hoffler acknowledged that building the track would require fundraising and donations.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government made various monies available to public schools. Federal funds became available to build the track, so donations were not needed to construct the track. The board also stated that fundraising for the track was prohibited because federal funds were used to build the track.
The bottom line is that the Perquimans Board of Education is now demanding $50,000 and has said that once that financial goal is met, it will decide how and where to display Capt. Wiggins’ name. The board shared that it may use the funds for separate sports complex features that have not yet been built.
The unanimous vote of the Board of Education in April 2018 was to name the track for Capt. Wiggins in honor of her service to this country and county. Additional parts of the complex were not part of the vote; nor were these new conditions a part of that vote.
The community must decide whether the Perquimans Board of Education’s actions demonstrate honest, ethical and transparent behavior. The delay seems counterproductive, especially after the board received more than $1 million from the federal government to build the track for the school and community.
The board needs to stop these divisive demands and follow its original decision from April 2018, especially since from then until March 2024 there has not been any board action reflecting any change in the board’s decision to move forward with naming the track in honor of Capt. Wiggins.
A reasonable solution would be for the community to fundraise for the signage. However, attaching a cost of $50,000, which includes a new building and possibly other items, before naming the track is unethical and alarming.
It is unacceptable that the board devised new conditions before honoring its unanimous vote, made back in April 2018, to name the track for Capt. Wiggins without conditions. This duplicitous behavior differs from what we expect or want from our Perquimans County Board of Education.
Perquimans County Board of Education members, it is not too late to do what is right. Keep your word, and let’s move forward as a community, demonstrating unity, commitment and integrity.
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