WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — On Tuesday, The New Hanover County Board of Education held a special meeting, taking the first steps today to hire a replacement for now-former superintendent Tim Markley.
There was speculation that the meeting would revolve around the employment of Peter Frank, the Roland Grise Middle School band teacher charged with 12 counts of felony sex crimes against students. However, Frank still remains suspended without pay. The board says firing Frank at this point would break tenure laws.
On Friday, Markley resigned after mounting pressure. Frank was the third New Hanover County Schools employee charged with sex crimes against students in less than two years. School Board Chair Lisa Estep says the first step is to find an interim superintendent as quickly as possible.
“We are working with the NCSBA, the North Carolina School Boards Association, and that’s covered as part of our membership fee, so that’s at no cost to this system,” Estep said. “So they are going to be assisting with that process. And then the permanent search, what we’re going to be doing is looking at who we want to partner with, what firm, and we are going to be conducting a nationwide search.”
The board plans to begin its search on Wednesday. That process could take several months.
The board says it is still considering whether or not to release anything from Frank’s personnel file.
