A long legal battle surrounding arrests outside a Durham School Board meeting in April is over for two vocal critics of the city's school system who were acquitted of the charges against them Monday.
Seven members of the public School Board, along with Durham Public Schools Superintendent Ann Denlinger, appeared in court to testify in a case against Durham residents Curtis Gatewood and Carol Walthour. The pair faced charges related to disorderly conduct outside the April meeting. Another critic, Steven Matherly, was acquitted earlier this month.
The arrests were in response to a set of new policies introduced by the board in February in an attempt to maintain order during tumultuous public comment sessions. Residents sometimes refuse to obey board requests and shout personal attacks at board members.
When School Board member Jackie Wagstaff and Vice Chair Regina George-Bowden left in the middle of the February board meeting in protestation of the new policy, they sparked a dispute that culminated in arrests of Walthour, Gatewood and Matherly-who also spoke out against the changes. George-Bowden and Wagstaff have remained in firm opposition to the measures passed in February.
"I may not always approve of the language of the speech, but it is their constitutional right to free speech," Wagstaff said. "These people are concerned parents and grandparents and they have a right to voice their concerns. The rights of the defendants were violated, and that is why they have all been victorious in the courts."
Steve Martin, board member and a proponent of the new policies, said the new policies would restrict residents' ability to express their concerns. "Our board meetings offer the most liberal amount of time for public comment of any elected body of the state of North Carolina," Martin said.
He also said the charges did not correspond to the actions of the defendants.
"Matherly disrupted a public meeting, but the police charged him of second-degree trespassing and disorderly conduct, and he was acquitted on the charges for which he was accused," Martin said. "[Walthour and Gatewood] had nothing to do with the School Board. The whole incident took place outside after the meeting between the police and the defendants.... Forcing the board to appear for eight hours in court was useless."
The rift between members of the board has often been attributed to a racial divide of the board, a result of what some consider gerrymandering that created two predominantly black districts and two largely white districts. Each district elects one board member, two "super" board members-one from each group of two districts-and finally one at-large member elected from the general Durham population.
Wagstaff, who is currently running for mayor, agreed with the claims of gerrymandering. "It was set up that way so that the white majority will always rule," she said.
But Martin dismissed such suggestions. "The board can be elected with a black majority or a white majority," he said. "It's not a matter of racial divisions as much as personality-driven divisions."
He also said votes are not typically decided strictly along racial lines. "The board is actually in a five-to-two divide with four white members and one black member in agreement," he added.
In the midst of such a heated dispute, Wagstaff said she worries that the board is failing to fulfill its duties. "When I took my oath, I said I'd do what's in the best interest of the students of Durham public schools," she said. "The board has lost sight of that. They have taken the focus off the children."
Martin insists that the recent trials have not interfered with the board's ability to function. "Those disruptions are five minutes out of four hours, and after people leave, business gets done," he said.
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