Why hasn't Onslow County Schools posted the Eric Whitfield amotion hearing video?
Editor's Note: The story has been updated to add Onslow County Schools' response to questions sent before deadline.
An Onslow County school board member's amotion hearing took place over two weeks ago, but the video has yet to be published to the public.
Controversial board of education member Eric Whitfield is facing amotion due to inappropriate and unethical behavior while sitting on the board. The hearing was held on July 25, but the video has yet to be published as of August 10, despite the district saying it would be available immediately following the hearing.
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The hearing officer, Valecia McDowell, an attorney with Moore & Van Allen, has 15 days left to present her recommendations to the board on whether or not the board should remove Whitfield from office.
Whitfield is expected to appeal the decision if the board votes in favor to remove him.
But will the public have the opportunity to view the hearing before a decision is made?
Onslow County Schools Chief Communications Officer Brent Anderson said due to the inappropriate language and images shared and discussed during the hearing, they felt it best to provide a non-explicit version of the proceedings. Although no content will be removed, images and language will be obscured or "bleeped out."
"Due to the length of the session, time to render video copies and checking/re-checking that we have taken care of any offensive material, it is taking longer than anticipated to get it wrapped up," Anderson said.
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Thumb drives containing the video are supposed to be available upon request to the public, however former Onslow County Schools employee Kelli Muse spoke at the regular board meeting on August 9, saying she has requested a thumb drive but has not received one.
Anderson said a version of the video with no obscured or “bleeped out” language and images has been provided to the board, and one has also been provided to a member of the public through a public records request. Whether that member is Muse, is unclear.
Whitfield was convicted on April 7 of one count of cyberstalking after harassing, cyberstalking and conveying threats toward Muse.
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Muse has already filed a federal lawsuit against both Whitfield and the district. During the August 9 meeting, she made a comment about the amount of money the district has spent on the proceedings involving Whitfield.
Anderson said following the board’s decision to proceed with the amotion on May 26, the amount expended through June 30 has been $33,828.93.
Tuesday night's meeting was the second meeting in a row Whitfield did not participate as a sitting board member.
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow school board member amotion hearing video yet to be posted
