In the back of our minds we have always felt that it was only a portion of the county school board holding things back as we have witnessed the poor, poor pitiful us song and dance at previous meetings without accepting personal responsibility for the shortcomings.

The letter written by state Board of Education Chairman William Cobey Jr. to the school system is the reason folks here are suspicious, it is why its request for a supplemental school tax was overwhelmingly shot down in a referendum and we believe it stands as the major talking point on why the Roanoke Rapids and Weldon school systems won't entertain the thought of merging with them.

This letter, which details the bullying, the ill-advised decisions and what appears to us to be a blatant power hungry trip among a few board members, should be the correspondence that locks tight the door on further merger discussions by consolidation proponents.

While the state board doesn't name the local board members in the letter, we have a feeling we could accurately name them — they are the ones continually bringing up race in the merger issue when race is not a question in light of this letter; they are the ones who keep harping on the unfairness of school funding when, because of them, voters don't believe they can adequately be stewards of their treasury and they are the ones holding back progress of students.

In the real world, you don't attempt to hire lackluster people to run your affairs, as the state reports in the letter the board members in question have tried to do. You don't try to risk the positive gains you've made on your financial situation by going against the advice of other board members and recognized state professionals.

The arrogance of power shown by these board members threatens to take the school system to court for snubbing a ruling that set the way things were to be in Halifax County schools until it could prove they could run their affairs without state intervention.

While the letter doesn't say, it appears these stubborn board members are driving a bus on a crash course to total state takeover if they don't ease back on the pedal.

We have seen flashes of brilliance from the county school system, well-spoken students getting up at board meetings and speaking eloquently. There are success stories within the school system and we don't believe it is a total loss.

What we do believe, however, is if the power hungry and blind continue to interfere and thumb their noses at those trying to help, it becomes a school system on the verge of disaster — Editor