ELIZABETHTOWN — Searching for a superintendent at Bladen County Schools went another meeting with no action Monday night.

How the district will arrive at the replacement for Dr. Robert Taylor had no more clarity after a 60-minute closed session of the Board of Education than it did 95 days ago when he tendered his resignation. The board, for the second straight closed session, listed an action item to hire the N.C. School Board Association to assist the search process.

But Chairman Roger Carroll did not even mention the agenda item, or the agenda item before it for action on items from the closed session. Instead, he asked interim Superintendent Dr. Jason Atkinson if he had any reports, asked for a motion to adjourn, and allowed it with a voice vote rather than roll call as required by state law for meetings held through the internet or telephonically.

The district office remains protective — arguably against state law — of the information presented by Jim O’Rourke of the school board association in an open session of the board on Feb. 8. The Bladen Journal made a public records request as allowable by General Statute for the material. Through the end of Monday’s meeting, that request had not been honored.

The public was prevented from seeing it as it happened during that meeting; instead, the public was given a view of the agenda during the gathering held using the internet application Zoom. Board members also received the information in a correspondence ahead of the meeting.

The board of Chris Clark, Dennis Edwards, Tim Benton, Gary Rhoda, Vincent Rozier, Cory Singletary, Alan West, Glenn McKoy and Carroll went to closed session seven minutes after gaveling into order. A stated purpose of their meeting was the search for a superintendent.

Since Taylor resigned, the board has met in regular session in December, January and February. It also met in special called meetings to receive the resignation in November, and again in closed session for what appeared to be the hiring of the state board association on Feb. 16.

The board, unless it calls another meeting, will next convene on March 8.

Taylor’s last day was Jan. 14. He started as the state deputy superintendent the next day in Raleigh on the team of Catherine Truitt, the Republican who won the November election for state superintendent.

Atkinson, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, has served in the interim.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.