A proposal to name Cumberland County Schools’ Operations Center after a longtime district administrator failed Monday after board members questioned how the request originated, its timing, and whether naming a building should take priority over student needs.
The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 5–3 against naming the facility the Timothy H. Kinlaw Operations Center, rejecting a recommendation from five former district leaders who credited Kinlaw with creating the centralized operations hub at 810 Gillespie St.
Board members Jacquelyn Brown, Deanna Jones, Mary Hales, Terra Jordan, and Delores Bell voted against the proposal. Greg West voted in favor alongside Susan Williams and Jackie Warner.
The Auxiliary Services Committee recommended the naming in a 2–1 vote on October 6. During that meeting, Hales first questioned who initiated the effort and a September 2016 approval date appearing on the application.
5 Former District Leaders Back Renaming
The application presented to the board included a July 15 letter addressed to Superintendent Eric Bracy and bearing the signatures of five former district leaders.
They were former Superintendent Bill Harrison, former Associate Superintendent of Business Operations Ricky Lopes, former Executive Director of Athletics and Student Activities Fred McDaniel, former Assistant Superintendent of Communications and Innovative Projects Wanda McPhaul, and former board attorney David Phillips.
“To honor someone with the naming of a building requires that he/she has provided years of dedication and professionalism that not only provides outstanding performance but also has an undeniable impact across the community,” the letter reads.
Kinlaw, according to the letter, served as associate superintendent for auxiliary services from 1993 to 2018 and as interim superintendent from March through June 2009 and June 2017 through June 2018.
The former leaders described Kinlaw’s responsibilities as reaching into nearly every part of the school day, from buses and crossing guards to meals, classroom heating and cooling, supplies, construction, and athletics. Kinlaw died in 2023 at the age of 71.
“Tim was the ultimate team player,” they wrote. “He sat in every meeting listening to curriculum specialists, human resource officials, finance officers and policy leaders thinking, ‘How can I support this? How can we make this work? How does my area affect the success of this?’”
They also described someone willing to make difficult recommendations about school closures, building uses, and attendance boundaries.
“If his recommendation was to close or re-purpose a school or to change district lines, it was based on years of his following the data and his understanding of how that decision would not only affect the community in the near future but also over the long term,” the letter reads.
The former leaders credited Kinlaw with helping develop agreements between the county and district to share athletic facilities and libraries. They also cited his management of construction following a 1997 bond referendum, describing $98 million in local bond funding alongside $73 million provided by the state.
According to the letter, Kinlaw persuaded the district to manage the work internally rather than hire an outside construction manager. The projects were completed on time and under budget, the former leaders wrote, generating $10.8 million in savings that allowed construction of Stoney Point Elementary School and three elementary media centers outside the original plan.
They also credited Kinlaw with identifying the property—a former site for Fasco Industries—as a place to consolidate district operations.
“Tim was the visionary who saw the Fasco Building as the place to create an operations hub that would locate all things operational at one site,” they wrote.
The move brought safety, transportation, child nutrition, maintenance, construction, technology, printing, supplies, and general warehousing together, according to the letter, while freeing other buildings for additional district uses.
‘Why Did It Take So Long?’
At the October 6 committee meeting, Kevin Coleman, the district’s associate superintendent for auxiliary services, said he and four other current leaders housed at the Operations Center—Beth Maynard, Kristi Harden, Kerry Young, and Matthew Johnson—supported the naming request.
Hales questioned how the recommendation came together and whether the former employees developed it collectively or whether one person first suggested it.
“All these people got together at one time and made that decision?” she asked.
Coleman said all five had signed the letter, but he did not know how they organized the effort.
Hales then asked whether a current board member had suggested the naming to one of the former employees.
“I have no idea,” Coleman said.
Hales said at Monday’s meeting that her opposition was not personal toward Kinlaw, whom she knew and with whom she had a pleasant working relationship.
“However, for the sake of transparency, there are pertinent facts that should be presented before a final vote is taken,” she said.
She questioned why the July letter was not presented to the board until October 6.
“Why did it take so long to be presented to us?” Hales asked. “Several of us had no knowledge that this had been a topic of discussion among some until last week.”
Hales also questioned the letter’s authenticity, referring to a demonstration she had seen of artificial intelligence’s ability to produce letters and emails.
“Is this letter even authentic?” she asked.
Hales said community members had previously petitioned to name the same building for another deceased employee, but the previous board had not done so. She said former board Chair Judy Musgrave, who died in June, later brought that matter back before the board.
“So my questions to this board are why is it being brought before us at this particular time and who, may I ask, brought this matter to the attention of the former retired employees who signed it?” Hales asked.
She suggested the proposal was being advanced before the November election.
“One can only conceive that it is happening because we will have new board members in November and the agenda of some is to have this done before the election,” she said.
Sixteen candidates are seeking three at-large seats on the nine-member school board this election. Brown is running for reelection, while West is not. Musgrave filled the other seat.
On Monday, Coleman and other district officials did not address who initiated the request or why the July letter was presented to the board in October.
During the public forum portion of the meeting, educator Janice Smith urged the board to name the building for Wilson Lacy, who worked for the school district for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2018. Lacy, who died in 2022, also served as chair of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission for several years.
‘Naming a Building Right Now Is Not a Priority’
Jordan said her opposition concerned how the board allocated its attention amid other district challenges.
“The reason why I can’t support this proposal is because we have several other pressing priorities and significant challenges that require our immediate attention,” she said. “I believe we must intentionally show how we prioritize our time, resources, and effort.”
She said academic success, safety, and student well-being should guide that work.
“My decision is not about dismissing this proposal, but rather about ensuring that we address our most urgent needs first,” Jordan said. “We must prioritize what is necessary before committing to what may not be essential at this time.”
Jones agreed, pointing to changes affecting students and families.
“I don’t think this is the right time to bring this up right now—whave too many things going on concerning our children,” she said. “We’re moving them, we’re talking, and thinking about taking choices away, which affects our children and other things that are happening with our families.”
“Naming a building right now is not a priority,” Jones said.
Instead, she said, the board should focus on helping students succeed, including those falling behind.
“That’s the priority that we should be considering instead of naming a building.”
Earlier this year, the board approved closing two schools amidst a broader consolidation process. The district is also embarking on a years-long construction program to build a new E.E. Smith High School and other campuses, as well as address a $300 million backlog in maintenance projects.
