The Edgecombe County Board of Education was presented with a few things to think about on Monday night that extended past what was on the agenda.

Public comments brought a community member forward that was concerned about the hiring policy for people with criminal backgrounds. The Boys and Girls Club of Nash/Edgecombe Counties got the opportunity to address the board members twice during Items for Information, and Items for Action on the progress they’ve made, and the progress they want to see made.

Marthiah Powell asked the board to consider looking at candidates for educational jobs within the school system on a case-by-case basis if they have a criminal background.

Powell who has had an opportunity to tutor children in Nash-Rocky Mount Schools and through a faith-based group said that she has a criminal background from more than 10 years ago.

She expressed her desire to pursue a career in education.

“Since then I’ve been going back to school to better educate myself,” Powell said. She is attending North Carolina Wesleyan College to receive a degree in education.

The board didn’t take any action or address their hiring policy as standard procedure.

While Boys and Girls Club Chief Professional Officer Theresa Shaw and Area Director Tony Orr reported what the organization has accomplished in Edgecombe County over the past year, the issue came up of space during Items for Information.

Shaw and Orr stressed that their services stopped at fifth-grade for students in Edgecombe, leaving little opportunity for them to participate past summer programs.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe County operates three sites through the school system in Edgecombe: Phillips Unit at Phillips Middle School in the Battleboro community, South Edgecombe Unit at South Edgecombe Middle School in Pinetops and Edgecombe Unit at Princeville Montessori School in Princeville.

The representatives said that the Edgecombe Unit poses a problem for students who want to continue membership.

“We’re getting to the fifth-grade, but at our Rocky Mount site we have a free-standing site,” Shaw said.

She said the cost to operate a free-standing site was expensive.

“We want to look after those kids until they graduate from high school,” Shaw said. “We have to find a way to follow them to middle school, and then again to high school."

Orr gave examples of the positive impact the organization has on students.