A special called meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Education has been scheduled for Thursday February 13th at 3:30 pm.  There is speculation among many parents and teachers that having the meeting in the middle of the afternoon is by design to prevent the public, who can’t leave work, from attending the meeting.  The BOE, at least five of the nine members,  has been under fire recently for releasing the highly popular DOS Billy Stepp from his contract without cause.  There have been two earlier meetings in which a large turnout of the public showed up to voice their displeasure with the dismissal of Stepp. The sole purpose of Thursday’s BOE meeting is to form an evaluation committee which will meet immediately after the BOE meeting.  There is a “community comment” section on the BOE’s 3:30 meeting.  The Evaluation Committee will look at the current guidelines for hiring a new Director of Schools to take over after Stepp’s contract ends in June.  There is an investigation underway to uncover possible personal agenda motives for the five BOE members who voted to not renew Stepp’s contract while, by all accounts, his service as DOS has been exemplary. The investigation is looking into nepotism as one motivation for dismissing Stepp.