SE North Carolina News

Moms for Liberty - Pender County has endorsed Phil Cordeiro in his re-election campaign for the Pender County Board of Education. In-person early voting began on February 15 for the March 5 primary election.

"Since Phil joined the board of education last year, he has consistently asked tough questions and been a voice for parents' rights," said Tiffany Norris, Moms for Liberty - Pender County Chapter Chair. "Phil's dissenting voice has generated a productive dialogue throughout our community about issues important to all families, and we are grateful for his continued public service."

In a candidate questionnaire for Port City Daily, Cordeiro revealed that he has a vested interest in the success of Pender County Schools, as his son will be attending the new K-8 school being built in Hampstead. He noted that currently, 40.6% of Pender County students are not proficient in math and 46.3% are not proficient in reading. According to Cordeiro, his financial services background makes him an appealing candidate, positioning him to use his expertise to ensure that Pender County Schools utilize its budget most efficiently and effectively. He said, "I would support maximum early-planning and transparency in the budget process so our community can be engaged in our expenditure of their hard-earned money."

Regarding the contentious issue of age-inappropriate materials in school libraries, Cordeiro told Port City Daily that his approach would be to "[require] that students obtain parental permission before checking out books that the librarian and book review committees have determined to be age-inappropriate." He believes parents should have ready access to all materials for prospective curricula and stated, "If we design the education process around parental engagement – and put systems in place from the beginning planning stages — we can meaningfully engage parents without requiring significant extra costs or effort."

According to Cordeiro's campaign website, he is the son of Portuguese immigrants and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served on combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After his military service, Cordeiro worked as a budget analyst for the City of Wilmington, finance officer with the Town of Hillsborough, and town manager for Youngsville. Currently, he works as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in both the public and private sectors, and resides in Hampstead with his wife and son.

As per the Pender County Board of Education manual, the Board consists of five members. The terms are four years long and staggered so that two or three new members are elected every two years. Elections are nonpartisan.

Moms for Liberty is a parental-rights-in-education advocacy group founded by Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, two former school board members. According to its website, Moms for Liberty is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization working to unite parents in the pursuit of liberty.