BY KARISSA MILLER

A community member scolded the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education on Monday night over the board’s decision to derail an effort to display a poster that included the Ten Commandments and other historical documents in all district schools.

Her comments did not sit well with at least one board member.

Speaker Jan Wright began her comments to the board by saying that “The North Carolina statutes for public schools says we can display the Ten Commandments in our public schools.” She then said that she appreciated the integrity of board members Mike Kubiniec, Anita Kurn and Brian Sloan, who stood up for their values and voted in favor of the Ten Commandments poster.

She then proceeded to lecture the remaining four board members, whom she described as voting against the Ten Commandments.

“You do not know what you are doing,” she said. “We cannot believe in you. We cannot trust you.”

“You are easily persuaded by outside voices. When and for what else will you suddenly change your mind?” she asked.

According to Wright, the Bible and prayer were taken out of public schools in 1962. Removing God from schools, she said, results in “a rise in bad behavior, poor achievement, sexual perversion, drugs, depression, suicide and economic depression.”

She ended with a word of warning for the board members.

“We need God and his Ten Commandments put back into our schools,” Wright said.

Vice chairman resents accusations

Chairman Bill Howell provided Vice Chairman Charles Kelly, who did not seek re-election in 2024, with a chance to reflect and share his thoughts on his 20 years of service as a school board member.

Kelly opted to use that time to respond to Wright’s comments.

“I was absolutely steaming, as a practicing lay leader in a Methodist Church who has spoken on this topic, to be put into a category for downing the Ten Commandments,” he said passionately.

“I resent it to the point of absolute anger,” Kelly added.

Sloan, who spearheaded the effort to display the Ten Commandments in I-SS schools, attempted to prevent Kelly from having his say.

“This is board member comments,” Sloan said, while interrupting Kelly. “Point of order.”

Chairman Howell previously discontinued the practice of allowing board members to comment on matters of their choosing during board meetings because board members were using the time to promote personal agendas.

In response to Sloan’s comments, Kelly stood his ground.

“That’s right! It’s exactly what it is — and it’s the last time. I’ve spent 20 years doing it and it’s the last time I’ll be here,” he said.

The vice chair explained that he tries to live by the Ten Commandments. His opposition to displaying the Commandments in district schools wasn’t for a religious reason, he said, but rather a move to avoid costly litigation.

While having the Ten Commandments displayed on school property is allowed under North Carolina law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the practice.

Having to pay attorneys to defend a lawsuit on the issue would divert funding away from educating local children, he said.

Kelly also accused Wright of spreading misinformation about the Ten Commandments poster. A vote about whether to display the poster never took place because a motion on the matter did not receive a second.

Then a motion to postpone the vote until November, which was seconded, failed because it did not receive enough votes.

While Kelly was attempting to speak on the matter, Kubiniec and Sloan continued to interrupt him.

Kelly, who was agitated, jokingly said he would throw his water bottle at Kubiniec if he didn’t stop interrupting him. Kubiniec quit with the interruptions. However, Sloan continued to do so.

“We went from the middle of the pack to the Top 10. If we aren’t No. 1, we are in the Top 10. We have the best acuity in the state. We have the best administration in the state. We’ve gotten there step by step by step. Don’t let’s tear it down,” Kelly said.

During the past two years, following the election of Kubiniec, Sloan and Kurn in November of 2022, the board has spent too much time bickering and lost its focus on students, Kelly said. (Kubiniec has been publicly censured by the board and accused of stalking another board member. Meanwhile, Sloan distinguished himself by claiming he could handle the job of principal at Statesville High, and Kurn joked in a text message to other board members about having Statesville High students fight in a Thunderdome for entertainment.)

“We are here for 21,000 kids. That is what we are here for,” Kelly said.

He finished his comments by saying it’s been an honor to serve on the board.

Directly following his comments, Sloan asked Howell, “Do I get board member comments?”

“No, you don’t,” the chairman responded. “When you put 20 years in, I’d be glad to.”

Public Schools & Religion

Academic lessons on the Bible and other religious texts are permitted in I-SS schools.

Additionally, faith-based partnerships have been a part of I-SS for decades. However, no child is forced to be a part of a class or religious club.

The I-SS Bible Association pays for Bible class in the five high schools in Iredell County. Money is raised privately to pay the salaries of the teachers. The nonprofit organization has been around since 1994.

In 2009, the I-SS Board voted in favor of the motion to allow the Good News Club in the district’s elementary schools. Kelly was one of the board members who approved the motion.