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night over the board’s decision to derail an effort to display a poster that included the Ten Commandments and other historical documents in all district schools.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.
In two more years we can get rid of the puppet master’s “puppets.” Candidates have been recruited to run against Sloan, Kubiniec and Kurn. They will all be one-term board members.
See, Ms. Wright, sometimes you need all the facts before you go embarrass yourself in front of the whole county. No one on that board voted against the Ten Commandments. Your two puppets from Mooresville killed the issue when they made a motion to postpone the vote & their motion failed. So much for their political skills & personal agendas. What a complete lack of disrespect for Mr. Kelly, who has spent two decades trying to help the children & parents of this county. Shame on the Three Stooges. But this is not surprising. Birds of a feather tend to flock together.
How do we go about setting up a fundraiser for the school system to include these three in a thunderdome? I bet we could build a new school with the proceeds.
I think this area should focus on Mr. Kelly’s history of educational excellence. First met him as instructor at Mitchell Community College and later had children in ISS while he was on the board. He has focused on the needs of students his entire adult life. Thank you, Mr. Kelly, for your time, effort, and service all these years.
The board made the right decision – public schools are not allowed to promote religion and that is exactly what that 10 Commandments sign would have done, and it would have triggered lawsuits that the school district would have had to defend by paying attorneys to represent the district and they would have lost. The board saved the schools a ton of money. Another thing – the tired old argument that prayer was removed from schools in 1962 is a false one. Any student can pray silently to himself at any time to whatever god he or she chooses so why the complaints? Does silent prayer not work. For the record, what was removed in 1962 was MANDATORY prayer. An out loud prayer led by the school amounts to a sermon, and in a public school that is unconstitutional.
It is sad that our students have to pay the price for the decisions of adults — most of whom seem to want their way rather than what is best for our children. This election is proof that “we the people” have had enough. God heard our prayers and set them in motion. As for the cost, I know a former teacher who does beautiful calligraphy whom I think would do the penmanship and a Christian who could get them printed. There are wonderful woodworkers in our county to make frames as well as glass companies who could offer discounts. And I believe there are many who would donate to this cause. I have two amazing young grandsons who witness about their God and are bringing others to Christ. Do those of you old enough not remember that churches use to take care of our people then the government took over? That was part of the control of “we the people” and it got worse. All it takes is one person to start something. What happened to majority rules?
Thank you, Mr. Kelly, for your service to the school system and students of Iredell County. You have tried to keep the focus on the students and learning, without engaging in the culture war that is infiltrating our board that is attempting to block the board from doing its main job, which is providing a good education to all of Iredell students. We live in one of the most conservative counties in NC and these attacks on the character of a dedicated person who has served so well is ridiculous.
Mr. Kelly, thank you for your 20 years of service. Those were some long, late nights in COW meetings and board meetings. You have always kept the children foremost in your decision-making, and have conducted yourself with decorum. As a parent, I appreciate you standing up for what is right, making common sense decisions, and always keeping children first. Thank you, sir, for being an outstanding board member. We will miss you.
Does OS1 still exist? I thought they went away when that Hogan guy left town.
Since the school board declined to support an effort by Brian Sloan to display posters containing the Ten Commandments, along with other historical documents, why would an article in IFN focus on one person’s public comments regarding that? Shouldn’t the focus of the article have been on the two board members, Chairman Bill Howell and Vice-Chair Charles Kelly, who were no longer seeking re-election and a commemoration of their lengthy years of service as school board members? Perhaps it would have been nice to highlight some of their special memories or policy positions that positively impacted student outcomes. Mr. Kelly’s daughter even had an opportunity to speak about her father’s service, yet here’s no mention of that. It seems like so many articles pertaining to the school board, as well as people’s “thoughts” about its members, veer down the path of finger-pointing, denigrating particular board members, and rehashing of past grievances, whether they’re true or not. Didn’t we just learn from the recent presidential election that constant scolding and name-calling of a huge swath of American voters did not bode well for the losing candidate? That may very well have pushed voters to choose the man who did win. And for those naysayers who constantly complain about the board’s lack of focus on students, they DO accomplish what’s on their agendas.
Posting the Ten Commandments in our schools will not fix bad behavior or end juvenile violence, but parents modeling the Ten Commandments and teaching them to their children could make a BIG difference.