Public records show that the board regularly discussed school district business by text message after four new members were sworn in
BY MIKE FUHRMAN
The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education has repeatedly violated North Carolina’s open meetings law during the past five months.
I-SS Board members have conducted secret meetings via text message on at least 32 different dates since mid-December, according to documents obtained by Iredell Free News.
In response to a public records request, district officials provided Iredell Free News with a 123-page document that includes hundreds of text messages between board members and the superintendent.
During those meetings, the board members discussed the Iredell County Board of Commissioners’ political posturing over funding for the new high school; their views of pro-charter school legislation sponsored by N.C. Rep. Jeff McNeely; the need to protect students from views and memorabilia supporting the LGBTQ community; whether district schools should compete in sports against charter schools; how to deal with discipline issues at Statesville High School; and more.
The full range of topics is unknown because school board attorney Dean Shatley redacted several sections of the document, explaining that those portions were exempt from the records request because the material was “confidential” or “not related to the school system’s business, and therefore not subject to the public records law.”
N.C. law requires meetings to be held in public
North Carolina law prohibits a quorum of board members from meeting and discussing official business unless the board has provided notice of the meeting and then meets publicly in open session. State law makes no distinction between in-person meetings and meetings held electronically, according to an analysis by the UNC School of Government.
Brooks Fuller, who has served as the executive director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition at Elon University since 2019, said the I-SS Board’s actions appear to be contrary to state law.
“North Carolina law requires public bodies to conduct the public’s business in public. When a majority of a public body meets simultaneously, even electronically, they have to give notice to the public and produce minutes,” Fuller explained. “Legal experts across the state agree that this applies to group emails and text messages among the majority of a public body.
“These text messages show that the members of the Iredell County school board were engaged in a group discussion of the public’s business completely in the dark. They are actively deliberating raising tax revenue and spending public money on schools. These are policy decisions that deeply affect the lives of folks in Iredell and ought to be made publicly. This seems like a clear violation of the open meetings law,” he added.
The secret meetings began in December — exactly two weeks after new board members Mike Kubiniec, Anita Kurn, Brian Sloan and Abby Trent were sworn in. The four new board members were the most frequent participants in the illegal meetings, along with Doug Knight, who was elected in 2020. Chairman Bill Howell, who was elected in 2016, participated less frequently than those five members. Charles Kelly, who was elected in 2004, did not actively participate in the illegal meetings.
The new board members attended N.C. School Board Association training in Raleigh on December 8-9 that included an overview of the state’s open meetings laws. District officials have also provided the board with additional training on the proper way to conduct school board business.
There is also evidence in the string of text messages that the board members had at least some understanding of the state’s open meetings law — even as they violated it.
At one point, Sloan advised the other board members that he was headed to Waffle House before an upcoming meeting and invited “less than three” of his fellow board members to join him. (Any gathering of four board members would constitute a quorum of the I-SS Board, and therefore would require public notice of a meeting.)
Even after Iredell Free News requested the text messages documenting the board’s illegal meetings, school board members continued to meet secretly by text message.
On April 20, more than a month after the news organization made its public records request for copies of the texts, Howell sent a message to the rest of the board advising the other members that their conversations were a matter of public record. He did not admonish them for conducting a secret meeting.
“Ladies and gentlemen be very careful what you say,” Howell wrote. “The school system has been asked to provide text and email when we are talking.”
The chairman’s warning came in the midst of a string of texts about Sloan’s work as a poultry farmer.
Kubiniec, the vice chair, scoffed at Howell’s warning with a two-word response: “Very scandalous.”
Board members began illegal meetings on December 19
After prevailing in the 2022 elections, Kubiniec, Kurn, Sloan and Trent were sworn in on December 5, 2022.
Two weeks later, on December 19, Superintendent Jeff James established a group text for the purpose of sharing information with the new board. However, board members immediately began using the forum to discuss school district policies, matters on upcoming meeting agendas, and the performance of at least one principal.
On more than one occasion, board members “voted” for proposals advanced by their peers via text message. During the board’s regular meeting on March 13 in Troutman, Sloan texted that he was ready to go home. “Past my bedtime,” he wrote. “Let’s adjourn.” The next day Sloan followed up with another text. “I make a motion we try end all meetings by at least 9 pm”
Text messages target LGBTQ advocacy, ‘woke agendas’
In February, in a series of text messages, board members railed against plans for an LGBTQ advocate and former district employee to speak to students at Oakwood Middle School, An IB World School during an after-school club meeting:
Trent: “I am going to be honest, I am not comfortable with this. This has nothing to do with school.”
Kubiniec: “Why do we allow the IB schools to push this type of stuff – optional or not? … He is a self-proclaimed activist.”
Sloan: “I vote No.”
Kubiniec: “Middle school? Really?”
Knight: “This man should not be in our schools pushing his agenda. … A walking talking version of books that should not be here.”
Howell: “I agree.”
Kubiniec: “I would also like to know what are all the other IB schools pushing too? How do we find out about them? Is this hidden from plain sight? Where are the checks and balances?”
The day after that discussion the superintendent notified the board that the event at Oakwood IB Middle had been canceled – even after he had advised the board that the gathering was likely protected by the First Amendment and the school board could open itself to being sued for discrimination if the event was canceled.
After a second incident at Oakwood IB, Trent texted the board that a participant in a Comic Con event was handing out Gay Pride flags. The chairman participated in a board discussion about the event.
“I understand enrichment and it is important but this goes way beyond that,” Howell wrote. “I am so glad I was not there. I might have lost my temper.”
Kubiniec pushed the superintendent for recommendations to ensure students would not be exposed to those types of views in the future.
“What is the best way to drive home to the IB schools (and to all schools) that the gay, transgender, and woke agendas being driven by these people is not acceptable?” he wrote.
The vice chair’s views on this community also spilled over into a discussion about whether the district should accept a $17 million mental health grant. Kubiniec expressed his concern that the grant could require the district to provide “gender identity/affirming ‘care’, LGBTQ+123ABC ‘care’, and other such things.”
“Before we approve,” the vice chair texted, “the details must be communicated.”
Board members take aim at elected officials, Iredell Free News
Board members regularly used the secret meetings to voice their opinions on a variety of matters, including the work of elected officials and local media.
Rep. Jeff McNeely incurred the wrath of several board members for co-sponsoring legislation that would require traditional public schools to share certain revenues with charter schools.
After the superintendent advised the board that the bill McNeely supported would cause I-SS to lose $12 million in funding annually, Kubiniec suggested that Superintendent James submit an op-ed to the local newspaper and Iredell Free News explaining that the lawmaker was not working in the best interest of the school district.
“Let me know if you need proofing or any salty language added!” Kubiniec wrote.
“I always wanted to be a leg breaker,” Sloan added.
Howell complained that Rep. McNeely had placed politics above what was best for Iredell-Statesville Schools. “He is all for the bill and does not really care about us,” the chairman wrote, citing an email from the lawmaker.
Another frequent topic in the long string of text messages was the ongoing and often contentious discussions with the Iredell County Board of Commissioners about funding for the new Weathers Creek High School.
At one point, Trent blamed current and previous county commissioners for not planning adequately for the project. “This is why we need people who are conservative running the county so we are able to put money back for things such as this,” she wrote. “Thus far we have had folks who overspent & did not plan ahead for growth.”
Later, when Kubiniec shared that he was tired of the school board and county commissioners “launching arrows and attacking one another,” Kurn responded by blaming Commissioner Bert Connolly for the friction between the two boards.
“It is only one launching arrows and that is Connolly,” Kurn wrote.
Sloan, however, pushed back.
“Why do you say only one launching arrows. We poke the dog every chance we get,” he wrote.
“He is the only one that goes on offense,” Kurn replied.
“We go out of our way to say something at every opportunity,” Sloan said.
Howell, during another exchange on this topic, warned other board members that he might need someone to restrain him when they meet with county commissioners to discuss county funding.
“I might need some help when we meet with the CC the next week, being professional and holding back my temper,” the chairman wrote.
After Iredell Free News published a column criticizing board members Kubiniec (for his rejection of data linking poverty and poor test scores, among other things) and Sloan (for suggesting he was qualified to serve as principal of Statesville High), Kubiniec proposed that the board prohibit district administrators from purchasing advertising from Iredell Free News.
When Knight responded by saying the optics of publicly voting to cut advertising “would be very bad PR in my opinion,” Kubiniec ended the conversation by saying: “Maybe we don’t have to do it publicly.”
Board members joke about having Statesville High students fight in ‘Thunderdome’
The board members also expressed their frustration over the violence in the Statesville community and the discipline problems at Statesville High School.
In response to a news article about school violence and legislation that allows school staff in another state to carry guns that was posted in the group text, Kubiniec proposed that school board members be allowed to carry guns. Knight expressed his opposition to that idea.
Meanwhile, Kurn and Sloan held a playful discussion about sanctioning student fighting at Statesville High:
Sloan: “Another idea, we could have a sign up sheet for fighting. Put them through some kick box training and have a officiated match”
Kurn: “Why not just have Thunderdome in the middle of the football field. We can charge admission.”
The term “Thunderdome” commonly refers to steel-cage fights to the death in the film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.”
Chairman disagrees with view that group texts are meetings
In an interview, I-SS Board Chairman Bill Howell, who said he was not speaking on behalf of the entire board, disagreed with the view that a string of text messages among a quorum of board members constituted a “meeting.”
“If we are all in a room having a meeting, that’s a meeting,” Howell said. The group text “is a way to keep in contact with board members so they don’t get their information from the news media and they get the truth,” he added.
He argued that the board made no decisions during the text exchanges and said there were “no discussions about particular issues other than a concern for students.”
When presented with the content of some of the board’s text messages, however, Howell conceded that some of the conversations could be classified as “school business.”
“I’m sorry if I broke a law, if I broke a state statute,” he added. “If I did, I will not do it again.”
Legal Remedies
According to the UNC School of Government, N.C. law provides limited remedies for correcting violations of the state’s open meetings law:
♦ Any person may seek a court injunction to prevent a recurrence of past violations of the law, the continuation of ongoing violations, or future violations; and
♦ A judge may invalidate any action taken or considered in violation of the law;
In addition, a judge may award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in a lawsuit alleging a violation of the open meetings law. The judge may order that the attorneys’ fees be paid personally by individual members of the public board if they are found to have knowingly or intentionally violated the law.
Learn More
Read all of the I-SS Board Text Messages.
What a bunch of morons. All of them.
Dear Bill Howell,
You worked for over 20 years with my mother. I have done theatre with your wife and, at her behest, was invited to speak at a charter school on the topic of neuro divergent students. It is with great sadness that I see how politically motivated and two faced you have become. I am ashamed that I once voted for you.
Matthew Thomas-Reid (the LGBTQ+ ‘Activist’ whom the article did not name).
Well said Mr. Thomas-Reid. As an educator, I would be ashamed to work in the ISS District.
I suppose this may be one of the alleged “private” topics that enrages me the most! People in the LGBTQ+ community have enough judgment and harsh treatment and we have many students in n the LGBTQ+ community that struggle with coming out and other judgments they face. To know that these so called leaders were joking and allegedly making their own personal and IGNORANT comments makes me SICK!
Mr. Thomas- Reid, I am so sorry they treated you this way. You are one of the best teachers my kids ever had. Please know that we love you and are deeply ashamed that this is our school board.
They should resign. Immediately
Agreed. This is an absolute violation of stakeholder trust and the tenets of being part of the board of education.
Hear hear!!
Typical MAGA Republicans. They want to rule, not govern. And they believe laws only apply to others. But apparently this is what the voters wanted, so this is what they got.
Wow.
So I’m launching arrows and someone may need to have others restrain them when they meet with me and the other members on my board?
Let me make myself as clear as I can, when I was elected to do the people’s business of Iredell County as a county commissioner I took an oath on a Bible, to do the people’s work and that’s what I will always do. I will continue to ask questions and hold people accountable for the taxpayers money.
The voters approved a school bond in the spring of 2020, it took over a thousand days for the school board to bring a formal request for building a new school to the county commissioners, the bond was for 80 million and the request that came to the commissioners was for 200 million. That’s 120 over the 80 million right?
Meanwhile Mooresville Graded School District had a school in the same bond approved in spring of 2020 and will be in the school they are building in time for start of the new school year. Meanwhile ISS has nothing to show for the new school approved in 2020 but a vacant piece of land.
Now bond rates have dramatically went up, interest rates have dramatically went up, and let me remind ISS Board Members that the people pay the bonds, the people pay the interest, the people pay the overage, and I represent the people of this county with pride and will always work for the people.
I have been very vocal on the delay of the school project. Asked a lot of questions on why did ISS BOE have such a delay. This is the people’s money we are talking about, kids in overcrowded schools, a bond the voters approved and ISS BOE sit on for over a thousand days.
County Commissioners have approved 2.3 BILLION DOLLARS of Iredell County taxpayer funds for education here in Iredell County since 2002. This doesn’t count state funds and federal funds. We have good schools, good teachers, administrators, bus drivers, and the list goes on. We even have some good ISS Board Members.
The ball was in your court with the $80 million bond you failed to act so now the taxpayers have to pay more for the school, more bond interest, and I’m talking tens of millions more!
So me telling the truth and looking after the people is launching arrows call it what you wish, I call it fact the delay cost the taxpayers tens of millions for the delay and I will continue to always look after the people of this county and always ask questions.
Bert Connolly Iredell County Commissioner
Give ’em hell, Bert. Good response.
Exactly. You keep asking questions. These people are cowards and to threaten to need someone to hold them back is appalling. Sounds like a threat too, I think it should be investigated.
Did a little research on the diversity of our local ISS School Board. So happy to see the female representation; however, our students in ISS deserve diversity in all areas: gender, ethnicity, social economic, age, and so many other areas. Our children need us to step up and represent them! Please consider a seat on the ISS School Board if you are able to offer any of this diversity! I would also encourage those with education backgrounds (who have actually taught in the classroom) to consider a seat on the BOE as well. Also, those who have leadership skills, are a parent themselves, and have a passion for the future of our children should consider filling a chair and serving our children, staff, and “stakeholders.”
We had some great candidates like Sarah Pittman, who would have been wonderful and exactly what you described. Unfortunately, this is Iredell County and the GOP has made our local elections partisan so there is an R or D beside the candidates’ names and that is all many of the voters look for when voting. Prior to our elections being partisan we had a more diverse board. The women on this board are Moms 4 Liberty types and some of the worst texts were from one of them. We need to go back to non-partisan schoolboard elections or the voters here need to look at more than the little letter beside the person’s name. Or, those of us who DO NOT want this type of board need to show up massively and VOTE.
Thanks, Bert, for ALWAYS asking questions and looking out for the whole county of taxpayers and not just a select few!
I.S.S. is a complete mess. And it starts over there in that building in Troutman. Where is the leadership? Seems like we have a lot of immature adults making decisions for our kids. Joking about the “thunder dome” at Statesville high is disgusting and should not be tolerated. They should resign or be relieved of their duties. What a shame.
You are right, Larry. Disgusting how those elected to serve our kids would say stuff about signing them up to fight each other. What a bunch of clowns!
Someone should “serve” them. Where is the qanon gang when we need them?
Yeah, someone get Angela Matthews on the phone! Let her serve her papers on the board she got elected.
That woman would do best to hide. MAGATs.
Where are they? On the school board. They are them. I agree that should be served with something though.
Thank you for the research and reporting. Please keep up the investigative reporting because without a free press, our society is toast.
The people of I-SS certainly deserve better than this!
Kurn: Why not have a Thunderdome on the football field and charge admission.
Mrs. Kurn, you are sick and twisted. How dare you promote students to cage fight until they die. Do the people of Iredell County a favor RESIGN!
What the hell has happened to the Republican Party? This all sounds like Mr. Orange Face himself.
We should hold our tax dollars in escrow and sue the I-SS Board! Who’s with me?
I am!
I find this whole exposed fiasco nauseating! Little, power hungry, petty, secret society in deed! I don’t care if you ARE Republicans, if you think your behavior is acceptable, you don’t give a damn about our Republic and should have the PRIVILEGE of serving TAKEN FROM YOU!! Jeff McNeely serves with integrity. Use him as a role model!
Jeff McNeely is probably not the one to emulate considering he is now world famous for racism and ugly suits. Yesterday was a really bad day to be him for sure. I think he was probably the most hated person in the US yesterday.
He is an embarrassment to anyone with sense!
Glad to see we have a school board that’s opposed to the LGBT neo-Marxist social contagion. This is exactly what I voted for. Thank you.
In my opinion, it appears that the board has consistently disregarded the well-being of our students. It seems like personal interests and agendas take precedence over their educational needs. As a concerned parent with three children enrolled in this district, it saddens me to see that this is the direction you envision for our students. Perhaps it would be beneficial for the board to lead by example and adhere to the laws if they expect our students to follow the rules. Just a thought.
To think that some of these folks are major decision makers for ANYTHING that affects my children is sickening.
What happened to protecting our children, doing what the school board is supposed to do, and following the NC laws? I also do not like seeing those elected getting text messages during meetings on what to say next. We also do not understand the ending personal comments where tears enter the script. We need ethical, moral, strong, law abiding members who will do what is right for our students and county.
Thank you to Mike Fuhrman and Iredell Free News for reporting. It saddens me that this group is the best we can throw together to lead our school system. What an absolute embarrassment.
It is a sad day. I was in one of Coach Howell’s science classes. I also voted for him. Won’t make that mistake again.
@matthew Thomas Reid. Sounds like you have cause for a discrimination lawsuit.
Those board members who participated in this fiasco should resign immediately. Sadly its just another stain of political corruption that blankets the Iredell County political landscape.
Glad to see journalism is still alive. These folks violated an important law, and did so to conduct secret business. They prevent voters from learning their true opinions. They are more interested in their cultural agenda than the young people in school. I hope they suffer real consequences.
Our schools should emphasize tolerance, inclusiveness, equality, and diversity. Not everyone is straight or white or Christian and understanding that people are different with different views is something our children should be learning to grow into adults that are tolerant of others.
These texts seem more like something from a KKK meeting than a school board meeting. It is disturbing disappointing and disgusting. They all should be forced to resign for their close-minded bigotry as well as breaking the law with reckless disregard for the law that governs them.
Lawsuits against those members who broke the law should be filled. They can not use county money for lawyers to defend themselves. Members who did not participate should be held harmless.
Yes they were wrong. But the county commissioners and town boards of local towns in our county have held them hostage. They are allowing all of these builders to come in and build apartment complexes, townhomes, and housing developments all on top of each other with no regard, not only to traffic but to where all of these children are going to go to school. People are moving here from the north, from Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas all because of our lower tax rates. Our schools are ALL overcrowded! There’s no where to send these children to school. One new high school is not going to fix it but it’s needed immediately. Overcrowding leads to short tempers which often does leads to fights. Look at our elementary schools, schools with less than 500 capacity holding over 700 children. County commissioners and town boards…just a thought from a regular citizen, make the developers pay for the new schools. They are raking in millions and millions of dollars profits. If they want to build, contribute to our schools. Sounds easy to me. I believe the developer at Barium Springs offered to build a school and was turned down. Why are we not utilizing the empty building that sits deteriorating in the southern end of the county for overcrowding? Yes, we have a mess on our hands but don’t just blame the school board, let’s hold all of our elected officials accountable for our tax dollars.
It seems like more Charter Schools in our area might be needed. If we can’t meet our kids’ needs, we should look at it. We can’t just shortchange our kids continuously and then act surprised when they don’t achieve.
That’s exactly what the Talibangicals want.
Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.
Barry Goldwater was right.
It seems that an investigation needs to occur by the SBI and District Attorney for a misdemeanor violation of N.C.G.S. 14-230
You, sir, are one of the reasons why there will always be a divide. Always blaming, never having a solution. We all must do better and you are not.
AMEN and if they don’t, they should be removed from their position…every last one of them except Kelly but if he were aware of this and did nothing, he should as well. This should definitely SHAKE UP our school systems’ leadership if they were involved in this alleged unethical behavior as well!!!
So thankful that l am retired! This is absolutely the most humiliating thing our school system has faced in all the years l taught in ISS!!! I made a post about the lack of diversity of our school board on my Facebook page not long ago (ALL CAUCASIANS!!!). I then asked what about the other ethnicities!
HOW ABOUT YOU CLEAN HOUSE AND GET RID OF THIS GROUP (except maybe Kelly unless he knew of it and let it continue)? I would be honored to serve as a fill in or permanent board member! I am a retired educator with 30.6 years experience and a Mom as well!
I had a BAD feeling about this board and was I ever right!!!
Same! I knew this is what would happen as soon as the election was over. It was obvious. I would love to have a school board with people, like you, who care about our kids and represent the diversity in our school system. We have gone on way too long with so many of us having zero representation in our local government. Half of the elections are unopposed because it is known that anyone without a R beside their name has no chance. I say let’s change that and do away with this hateful mess of vipers.
NOT ALL VOTERS but l suppose the majority.
Mr. Connolly, thank you for this most enlightening information regarding the $120 million overage requested and the school that has already been built in the Mooresville Graded School district.
The alleged behavior of this board absolutely DISGUSTS me!! I would like to request that EVERY board member and administrator who willingly participated in these unethical texts be REMOVED IMMEDIATELY!!! Our children and their families deserve so much more than these individuals are capable of handling!
Relieve them IMMEDIATELY. If Howell feels he can get by just by not knowing the law and apologizing and saying he won’t do it again, then SHAME on those who believe that and let him stay in office!
My goodness, but the morals of our school board has sunk to a new low. Keep your personal thoughts to yourself and off social media and text messaging. Everything needs to be out in the open when you are making decisions that affect our children, who will turn into adults. You are teaching them now that your actions are acceptable when they are not. I remember when political correctness operated and local and NC State rules/laws were followed even if one disagreed with them. Stating that children should be used as bait for entertainment (Kurn’s statement about THUNDERDOME) was way out of line. Isn’t she a former teacher? (If not, my error.) Egging on students to fight and proposing a place for it to occur is so far out of line I just don’t know how to deal with this. The others chime in that it’s ok, too. So very wrong in so many ways. The person who calls himself “Captain” instead of using his first name is an insult to the military. He is taking what little power he believes he has (from being in the military) to a new low. Many in Iredell are former military and didn’t abuse their former ranking. It’s embarrassing to all military families. Many families here had Sergeants, Majors, enlisted and CSM (Command Sgt Major), Lieutenants, Captains, even a 5 Star General, etc soldiers but they did not go around using their ranks trying to impress. Stop it. It’s belittling to the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard, and makes a person appear foolish. He shows up at City Council Meetings, too, wearing a hat (take them off inside, please. We know you were taught better!) Trying to connect with City Council and County Commissioners is great, just do it properly. Appearance DOES matter. Please, Brian Sloan, I understand you are an emotional man, but please cease crying in meetings. Try to refrain. While it shows you are a gentle spirit, to some degree, it makes those in the audience at meetings, or those viewing on Youtube wonder about your ability to be a strong, fair, and unbiased member of the board. I am not sure why there are personal comments going around at the end of each meeting but those comments should be strictly related to School Board activity instead of what we are currently hearing. As for Miss Trent: She’s the quiet on-on the board-but the relationship with her mother, Angela Matthews, prodding her with text messages during meetings and handling her comments and responses on her Facebook page makes us wonder just WHO is on the school board: Angela or Abby? I have nothing to say about Mr Howell or Mr Kelly, and nothing to really add about Mr Knight. I hope that behind the scenes text messaging with our superintendent ceases as they relate to School Board information. All information should be brought up in public meetings, as they should. You represent us, not yourselves.
Brian Sloan is far from a gentle spirit. He has never had any control over his emotions whether it is boohooing in meetings or screaming at strangers. He is about as far from fair and unbiased as a person can get.
Does he cry at every meeting? Lol. He needs meds.
Better yet, just resign all board members!!
Is this the same Jeff McNeely who made a racist comment at the state level?
Yes!
Reading these texts tell me that there is zero chance my kid is safe in the Iredell Statesville School System. Even the superintendent was biased in these texts against LGBTQ students. No way they would have my kid’s interests at heart or would my family even have a chance at getting treated fairly. I’m thinking I’ll take my kids out.
I teach at a wonderful school with ISS. But my past experience in other schools within ISS, charter school and a private school in town – the educational system around these parts do NOT protect certain minorities!! I homeschool my daughter! I don’t trust these self righteous adults around this town to protect my child and give her rights she deserves as a human being. It angers me to hear the BOE emulates this behavior!! No wonder we can’t come together as a town to protect our citizens and children because those who broke inside are the ones leading the corruption!
Sad that this group of people have any say in the education of my grandchildren. The whole lot of these incompetent folks need to be removed ASAP. An embarrassment.
Thank you, Mrs. McLain!
Momma was right: Never write down what you wouldn’t want to see in the newspaper. Next school board meeting’s going to be a little awkward.
The Iredell Statesville School System needs a complete overhaul!!!!
Educators ask that students put away (or turn in their phones) at the beginning of class. I think this would be a good idea for the board. It’s bad manners to be on the phone during a meeting.
A huge concern I have is the possibility of not accepting the Mental Health grant monies. There seem to be more reports of suicides among younger students …whether accidental or intentional. There is definitely a drug crisis that needs to be addressed, students who are experiencing anxiety over increasing demands for college/university acceptance as well as navigating life away from home, and ,yes, the LBGTQ+ population that is trying to understand their feelings and how to deal with them. School is nothing like what it was when I attended. Kids have overcrowded schedules between school, programs such as sports (on and off campus), dance, art, music, theater, plus the addition of community service involvement that colleges & universities like to see. To the member that commented that their wasn’t a correlation between low test scores and poverty, I suggest he study Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. It is extremely hard to learn when you’re hungry, your sleep is disrupted constantly, you worry about whether or not you’ll have a place to live, and the list goes on. Can you just imagine that your lunch on Friday is the last meal you’ll have until breakfast on Monday? We need to do the best we can for ALL of our children! They are the ones that will be taking care of us when we are unable to care for ourselves.
Please remember that as faces of our county, you should be conducting yourself in the most professional and proactive manner. It is a fact of life that in serving on committees, you’ll have to compromise. This needs to be done in a mature way.
I am a concerned, retired educator who has taught in the ISS district, SC, and Ga., as well as worked in a clinical manager capacity for individuals with severe and or developmental disabilities in group homes and through mental health programs to provide community alternative placement, educational, personal, and personnel needs for 30+ years.
In the current vernacular “It’s what you get.”
The current BOE is exactly what we get when we fail to properly vet the candidates running for office. All too often we want to vote for a particular party without regards to the long and short term impact they will have. Of course each candidate has a personal agenda; that is why they seek an office. Some candidates will have an agenda that truly seeks to benefit their constituents. However, all too often we have candidates that make promises with no intention of keeping those promises. In this case, the current BOE promised to put Iredell County students and families first. This promise was broken from the start when they openly voted to break NC law regarding the school calendar. If breaking one law is so easy without repercussions, why not just keep going?This is the mindset of career criminals. We must hold these individuals accountable! How you ask? Maybe do a “Thunderdome” match with the BOE (Mr. Kelly can be the referee. My money is on Mr. Howell since he won’t have friends to hold him and his temper back.) What a joke this board is. I certainly agree that not one on the board is truly qualified to understand our educational system and the needs of our students. If we have discipline problems in school, we can first look to the leaders of the school system. I agree they should all resign, including Dr. James.
Dr. James’ heart is in the right place. If you knew him, you would not say that about him. He has proven over and over that he cares for all students and our community. As for the board……
EVERY IREDELL COUNTY RESIDENT WHO CARES ABOUT THE IREDELL-STATESVILLE SCHOOLS SYSTEM NEEDS TO SHOW UP TO THE NEXT BOARD MEETING AND DEMAND THAT ALL THESE PUPPETS BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE IMMEDIATELY! LET’S SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOW UP!
Honestly, I don’t feel like my kid is safe in this school system with them saying things like this. We have dealt with a grown man bullying my kid in school and went through the proper channels that this board says is adequate to protect our LGBTQ students but it is not adequate and I guess we can see why. Reading these texts tell me that no matter how far up we go to try and get treated fairly it just will not happen. Not by this board. This is what a partisan school board looks like. We have zero representation at all.
Yes!!!
The fact the superintendent started this line of communication, had full knowledge of what was being discussed, and chose to allow this to continue…says that he was complicit in everything! As a parent, had my child been involved in something like this, the district would be ready to suspend my kid–and rightfully so!
I believe this must be investigated by someone higher up, and the redacted messages should be uncovered! All of those with direct knowledge of these exchanges should be held accountable!
“I want to deeply apologize to Rep. Jones and to this entire body,” McNeely said to the House. “I respect Rep. Jones. I think he’s a great legislator. I think he’s a great man. What I tried to ask or say did not come out right. That happens a lot, and I apologize. I look forward to talking with Rep. Jones as soon as session is over to express my deep, deep sincere apology and I hope he accepts it.”
Read that again. An elected “leader” that plainly states that he does not understand how to effectively communicate.
So, Jeff, what was the intent of your question? Did you bother to even look at the man’s credentials and background before you “misspoke”? My bet would be no. You said it out loud and you meant it. You got called out for it, and you apologized. Sorry, Jeff, you can’t take it back. They know you said it. What you should do is resign. How on earth would any person of color, or anyone else with respect of others, expect or want to be led by someone like you. You’ll have your church buddies backing you up and telling everyone how this is not who Jeff is and blah blah blah. This is exactly who Jeff McNeely is. Those close to him already knew that; now the rest of you do.
Jeff McNeely, you are an embarrassment to this community. We deserve better.
Citizens of Iredell County, this is exactly what you deserve when you vote on popularity.
So, you have no problem with public officials breaking the law as long as they agree with your culture war agenda? Then you are also a big part of the problem.
Clean house in this community. The superintendent, ISS Board need to exit. Yes, an investigation needs to be done. Parents, citizens, students, teachers all deserve to have strong leaders that care about the mental, social and physical health of our students. These kids are the future and I sure don’t see that Iredell County is the crossroads for the future.