If you watched the April 23, 2018 School Board meeting on the CCS Website broadcast you missed the fireworks after the Closed Session came back illegally into Open Session. Go to the CCS website for the details of the otherwise short, technical and unexciting School Board “Workshop” meeting. Unexciting except for the VFW Presentation where the Local VFW Post has donated over $90,000 to help children with autism and Gene Ramsey and Roger Vassey were awarded “Superman” like “Hero” capes. If the VFW knew just how much waste there is at CCS, they might want to find another place to put their charitable contributions. Or at least some accounting for where the money is spent.
But, The real excitement at this CCS Board meeting started before the meeting and right at the end.
I arrived early for this April 23, 2018 School Board Workshop and made my way up front as I usually do. If you watch the CCS broadcast, you will see the back of my head in the lower left hand screen.
As I was making my way to my usual seat Jo Boggs was at her place and I spoke. “Jo” I said, “How did the protest at Burns today turn out?” Jo says, “we got a lot of rain.” Since I live in Fallston too, I already knew it was raining. Then I said, “That’s not what I was talking about.” Jo looked down and refused to say another word. To which I replied, “I’ll take that as a ‘no comment.”‘ I sat down and talked to others coming in and sitting behind me who saw and heard the whole thing. Making a mental note to myself to remember who they were as you can never tell in this day and time regarding phony allegations of harassment.
A bit later but before the meeting started, The Rev. Melvin Clark of Washington Missionary Baptist went up to Shearra Miller regarding the Song Oh Susanna having racially offensive language in it’s original 1848 version being taught to Elementary children at Washington Elementary School. Many parents were incensed over this racial insensitivity being dumped upon their young black children by an official representative of Cleveland County Schools. Rev. Clark was trying to make arrangements to publicly voice his concerns, for the record, to the entire School Board. A contingency of supporters were present with Rev. Clark as was a Charlotte TV Reporter. Go back and read my previous article for more details on the song and the controversial lyrics that have mostly been left out over the years due to the racially insensitive content of the second verse.
But, Rev. Clark was denied the right by Chairman Miller to speak publicly to the School Board. The meeting agenda had been hastily revised to add a “Closed Session” at the end of the workshop to illegally discuss the song issue as “personnel matters,” behind closed doors and without news cameras.
And, when I said “illegal closed session” I mean illegal. North Carolina General Statue 143-318.11(a) very strictly lists only ten very specific reasons for a governmental agency such as a school board to go behind closed doors. Look them up. None of them apply to what Rev. Clark wanted to address the School Board about, and to go behind doors anyway is against the law. Also, NO CCS Board Member made a motion to allow Rev. Clark to address the school board about his concerns. Meaning ALL of them were in on it. And they all knew they could make such a motion as I told them about this option in my previous article that I sent directly to ALL of the School Board and the Superintendent. They were ALL involved in this blatant act of cover-up and disrespect to the citizens of Cleveland County as well as North Carolina Law.
But there was more. Much more to be covered-up.
Like the Protest at Burns High School about many students being suspended for having American Flags on their vehicles. Last I heard it was American Flags, then Confederate Flags and even one tag with a Bald Eagle giving his middle “claw.”
This flag and tag racial controversy was turned over by the School Board to the Shelby Star to cover-up. The Star ran an article today saying the allegation about suspending students for refusing to remove American Flags from their vehicles was not true. Only Confederate Flags according to CCS and the Star. =But CCS refused to say how many students were suspended, My sources, who I believe much more than I do CCS and the Star, say it was American Flags, Confederate Flags and the Eagle flag. No mention of the Protest Monday.
The Burns and CCS folks, according to the Star, said the Flags/tags “were seen as disruptive to the school” (Burns). No mention of how a flag/tag on a cart in the school parking lot could “disrupt” the school, Burns or any other school for that matter. No mention or explanation of why no other schools were so disrupted. Only Burns! Just like the Burns FFA “Cotton” booth at the Fair last year that CCS banned and the
School Board refused to talk about it. “Bully” Glover, CCS Board Chairman claimed he didn’t know anything about that.