Sneaky School Board Covers Up Song Controversy, Burns Protest and student suspensions and more with illegal Closed Session!!! To Avoid the Charlotte TV News Cameras Pointed at them!!! Fireworks in Closed Session Spills over into Open Session!! Board Member Danny Blanton Threatening to Call the Sheriff over “Stolen Time” at Communities-In-Schools!!! Report and commentary by Robert A. Williams

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.

Then, CCS and the Star admit that the students were not suspended to having racially disruptive flags/tags. They were suspended for “insubordination” for refusing to take the flags/tags off their cars and trucks.

Last time I looked at the First Amendment such flags/tags are completely legal My vehicles have a Confederate Battle Flag on their license plates that were legally issued by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It is a Sons of Confederate Veterans commerative tag that I pay extra for. And why do I have such a tag with the Confederate Battle Flag on it? The answer is plain and simple. I am a Son of a (actually several) Confederate Veteran(s) and I am not ashamed to be proud of who I am. I don’t apologize because by forefathers fought the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain in the Revolutionary Way, Chancelloresville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg during the Civil War under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee and my father is a World War II Veteran who fought under General George S. Patton in France, Belgium and Germany. Also, I don’t intend to offend anybody because of the Sons Of Confederate Veterans tags on my vehicle. I don’t care if I offend certain Democrats by also leaving my Trump 2016 sticker on my vehicle. Which I drive to School Board meetings without causing disruptions. I let my articles do that to the status quo.

Back to the Burns and insubordination issue.

The Nuremberg War Trials at the end of World War II established that NAZI war criminals could not use the defense that they were “just taking orders” for the war crimes they committed. They were held responsible for their own actions even when under direct orders to do criminal acts. Many were hung and served long sentences for what they did. Although some NAZIs escaped to South America, they were hunted down and prosecuted for their crimes.

Well, High School Students (Staff and Administration too) at Burns High School are also responsible for their actions. They (Students and staff) are also responsible for standing up for what is right. When it is legal and within the students rights to put American Flags, Confederate Flags and Uppity Bald Eagle Flags on their personal vehicles; it is also legal and within their rights to refuse to obey direct orders from anybody but their parents to remove those flags and tags. I suspect some parents and their suspended students are out talking to lawyers already. Just what CCS needs is another lawsuit they can’t win.

No wonder so many students are confused with what they are taught at CCS Schools and what they read in the Star. CCS says their goal is to educate students to be ready to be Enrolled in College, Employed or Enlisted in the Military when they graduate High School. Those that enlist may well be fighting to defend America within a year from now. Some may be eligible to vote tomorrow. And they are confused by their broken Cleveland County Education system.

None of this mattered to the School Board last night as they apparently thought they had bigger fish to fry.

At the end of the regular agenda, the CCS Board illegally voted to go into closed session. They took Rev. Clark and two others into the closed session where the public could not know what was said. A little bit later, Rev. Clark and the two others come out of the closed session, tell the others in attendance their part was over and they all leave.

Myself and a few others stay because the School Board legally has to come back into open session to announce and vote on any action they want to take before they can adjourn the board meeting.

When the School Board does come back into the auditorium everybody knew there had been fireworks behind those closed doors that was spilling over right before our eyes. Board Member Danny Blanton was threatening to call the Sheriff’s Department. Chairman Shearra Miller was totally flustered, forgot that she had to call the open session back into order before she did anything else. Then Miller asks for a vote to adjourn, which passes. The Board heads straight to the side door before our eyes, Except Danny Blanton who goes back to the Shelby Police Department Officer talking about “stolen time” at Communities-In-Schools (a continuing scandal there with continuing cover-up by Roger Harris). Then Blanton also goes out the side door followed shortly by myself and Commissioner Doug Bridges who was in attendance to find Blanton, Dena Green and Stephen Fisher in the corridor all in animated discussion but head out as soon as Bridges and I come through the door. Still talking about “Stolen Time” and going to the Sheriff’s Department in the morning.

As it was raining, we all head to our vehicles and leave. What happens next will be reported as soon as it happens.

As for all you 52,000 voters who stayed home during the 2017 School Board Election, this is what you get. Scandal after scandal after scandal followed by cover-up after cover-up after cover-up until Hell freezes over.

However, If you want to start changing things for the better, see through all the plantation politics and racial divisiveness started by Commissioner Massa Eddie Holbrook, vote Chris Gash and Todd McIntosh in the Democrat Commissioner Primary Election. Early voting is gong on right now and the Election Day is May 8th.