Note that I spoke during the Public Participation portion at the end of the October 26, 2020 school board meeting regarding the School Board “not knowing what they do not know” regarding the Air conditioning installation, but was not provided sufficient time to add a warning that this installation would not be safe for gymnasium human occupancy until the proper calculations are made and that adequate safety margins are indeed available. Thus, putting the lives of students, teachers and the public at an unnecessary risk of serious injury and death. YOU ber the judge of whether Shearra Miler, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris deserve to be re-elected to the school board. From what I have seen from them, they DO NOT deserve to be re-elected since they would jeopardize the safety of students and staff for personal political advantage.
Next, the failure of the school board to collect the remaining $522,500 from the auction sale of the old North Shelby School:
The auction sale of the old North Shelby School property, valued at $1.2 Million, was sold at auction to Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Pastored by Rev. Dr. Lamont Littlejohn, for $550,000 back in February, 2020. A 5% ($27,500) of the sale price was put up by Rev. Littlejohn’s Church and nobody upset that bid. Not one cent has been paid on the remaining $522,000 in the past eight months. In this time the old North Shelby has been broken-in to and vandalized. Thus lowering the proper value. A review of North Carolina law regarding such sale defaults, if Mr. Calvary does not immediately consummate the sale that they committed to, the property could be resold by Cleveland County Schools and if the new sale price is less that the $550,000 bid by Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Mt. Calvary would be liable to CCS for making up the difference. Since Mt. Calvary appears unable to meet their obligation to purchase the old North Shelby School at the agreed upon price, has not properly maintained or secured the property over the past eight months, the property has likely been used for drug deals and other illicit purposes, the value of the property has diminished and it may not bring $550,000 on a resale of the property. Especially at this time of high unemployment and business uncertainty.
It is therefore foolish for the Cleveland County School Board to illegally continue carrying such a debt when CCS has to refrain from necessary maintenance and operation of their other property while Mt. Calvary waivers on their legal commitment to pay for the property that they have so long ago purchased. It is also “rumored” that incumbent school board candidates Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris, assisted by Phillip Glover are refraining from collection on the Mt. Calvary debt as a political payoff for Rev. Littlejohn and some reported members, headed up by Mary Degree, to deliver “Black” votes for Miller, Hooker and Harris in this 2020 School Board election. Such “rumors” certainly appear to be well founded and true as the aggressive and unethical (if not illegal) behavior of Mary Degree and others at the Early Voting site over at the LeGrand Center has been well documents by many eye witness accounts. Mary Degree has especially targeted School Board Candidate Samantha Davis for untrue statements as well as moving or otherwise “stealing” Samantha Davis yard signs. Election and law enforcement officials have yet to put a stop to Mary Degree’s notorious and vicious shenanigans. Some, including myself, believe that the CCS School Board, led by Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris, if re-elected, will eventually forgive the $522,500 debt owed by Mt. Calvary Church for political services rendered during the 2020 Elections.
The $250 Teacher Bonus for “classified” teachers at Cleveland County Schools is “rumored” to be essentially a “vote-buying” scheme by 2020 Election School Board incumbents running for re-election-Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris!!??
It should be duly noted here that this so-called Classified teacher “bonus” was not on the agenda, but slipped in by Board Chair Shearra Miler in between the School Personnel Report section of the meeting agenda and North Carolina School Bord Association section of the Agenda. Chairman Shearra Miler received approval of the normal and then seamlessly slipped into this secret item, apparently hoping that nobody would notice. Personnel Report. However, I have attended school board meeting for many years now and am always on the lookout for such shenanigans.
Miller turned the floor over to Supt. Fisher and Fisher went into a diatribe about the North Carolina General Assembly funding a pay increase for full time teachers way back in the summer. Even though teachers were not teaching back in the summer. Fisher’s talking points seemed to indicate that the GNC General Assembly had purposeily left out pay increases for part time teachers. Board member Danny Blanton quickly weighed in on CCS Superintendent Stephen Fisher’s false statement by explaining that the NC General Assembly had indeed included raises for all teachers, full time as well as part time, but Governor Roy Cooper had vetoed the General Assembly’s bill.
Fisher went on explaining that he had found some “Local Money” that could be diverted into a one time bonus that would add $250 dollars to the classified teachers NOVEMBER pay check for part time teachers who worked between 20 to 40 hours per week and $150 to the NOVEMBER paycheck for teachers who worked less than 20 hours per week. The motion passed.
Now, lets’ figure this out. No such bonus’s had ever been given to teachers before. 2020 Election day is November 3rd. And Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker and Roger Harris are facing good and solid opposition in this years elections. Miller, Hooker and Harris are totally afraid and in a panic that they will rightfully be thrown out of office. So, the when and why this obvious attempt to “buy votes” using taxpayer money becomes crystal clear. This is my learned opinion and I am sticking to it. Teachers and taxpayers, If you have any sense, vote for Samantha Davis, Robert Queen, Ron Humphries, Joel Shores and Rodney Fitch in the 2020 School Board Elections. These recommended candidates will stand up for teachers as well as taxpayers and will certainly NOT get into an illegal vote buying scheme.
