This one fact is undeniable. The Old School Board Majority consisting of Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker, Roger Harris, Jo Boggs and Dr. Jack Hamrick were totally disgraced and rejected as they were soundly defeated in the 2020 School Board Elections. Not by a close vote, but by a very, very wide margin. By 10,000+ votes. They were defeated, thrashed, drubbed, whipped, publicly shamed, rejected and humiliated. Not because of any unscrupulous lies or deceptions by others, but because of their own records in office. A record of failure at every measurable level. In their combined 122 years in office, all their phony votes; a continuous litany of scandals, frauds, failing schools, wasteful spending, a frivolous lawsuit against Sheriff Alan Norman, poor judgements and seeming incompetence by all became public and just did them in. Justifiably so!!
Probably their most egregious “sin” them considering themselves elite and above us all. Their total lack of respect for members of the general public. “Little People” like YOU and ME. Little People who pay our taxes to pay all of the CCS’s bills. Little People who came before them asking for assistance with problems and issues at school involving our children and grandchildren. Little People who expected, at least, to be listened to. Little People who were rudely cut-off at mid-sentence. Little People who were lied to with wild abandon. Little People who just expected to be treated fairly-but who were not treated fairly at all. And the “elites” just didn’t care.
All this reached a “critical mass” on Election Day. November 3, 2020. A day the Little People’s voices (and votes) exploded like an atomic bomb in the school board 2020 elections. And, guess what? At the November 9, 2020 School Board meeting, the Old Majority on the School Board, the elites: Shearra Mille, Richard Hooker, Roger Harris, Jo Boggs and Dr. Jack Hamrick were still not listening. Some high-level CCS administration folks were not listening either.
Now, let’s examine the November 9, 2020 School Board meeting. The first since the 2020 School Board Elections and the last school board meeting before the New School Board Majority takes over.
First, the meeting agenda format was changed to move “Public Participation” back up to the start of the business discussion. I originally thought that tis was a good sign. That the “elites” had learned a lesson. I was wrong.
Mr. Billy Scruggs was the first speaker under Public Participation. Mr. Scruggs reminded the elites that Cleveland County School buses had come by his house for 30 years to pick up his children and now his grandchildren. I remember, a number of years ago when Mr. Scruggs first came to the School Board asking them why they had changed the bus route. As I recall, Mr. Scruggs believed CCS had changed the bus route as a retaliation because either Mr. Scruggs or his wife had asked about some other issue that embarrassed CCS. Mr. Scruggs told the elites, “YOU put my grandson in DANGER and I have worked hard to get you out of office. THE PEOPLE of CLEVELAND COUNTY HAVE SPOKEN!!”
I was the next speaker. I informed the elites that their minutes of the October 26, 2020, the last meeting before the 2020 School Board Election and on the agenda for approval, contained entries for a “Closed Session” where CCS had taken steps to “cover-up” for several failing schools. I reminded them that, according to North Carolina Law, such discussions were PROHIBITED from being discussed in Closed Session. I reminded the elitists that this was illegal and that they had only done this to hide the failure of CCS Schools from the public right before the election. I also reminded them that such as this did not work for them this time. I also said a few other things that normally I would recommend going to the meeting broadcasts and see and listen for yourself. This time I would recommend skipping this first part of the broadcast as more important things are toward the end of the three-hour meeting.
Mr. David Poston was the third speaker. Mr. Poston showed the elites a picture of a 21-year old handicapped man who had been abused and bullied throughout all his years at Cleveland County Schools. And was now permanently handicapped. And that the elitist school board had done nothing, even though they were notified of the situation many times. Mr. Poston reminded the elites that this child was “Handicapped” under Federal Protection Laws and the School Board elites were personally responsible. Mr. Poston allowed that the elites were NOT going to get away with this, even when they are no longer in office. None of the elites expressed any regret for their many failures.
The next egregious action by the School Board elites happened when eleven school board policies were up for approval. Scroll back an article or two for my prediction on what would happen next.
Danny Blanton made a motion to table the most egregious two policies until the next school board took over at the very next meeting on December 14, 2020. Blanton’s motion was voted down by a large majority and then the elites voted to approve all eleven policies with one vote.
This was a final, no-next to final, slap to the public’s collective faces for voting the elitists out of office. If course the new majority on or after the December 14th meeting can revoke anything these foolish elitist school board members put in place. Ur to and including who the Superintendent and other top administration officials just happen to be. All of Cleveland County will be watching for that to happen. The sooner the better.
Then, the elitist spent an hour wishing the COVID-19 would go away so they can restart schools. Totally ignoring the fact that Lincoln County Schools started back full time-five days a week, on October 19th.
Now, they get to the final slap in the face to the citizens of Cleveland County. Especially taxpayers. And everybody else too. It was titled “Board Member Recognition.” I incorrectly thought this would be the time that ton would finally have some time to talk about all the things that he has been denied to talk about in the past.
But NOooo!!! This was another hour that Supt. Stephen Fisher, in hopefully one of his last acts of stupidity, went on and own about what a good job the elitist Board Members: Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker, Roger Harris, Jo Boggs and Dr. Jack Hamrick had done in their 122 years of combined service and how much they had accomplished. The distortions of the truth as well as unabashed lying went on and on. Fisher and his “Team” went on and on. Carrying in bags of presents and award saying how good the elitists had been and how selflessly they had “served.” They even claimed to have closed the gap between test scores of black and white students. Never mentioning the fact that they had “dumbed down” courses to lower the gap, only to have another gap developed between Asiatic students and white students. So, now we have two achievement gaps. One between black and white students and another between white and Asiatic students. So much for achievement gaps, right? RIGHT!
That was not all. They claimed graduation rates had increased to a very high level. Never once mentioning the fact that 46% of Graduating students can’t read, write and do arithmetic at a proficient standard. And that standard is the 9th grade level. One has to wonder why Cleveland County voters have let this crowd of elites run our schools for as long as they have.
Oh, one more thing. Going back to restarting schools, something Lincoln County did on October 19. The elitists voted to hold off starting Cleveland County Schools until after the start of next year. Wishing everybody a long Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Holiday Season, never thinking that many of these students AND their parents may be hungry and homeless after being out of work for so long. Living on Credit Cards for as long as they could.
All I can say is I wish good health and long lives to all of these elitists. So, they can spend their long lives in Federal Prison when Mr. David Poston gets through with them for their uncaring and illegal shenanigans that have doomed so many students to unfulfilled lives wishing, hoping and dreaming for successes that will never come true for them. Because of Shearra Miller, Richard Hooker, Roger Harris, Jo Boggs and Dr. Jack Hamrick “serving” Cleveland County Schools for so long.