I did not speak during the “Public Participation” as I often do. I did not have any information on the Board Committee activity and neither did any other member of the public. Little did I know that some Board members were also kept in the dark.
There were 11 speakers in the Public Participation. I will leave the names off for some of them as they were sharing personal information.
Speakers:
1. Notified the school bard that his wife had been dismissed from CCS and her personnel records that showed her awards and high recommendations had been “gotten lost” or “disappeared” in the process. The School Board ordered no investigation.
2. Samantha Davis who has 7 children and four had COVID reported that despite the rhetoric that all teachers are working hard and care, that some teachers are NOT working hard or helpful. Samantha also reported that four of her children came down with COVID and three did NOT contract COVID, yet Health Department policies required that all seven be reported as COVID cases. Samantha warned that the numbers from the Health Department are NOT accurate or reliable. The School Board did NOT order any investigation or check of this information.
3. David Poston, a hired investigator looking into the alleged teacher assault on a handicapped child at North Shelby School, alerted the School Board that the teacher’s assault on the child was a felony crime that was improperly investigated by a Shelby Police Officer who is the Husband of the CCS HR Director. A Felony Crime covered up by a conflicted Police investigator (who also is factually known to have covered up a teacher’s criminal sexual liaison with a CCS Student. And perhaps other coverups. Mr. Poston requested the School Board to conduct their own internal investigation of the matter and hold people responsible for their criminal acts. The School Board did NOT order an investigation. Information has come to me that one of the over 4,000 people watching the Board Meeting broadcast realized the School Board was NOT going to do anything, so he has made a formal request to the NC SBI to conduct such an investigation.
4, 5 &6, These speakers spoke about the COVID and the desire for the School Board to
make wise decision on restarting schools.
7. Amanda Buchanon asked the School Board to NOT retaliate against teachers for voicing their opinions.
8. Stated there was not enough good information about COVID and stated that Plan B was not a failure.
9. Speaker Number 9 turned her back on the School Board because they had turned their backs on teachers. She stated that the School Board had broken every rule, did not respond to requests and were not “transparent” even though they had campaigned on transparency.
10. This speaker identified himself as a person of concern and a Pastor of 41 years. He stated Than kids staying at home because of COVID were also suffering detrimental effects.
11. This speaker expressed concern with moving forward and that kids with no symptoms were testing positive for COVID.
So, for public participation, the School Board just let the words go in one ear and out the other. The NEW School Board Majority did not invent this practice, but this is something that needs to change. Serious crimes against children needs to be investigated and punished. Certainly not covered up.
During the Approval of the Minutes for January 11, 2021 School Board Meeting, Danny Blanton made some statements regarding contracts for the new gymnasium floors for Burns and Crest High Schools. Danny is on the School Board Operations Committee and apparently had some questions about just what CCS was paying for and why it cost what it cost. A pretty good follow up on the Board Member Poodle Glover questions Blanton on “WHY” he wanted to see the contracts. Double checking the spending of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money is good was what I thought of Blanton’s comments. I wrote in my notes that Poodle’s question was “stupid.” Chairman Queen stated that Glover should wait until the Operations Committee report for his questions. Later I would conclude that Poodle’s question might have had a grain of a valid concern in it. Stay tuned.
The Finance and Personnel Board Committee report was next. This is the Committee that I attended their meeting last Friday that I reported in Part 1. As I previously stated, I did NOT publish Part I until after the regular School Board meeting on January 25th because I wanted to see this “Committee” process from start to finish. As you could tell from Part I, I was not pleased with what went on at the Friday’s meeting. Unfortunately, the Meeting the next Monday (Jan 25th) confirmed all my conclusions of Part I and this Monday’s meeting was even worse. A reread of Part I is recommended.
The Finance/Personnel Committee only seconds of a report was given. Discussion was little to none and the recommendation to approve the Budget Resolution was unanimous. Not a word of the fictitious nature of this preliminary budget resolution was told to the full Board, just like I had mentally predicted. Also, as I stated in my Part I article, not a peep of information regarding the missing $522,500 from the sale of the old North Shelby School property was shown in the Budget Resolution the School Board just passed unanimously.
The Personnel Report passed 8-0 with one abstention.
The Education Report was short in length and shorter on any details.
The Board Operations Report was short and provided no exact details on anything. Committee Member Danny Blanton did mention shortly about some discussion with Architect Roger Holland about auditoriums at Burns and Crest High Schools. I know for a fact that something sinister is going on there. I previously had a reason to look up some videos of School Board Meetings way back before CCS began their broadcasts, back when Hal Trammel and myself were video taping School Board meetings. I looked at a School Board Workshop video from June, 2014 and reminded myself of discussions then about auditoriums for Burns and Crest High Schools. I also found passages regarding the need for CCS to develop Strategic and long-term plan for building new schools to replace aging and high maintenance properties. Monday evening, Danny Blanton also made note that the Operations Committee needed to address the need to develop strategic plans for school construction. Blanton was present in those 2014 videos as were Stephen Fisher, Jennifer Wampner, Poodle Glover and the rest of the defeated Democrats. Seven years later and nothing on developing strategic plans until Blanton brought it up. Blanton also noted that six companies were contacted for bids regarding fixing the source of the mold problems at Burns and Crest. Something that I have informed the Board that I would assist the School Board in resolving. An offer that I have withdrawn because of the School Board’s lack of transparency and accountability. Also because of some apparent illegal tampering with official CCS records regarding original quotes on auditoriums for Burns and Crest High Schools. But mostly because of the secrecy the NEW School Board Majority is exhibiting in their apparent attempt of misusing Board Committees as a means of avoiding transparency in their running of CCS.
The School Board Policy and Safety Committee meetings were also short and incomplete of information as required by State law as previously noted. And restated as this: The report says “We had a meeting and we discussed several things. There were questions and answers from others. We request the full board to approve this plan to spend $10 MILLION.” Only a fool amongst fools would vote to approve such a request as this. Would you, as a taxpayer, trust a committee that would hold such a meeting and make such a request? If so, please identify yourself as I have some Ocean Front Property about 10 miles North of Moriah that I will sell you cheap.
Little did I know that all Hell was about to break loose at the January 25, 2021 School Board meeting in the discussion of hiring a new CCS Attorney.
The January 25, 2021 School Board Agenda, Item 11.01 was titled Attorney Selection Request. I didn’t sense the “earthquake” that was coming.
Joel Shores gave a short blurb about four law firms submitting an interest in applying for the School Board lawyer position. Two were selected for interviews. The Sink Law Firm was recommended. The Sink Law Firm consists of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Sink. Mrs. Sink (slightly pregnant) would be the most likely to attend the School Board Meetings. Note that I had previously, in other articles, recommended the NEW School Board Majority to hire the lawyers of their choosing and hire them on an interim basis until the details of a better prepared RFQ for an attorney firm could be issued. My suggestion was ignored. The New School Board Majority ignored good advice and plunged full speed ahead with a poorly written RFQ prepared by Superintendent Stephen Fisher that, had Fisher prepared such a poor document to any private company, he would have been fired on the spot.