Folks, I received an advance email notice of the April 11, 2022 School Board Meeting Saturday Morning (April 9, 2022 at 10:32 AM. It was around 2 or 3 PM before I retrieved it from my inbox and scanned through it. In particular, I was attracted to the Minutes of the March 14, 2022 School Board Meeting.
As you will remember, I have previously written an article about this particular March 14, 2022 meeting. Especially about the extra, extra, extra-long Closed Session which lasted 2 Hours and 23 minutes. I sat and walked around and around that Central Services Auditorium for every minute of that 2 hours and 23 minutes, ALL BY MYSELF. Knowing that every minute meant “stuff” on a big-time scale was going on in the School Board Conference Room and I wanted to see how it turned out.
If you remember from my previous article, when the School Board came back from the marathon closed session and back into open session it was announced that Superintendent Fisher got a 2.5% raise and a McKinney v. Cleveland County board of Education Lawsuit update was given, then the meeting was adjourned. All that took one minute and 20 seconds. But I could tell Luke Queen was rattled and everybody else was shaken.
If you remember, I reported Danny Blanton cut a trail for the exit and it was a little bit later, after perusing the others milling around and speaking low, I left a few minutes later, only to hear, as I was walking out the Building Front door, LOUD voices down on the street. I recognized Danny Blanton’s voice down on Marion Street loudly telling someone that “if HE (Luke Queen was my guess) ever again raises his fists to me, He’ll have to use them!”
Now, let’s fast forward to Saturday afternoon April 9, 2022 and I’m looking at the Agenda for the April 11, 2022 School Board meeting that arrived just a few hours before. I see the Minutes of the March 14, 2022 School Board meeting hyperlinked into that Agenda. Of course, I immediately clicked on that hyperlink. Looking for anything that might catch my attention. Literally in seconds, I am pulling up the School Board Broadcast (in two parts), checking my notes of that meeting and matching everything together. I immediately see that the pieces of the puzzle DO NOT FIT.
So, I immediately drafted up the following Public Records Request and send straight to the School board, Superintendent and Attorneys. You can see below the public documents and information that I asked for. Also Note that I have challenged the School Board, all of them, and others, to add an item to the April 11, 2022 (this coming Monday) meeting to tell the public what happened regarding Robert Queen’s alleged assault on Danny Blanton. (Remember folks, threatening gestures can also be legal assaults under North Carolina law.) Let’s just see if this challenged “confessional” happens or not. I suspect it won’t. Note that if I were Danny Blanton, I would make the motion to add this “confessional” to the agenda and see if someone will second it. And, if there is a second, what the vote will be?
And, last but certainly not least, there is a hidden trap in this Public Records request. Something that the School Board may refuse to provide, but I can get the information otherwise. And that piece of the puzzle may bring serious criminal prosecution into the mix.
Stay tuned for that folks. I will not discuss this last paragraph now. Not until ALL my guns are loaded. And close at hand at all times.
The PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST: (Already submitted)
From: Robert A. Williams:
Dear Cleveland County School Board, Secretary Stephen Fisher and Attorneys Leigha and Jonathan Sink,
The draft minutes for the March 14, 2022 School board Meeting state, in part, as follows:
Information: 13.02 Closed Session-
Personnel/Superintendent Evaluation
Board members engaged in confidential personnel discussions and conducted the annual superintendent’s evaluation. Attorney Leigha Sink updated the Board on the McKinney case and the Parris case.
Mr. Blanton indicated he wanted to discuss a letter sent to him by Chairman Queen regarding his conduct as a board member. Attorney Sink explained that discussion must be limited to the statutes cited for closed session.
Under Action:13.03 Returned to Open Session:
In Open Chairman Robert Queen said that during the closed session, the Board discussed several personnel issues including the superintendent’s evaluation. Based on the evaluation, the Board approved a 2.5% salary increase for the superintendent. The Board also received updates on the McKinney vs. CCBOE and Parris vs. CCBOE lawsuits.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as well as North Carolina Public Records Laws:
1. As the Superintendent’s Evaluation has been completed and the right for a confidential evaluation has been completed and voted on by the School board, Please provide the Board Members (1) discussion during this evaluation as well as the (2) vote count for the evaluation and (3) how was the increase in the superintendent’s pay determined.
2. Please provide a copy of the letter that Chairman Queen allegedly sent to School Board Member Danny Blanton regarding Blanton’s alleged conduct as a board member.
3. Please provide the Case Number for the Parris Case lawsuit. Note that this case was NOT presented in the Motion to go into Closed Session as required by State Law. Further, it was not actually verbally stated in Chairman Queen’s statement in the Return to Open Session, despite the Minutes as noted above stating that Chairman Queen did make that statement.
Please provide the above information and documents in time (4:30 PM) for the April 11, 2022 School Board Meeting Public Participation Signup, especially item 2, Queen’s letter.
4. Also note that School Board Chairman Robert Queen’s conduct in the Closed Session time interval between 7:25 PM and 9:48 PM March 14, 2022 also allegedly included Chairman Robert Queen making threats, verbally and by gesture, which is NOT subject to Closed Session protection. Therefore. please provide the Closed Session accounting for Chairman Queen’s statements and actions that are NOT protected by Closed Session statutes.
Please also provide this Paragraph 4 documentation prior to the April 11, 2022 School Board meeting. If Chairman Queen’s conduct is NOT documented in the Minutes of the March 14, 2022 and provided above, Please add a section in the April 11, 2022 School Board Meeting Agenda for each PERSON attending that March 14, 2022 Closed Session to give their own personal accounting of Chairman Queen’s abusive and threatening conduct against Board Member Danny Blanton PRIOR to the vote by the School Board on April 11, 2022 to approve or disapprove the Minutes for the March 14, 2022 School Board Meeting.
Thank you for your immediate response.
Robert A. Williams, Editor
www.citizensforgoodgovernment.org
PS: Please excuse any typos