Folks, North Carolina General Statutes 115C-35 specifically states as follows:
Article 5.
Local Boards of Education.
- 115C-35 How constituted.
- The county board of education in each county shall consist of five members elected by the voters of the county at large for terms of four years: Provided, that where there are multiple local school administrative units located within the county, and unless the county board is responsible for appointing members of the board of education of a city administrative unit located within the county, only those voters who reside within the county school administrative unit boundary lines shall be eligible to vote for members of the county board of education. Where the county board is responsible for appointing members of the board of education of a city administrative unit located within the county, the voters residing within that city school administrative unit shall be eligible to vote for members of the county board of education.
The terms of office of the members of boards of education of all school administrative units in this State, who serve on June 25, 1975, shall continue until members are elected and qualified as provided in this section unless modified by local legislation.
- No person residing in a local school administrative unit shall be eligible for election to the board of education of that local school administrative unit unless such person resides within the boundary lines of that local school administrative unit. (1955, c. 1372, art. 5, s. 1; 1967, c. 972, s. 1; 1969, c. 1301, s. 2; 1975, c. 855, ss. 1-3; 1981, c. 423, s. 1.)
Folk’s, the Cleveland County School Board presently has Nine (9) members on the taxpayer’s payroll. Four (4) more than NC State Law allows. The CCS School Board as presently constituted has wa$ted $millions$ and want more to wa$te. That is not even counting the extra School Board training, salaries and other such expenses. The School Board is Broke and the County Commissioners are having to withhold School Construction $$$ to prevent the School Board from wa$ting that money on something else. Plus, all the lawsuits and scandals that plague the School Board because of their inability to properly provide good leadership to CCS.
The answer is simple. Commissioners, at the very next Commissioner’s meeting or soon thereafter, eliminate those four (4) illegal school board members and reduce the number to five. All in accordance with NC State Law.
Also, since we have just gone through the 2022 School Board Elections, the four winners there, Danny Blanton, Ronnie Grigg, Aaron Bridges and Walter Scott Spurling still have the most time left in their terms in office. Robert Queen, Joel Shores, Ron Humphries, Greg Taylor and Rodney Filch have only a small portion of their terms left in office. So the elimination of the offices presently held by Robert Queen. Joel Shores, Ron Humphries and Greg Taylor would have the least impact in a reduction in the CCS School Board offices and in meeting State Law requirements for a Five-Member School Board.
Commissioners, do your sworn duty to abide by the laws of North Carolina and the USA, as you swore to do. Plus, YOU would be doing Cleveland County a big favor. Otherwise the Citizens of Cleveland County might have to initiate whatever is necessary to help you do your job in such a way that would be costly for Cleveland County.
