January 14, 2020: (The Cleveland Community College Academic Calendar shows that Spring Classes had began the previous day, January 13, 2020. This fact will become important later in this article.)
I arrived for the Regularly Scheduled CCC BoT Meeting a few minutes early to sign up for Public Participation and to check out a few things. I found both meeting doors open, but the door latches were locked. Obviously set to be locked when the door was closed. I remembered what a friend once said about the security at the courthouse. “If they weren’t so low-down, they wouldn’t have to be so scared.” My thought was that thought also applied here in this BoT meeting room. Also, both door windows now had black construction paper taped over the inside of the door window. Perhaps a Building Code violation, but a sure sign of some kind of planned scheme. I had a newly purchased electronic recorder in my shirt pocket just in case I needed it. I signed up to speak during the Public Participation. I was the only one to do so. And the best I could tell all the rest of the people attending this BoT meeting were CCC supervision or employees.
I sat down right in the middle of the front row, near the speaker podium. I always try to do that so I can see and hear better. BoT Chairman Rev. Dr. Littlejohn opened the meeting with the usual Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance-The Pledge was finally added to the meeting agenda several years ago-after I published three or more articles criticizing the BoTs for not including the Pledge of Allegiance. Something that everybody else does without having to be “shamed” into it. About this time, I noticed a Shelby Police Officer stationing himself near me. Standing up but leaning against the wall. Knowing the sleazy dirty tricks this Board of Trustees is capable of, especially the Board’s so-called Leadership, I wondered just a bit about what they were up to now? But, no matter, I was ready to find out.
Right before the Public Participation, Chairman Littlejohn read from what appeared to be a prepared statement. Littlejohn stated that a letter had been sent from the CCC “Faculty Senate” that alleged a survey they conducted indicated serious complaints and “questioned the integrity of the Board of Trustees.” Littlejohn continued saying that the Faculty Senate had “withdrawn the survey results,” saying it “did not follow Board Policy or Procedures” without stating the Policies or procedures that were not followed. Littlejohn finished up by saying “Dr. Hurst has the full confidence and support of the CCC Board of Trustees.” This was a foolish thing for Rev. Dr. M. Lamont Littlejohn to have said. Read on!!
Next, Chairman Littlejohn opened up the Public Participation part of the agenda and I was the only person signed up to speak. Again, I was the only “civilian-citizen” in the room.
Although I had not intended to speak about this to begin with, I informed Littlejohn and the BoT’s that I had also received a copy of the original survey letter from the Faculty Senate and the findings and complaints were just as valid as those voiced several years before, during the scandal laden terms of President Steve Thornburg and VP Shannon Kennedy. I expressed a concern that this new letter from the Faculty Senate was due to a “strong-armed” demand that was intended to discredit the survey without actually considering the merit of the survey findings. Note that I will provide the entire Faculty Senate Letter in a separate article. Read on.
I continued my three minutes with statements complaining about the several previous blatant violations of the North Carolina Public Meetings laws. But Littlejohn quickly stated that “my time was up.” The BoTs have this habit of closing down any discussion of problems at CCC, yet have all the time in the world to brag on themselves. And collecting costly lawsuits along the way.
Then, Littlejohn made other comments that the Board of Trustees had developed better procedures for going into and coming out of closed sessions. I immediately knew that I had been right about at lease some of the yelling at the January 10th Meeting Closed Session when the Police was called on me. The Board must have realized that they could not require me to do things that was illegal for them to require in the first place. I will discuss this more a little later in this article.
As this was a regularly scheduled meeting the BoTs did what they usually do in regularly scheduled meetings. That is brag on themselves and the CCC Administration as they “Rubber-Stamp” approval of the various Executive Committee Reports. When, in fact, these Executive Committees are set up for the sole purpose of avoiding NC Public Meeting laws. The various BoT Board members divide up the various aspects of CCC business, a number of BoTs-less that a quorum-discuss what they want to do in “secret” meetings, then present inaccurate minutes and reports from illegal meetings to the full BoT Board and then approve the Reports without much discussion or explanation in the public meetings. It is an old trick. Illegal, but an old and well used trick just the same.
Overall, the rest of the open session was full of “fluff” with no verifiable information to speak of. Planned that way is my conclusion.
But there was “telling” information for an informed set of ears who had followed what was going on at CCC for several years now.
The “Yeti” sports stuff seems mostly something to go “Rah, Rah, Sis-Boom-Bah” about. Not a peep about failing academics and the lack of an adequate workforce development program. Which has a low priority to boot.
But some interesting nuggets came out here and there.
Another $3 Million in Grants for the new Advanced Technology Center to build many more classrooms had been approved. Probably another “gift” from Representative Tim Moore. For a new building that was first termed as an Advanced Manufacturing Center and morphed into an Advanced Technology Center since nobody could figure out anything advanced in manufacturing jobs in Cleveland County. But the same goes for Technology. there is nothing much advanced about technology in Cleveland County either. Most likely this is just a “publicity stunt” to lure businesses into Cleveland County under false pretenses. But, since Cleveland County is losing population and all our “advanced” workers are moving elsewhere from this “dying County,” this kind of trick has already run its course with little to no results.
CCC has recruited 26 players for their new CCC “Yeti” Baseball Team. All from out of state. Not a peep on how that was beneficial to Cleveland County students or taxpayers. Yet, CCC President Hurst acts like a cheerleader. All pep-talk with no plays to run.
Another item was the recognition of a relatively large number of employees who were retiring. Something the Faculty Senate report had predicted seemed to be coming to pass. Especially since some of those retiring appeared to be too young for full retirement. Something to check out later.
Then, another closed session to discuss “pending” litigation. More lawsuits? Or more regarding the Ginger Bullock lawsuit that the BoTs may have to pay off with big bucks to settle. Nobody said. I got the feeling the BoTs are maybe thinking about filing a lawsuit against me in an effort to stop me from telling the truth on them. To that thought, I say bring it on CCC BoTs. I would just love to run these illegal and lying bums through “discovery.” Discovery being the part of a lawsuit where a judge can order the Board to provide the documents that I request in order to prove the truth of the matter. I figure the BoTs don’t want much to do with the truth being told to the public.
So, BoT member makes a motion to go into closed session. Westmoreland reminds everybody that there is a proper way to go into closed session and that the law has to be followed. Humm mm! Is Westmoreland coming around to the concept of doing things the right way. The legally required way? I say NO for now. One right way does not make up for 1,000 wrong ways.