All official meetings of public bodies in North Carolina are open to the public-NC General Stature 143-318.9
North Carolina laws are very strict about meetings held by governmental “bodies.” Including School Board, County Commissioner and Cleveland Community College Board of Trustee meetings. These laws are strict in order to make sure the public has access to those meetings in order to guarantee that corruption is minimized. I attend all these meetings and I see and hear what goes on. Much of the time I am the only member of the public that is present and paying attention. Recently attendance at Cleveland County School Board meetings by citizens has picked up dramatically. Which is good.
North Carolina Law also requires that these agencies give advance notice to the people to allow the public time to learn of the meetings and make plans to attend. In general, there are three types of meetings with different advance notice criteria for each type.
1. Regular Meetings: There are Regular meetings where regular business is conducted. The advance notice criteria for Regular meetings is basically “well in advance.” Plus, there are requirements of where and how these regular meetings are announced.
2. Special “Called” Meetings like the School Board meeting scheduled for today (January 7, 2021) require 48 hours’ notice. Special “Called” meetings are meetings that are NOT Emergency Meetings, but are deemed necessary by the public body to serve the public’s best interest in a timely manner between the intervals of Regular Meetings. Note that School Board and Commissioner Regular meetings are every two weeks, while the CCC BOT Meetings are usually once every two months. So Special “Called” meetings are not really so special or unusual. Just prudent.
3. Emergency Meetings are just that-EMERGENCIES. NCGS 143-318.12 (f) says: For purposes of this section, an “emergency meeting” is one called because of generally unexpected circumstances that require immediate consideration by the public body. The advance Notice requirements for EMERGENCY Meetings are basically NONE. As soon as the public body can get together to respond to the emergency. A reasonable requirement, I would say.
So, when I heard Charlotte TV News WCCB report on the Rogue Teachers Petition, calling the January 7th, 2021 School Board Meeting an EMERGENCY MEETING, I smelled a rat. The Rogue teachers, joined by Phillip “Poodle” Glover, Dena Green, Shearra Miller, Roger Harris, Jo Boggs, Roger Harris, Coleman Hunt, Richard Hooker and Jeff Jones have fed false news to the FAKE NEWS networks with the intent of invoking undue hysteria in the citizens of Cleveland County. The FAKE NEWS networks thrive on false information and the planned scheme hatched up by the rogue teachers and rogue school board members, past and present was just that. A planned scheme to instill fear into the general public in Cleveland County for their own corrupt purposes.
Folks, I don’t fall for such amateur shenanigans and neither should YOU. My prediction is the NEW School Board Majority at CCS is doing the right thing and this Special “Called” Meeting of January 7th, 2021 of the School Board will only consist of an update of information related to the start of schools for CCS and perhaps an announcement of how these decisions were made.
Also remember, NC Governor Roy Cooper announced yesterday that the starting of Schools in North Carolina will be in accordance with the decisions of each local school board. I am so glad that we have this NEW School Board Majority at CCS that will make vital decisions based on factual information and will disregard the “noise” of the Rogue teachers and Rogue School Board minority.
Most importantly, remember, I do not do FAKE NEWS. I put my name on my articles and do not try to scam the public with phony petitions signed by Rogue teachers, rogue school board members and other rogue political hacks. But don’t believe me. Get yourself out to the Special Called School Board meeting this evening and see for yourself.
The meeting is January 7th, 2021 at 6:00 PM and the CCS Staff Development Center at 400 West Marion Street, Shelby NC.