FROM STAFF REPORTS

A former candidate for Iredell County commissioner has filed a grievance with Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education Chairman Bill Howell over the conduct of I-SS Board member Mike Kubiniec.

Mike Kubiniec
Angela Matthews

According to the complaint lodged by Angela Matthews, Kubiniec approached her at the I-SS Board meeting on March 11 and “put his left hand up towards his forehead in the shape of an L, then proceeded to call me a loser publicly.”

Matthews, who finished sixth among seven candidates in the March 5 Republican primary for three seats on the Iredell County Board of Commissioners, filed the grievance on March 15.

“In my opinion, the above listed remarks constitute unethical behavior by Mr. Kubiniec and a complete lack of professionalism and disregard for the feelings of anyone other than himself,” Matthews wrote in the complaint. “I am highly offended that an Iredell Statesville School Board Member would address a taxpayer and county resident in the manner that Mr. Kubiniec addressed me.”

In her grievance, although she included the grounds for removing a Board member from office, Matthews did not request the chairman take any particular action against Kubiniec. She did point out that the Code of Ethics for I-SS School Board Members emphasizes that Board members should “model civility to students, employees, and all elements of the community.”

Kubiniec’s first 15 months as the District 5 representative on the I-SS Board have been marked by controversy and drama.

In October, Board members voted 4-3 to remove him from his position as vice chairman. Two months later, by the same vote, the Board officially censured Kubiniec for his conduct as a Board member.

I-SS District 3 representative Abby Trent — who is Matthews’ daughter — has also filed a criminal complaint accusing Kubiniec of stalking. That matter is pending in court.

Recently, Kubiniec was criticized by an I-SS parent for not standing to recognize the accomplishments of N.B. Mills Elementary School students and staff when other board members and district employees gave school representatives a standing ovation at the March 11 board meeting.

In a comment on iredellfreenews.com, Kubiniec explained that he did not stand because he is recovering from knee-replacement surgery.

“I continue to have significant pain in both knees which is helped by taking pain medication and cortisone shots in my right knee. Therefore, sometimes it is very painful to stand up from a seated position and to climb or descend stairs,” Kubiniec wrote.

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