BY KARISSA MILLER
Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education members failed to elect a new chair during Monday’s meeting.
At that the start of the meeting, Superintendent Jeff James asked board members for nominations to select a new chair.
District 4 representative Ronda Hoke nominated Vice Chair Doug Knight to succeed Kevin Angell, who resigned last month. District 7 representative Anita Kurn nominated District 1 representative Brian Sloan to lead the board.
When the votes were tallied, it was a 3-3 tie with Hoke, Knight and District 3 representative Cindy Haynes voting for Knight, and Kurn, Sloan and District 5 representative Mike Kubiniec supporting Sloan.
“Seeing that we have a tie, we have not duly elected a chair. Procedure should be for vice chair to fill in as chair until the board elects a chairperson,” James said.
A vote to accept Angell’s resignation also failed on an identical 3-3 vote.
“I thought that Mr. Angell had more abilities than any of us. I hate to see him go,” Sloan said.
Haynes said she would not vote to accept Angell’s resignation until the board had received Kubinec’s resignation.
“The reputation of the district and the students have been impugned,” Haynes said.
Hoke agreed.
“I won’t call any names,” he said. “I think we have a board member who needs to apologize to the board and general public for the action of not listening to the chair, over-speaking the chair and being gaveled out many times,” Hoke said.
Angell stepped down following news reports detailing his verbal altercation with Kubiniec after the January 12 meeting was adjourned.
Kubiniec, who is running for a seat in the N.C. House, was taken aback by the criticism directed at him on Monday.
“Wow, the greatest show continues – doesn’t it?” Kubiniec said. “I take responsibility for my role in a heated exchange that should not have escalated the way it did. I regret that and am committed to being better. I have apologized twice to this board and once to the Republican Party.”
Knight joined in the call for Kubiniec’s resignation.
However, the vice chair said he had another reason for not accepting Angell’s resignation — an email that the superintendent received from Micah Phelps.
Phelps, who described himself as Kubiniec’s campaign manager in 2022, informed James in the email that he possesses “the votes on the executive committee to fill the vacancy (Angell) of that term if I so desire.”
Knight said he would work to make sure that does not happen, explaining that “the internal chaos” on the board began four years ago — when Kubiniec, Kurn and Sloan were elected. Prior to that election, Phelps told the superintendent he was the “Puppet Master” and would determine the outcome of the race.
“If the position is vacant, I cannot in good conscience put a chaos-generator on the board,” Knight said. “I have to protect the school system from that chaos. I have to protect the students.”
Kubiniec dismissed Knight’s concerns, calling them “speculation” and “gibberish.”
Sloan told the board members it was time for the group to move forward and forgive one another. But he also called out Haynes for not approving a motion to consider an official censure of Angell, Kubiniec and Kurn.
“The kids are more important than this baby act,” Sloan said.
Haynes said she felt a censure wouldn’t change Kubinec’s behavior because it failed to before.
“We have to — and the school district — needs to heal so that we can work for the students and staff without being the best show in town,” Haynes said. “I think Mr. Kubiniec needs to the right thing, which is resign.”
School board attorney Ashley Leonard, in an interview, said that North Carolina law is not clear about what should happen next after a board does not accept a board member’s resignation.
Despite the fact that the board didn’t accept the resignation, the Republican Party’s executive board can still begin the process of nominating Angell’s replacement.
Public Comment
The board also amended the agenda to consider a motion to move the public comment period to earlier in the meeting instead of having it near the end of the meeting.
Before the vote, board members weighed in on the issue. Knight said he believes some people abuse the public comment period.
“I’ve seen people use the board public comment time to try and go viral. The last meeting before I became chair, a lady came up commented you need to move it back it up because I can’t go viral when nobody is around. I started seeing through the curtain that there are people trying to advance their own purpose,” Knight said.
Sloan disagreed.
“We can’t conform to one person. If one person tells us that, that doesn’t mean every person is trying to go viral,” he said.
The board deadlocked 3-3 on the motion with Kurn, Sloan and Kubiniec supporting the motion to hold the public comment period earlier and Hoke, Knight and Haynes voting against it.
As a result, the public comment period will remain at the end of the meetings.
SSDD
What happened at the last meeting should concern anyone paying attention. Board leadership and legal counsel were aware of a resignation before the previous meeting — yet it was not placed on the agenda at that time. Certain board members were not informed. The public was not informed. The issue resurfaced later, tied to demands that another member resign. Then an outside political activist sent an email claiming influence over the vacancy — and that email was cited publicly by Knight as a reason for refusing to accept the resignation. Step back and look at the pattern. Known information withheld. Timing shifted. Outside theatrics elevated. Resignation used as leverage. Together it does not look like steady governance. It looks reactive and strategic. Talk about the best show in town. If Knight truly wants to focus on “doing the business of the board,” then he needs to stop amplifying outside agitators, stop tying unrelated issues together, and start operating with full transparency. Trust isn’t damaged by disagreement. It’s damaged when information and process start looking strategic. This district deserves leadership that is independent, consistent, and above political games. Enough with this nonsense!
#kurnANDkubiniecMustResign
#RemovePoliticsFromISS
#ResignNow
How many were aware that:
2015 NC LEGISLATION CREATED PARTISAN SCHOOL BOARDS. SINCE 2022, there has been nothing but chaos, discord, disfunction and disservice to the ISSK12 school system. This Republican control proves they are unfit and local politics at least has no business in education!
#SpeakUpIredell
#ResignNowKubiniec
#ResignNowKurn
Why do you want the demon to control the School Board? Don’t you think we have enough corruption going on with the demons now, why are you afraid to let the Republicans straighten it out….afraid of what they might find?
Only a demon would want a demon on the board.
As much as you’d like to blame this on partisan school board elections, you can’t. There is more to the story. It comes down to the individuals who got elected and the voters that put them in office. The response to Covid lockdowns and mask rules swept in the current agitators on the board of education.
The Republican Party would be well advised to kick the “moms for liberty” faction out of the party and get back to common sense Republican issues.
It’s quite obvious that three of the current board of education members are there for the right reasons and three are not.
As a long-time Republican, I can’t vote for this mess. The local party is corrupt. Won’t get my vote. You should vote for the ideals that represent our community and its improvement — not for these crazy nuts. You can call them “Moms for Liberty,” but nothing they are doing represents liberty. They are closer to satanists than Christians.
So now we’re stuck with a 3-3 deadlocked petty school board where nothing will be resolved? Lardheppus.
Both individuals bear responsibility for their actions and their words, and both should be held equally accountable. Mr. Kubiniec has demonstrated a pattern of behavior that has been toxic to both the board and the community he serves.
What is difficult to understand (I speak only for myself), is how he was permitted to participate in a vote despite having a clear bias and predetermined stance regarding the acceptance of Mr. Angell’s resignation.
Allowing this undermines the integrity of the process and appears counterintuitive. It runs contrary to the principles of fairness and good governance that we as a community would expect this board is expected to uphold.
It’s interesting to argue that one member shouldn’t have voted because he had a “predetermined stance,” when other members publicly stated their positions just as clearly. You can’t apply the “bias” standard to one vote and ignore it for the others. Having an opinion isn’t misconduct. It’s governance.
You know, it’s pretty sad when you see John Sherrill at Monday night’s board meeting hanging out with the Moms of Liberty. They are huge Mike Kubiniec supporters. So, does this mean JOHN SHERRILL is in their camp? Also, he was sitting beside Kelly Harris at two other meetings. Hmm, it’s a SHAME when our very own turn on us. LOOK, WE CAN’T AFFORD ANOTHER CAPTAIN K. We need a school board that is not an embarrassment to our schools, kids and community!!!