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.