BY KARISSA MILLER

Tensions flared again during the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education meeting on Monday night as members sparred over legal and procedural issues related to the vacant District 2 seat on the board.

The vacancy was created by the resignation of Chairman Kevin Angell, who represented District 2. He stepped down in late January following an altercation with board member Mike Kubiniec.

Following Angell’s resignation, the Iredell County Republican Party Executive Committee nominated Matthew Youngblood, a teacher at Statesville Christian School, to fill the empty seat. 

In March, the I-SS Board deadlocked 3-3 on a motion to appoint Youngblood. Board members Brian Sloan, Anita Kurn and Kubiniec supported the motion. Board members Doug Knight, Ronda Hoke and Cindy Haynes voted against the appointment.

The GOP Executive Committee did not follow state law when it selected Youngblood, said Knight, who is the acting chair.

“This means it is the responsibility of the school board to appoint the next member on it,” he said.

Next, Kurn passed out a report to board members.

“I asked some AI chats what the opinion would be on this. I documented my prompt and the different AI engines that I used,” she explained.

Kurn said her report was prepared in response to the District 2 vote “to provide a clear and thorough account of the process.”

“After careful review, the process was conducted correctly. The dispute arose over one precinct chair. However, the executive committee acting as required by statute unanimously adopted rules that restricted their participation,” she told board members.

Kurn said she used three AI chat engines to arrive at her conclusion.

“Based on the information presented, I believe the vote was conducted fairly and in good faith, and I recommend that we accept the results and move forward with Matthew Youngblood’s recommendation,” Kurn said.

Haynes disagreed.

“This has nothing to do with who the body appointed,” Haynes said. “This has everything to do with the process, the law and mitigating factors.”

“I would disagree with my colleague Mrs. Kurn when she thinks that this is okay. I don’t,” she added. “Our board attorney has met with the GOP attorney. I want to move on too. I think the GOP executive committee had the chance to do it following the same precedent that they did in 2025, but the same chair chose not to.”

Sloan said the outcome of the GOP Executive Committee would have been the same regardless of what procedures were followed.

The I-SS Board should move forward and appoint Youngblood, he said. “He’s the only one we can select without the threat of a lawsuit.”

Sloan then made a motion to vote to fill the District 2 vacancy. Kurn seconded the motion.

Kubiniec then accused Knight, as the vice chair, of taking “unilateral action by meeting the board attorney, meeting with the GOP, and making a decision that’s not authorized by policy.”

The Guilford County school board was sued for not filling a vacancy, he added.

“You’ve exposed us to legal liability. So, really there’s no more discussion needed,” Kubiniec said.

Knight interrupted Kubiniec and told him he was “out of order” and that he would not tell him how to run the meeting.

Hoke also took issue with the GOP’s selection process.

“I don’t think that the statute was followed correctly. It didn’t follow the precedence of the one before. At our last meeting, we were presented a petition. I sat and looked at it,” Hoke said.

Hoke said that there were 164 names on it. Some names were on there more than once, he said.

“If you take that and look at it, there’s only 89 legitimate names out of District 2. The others were in Mooresville Graded School District and a majority had no children in Iredell-Statesville School System,” Hoke said.

Hoke said that he talked to the to the director of the Board of Elections.

Former District 2 school board member Charles Kelly, who applied to fill the vacant seat, received 6,063 votes in 2016 and 8,960 votes in 2020.

“The number that is legitimate signatures on that petition … is 1 percent of the votes he got in 2020,” Hoke said.

In 2024, Angell got 8,122 votes in that same district, he added.

“I’ve been in the county all my life … nobody has ever contacted me and actually told me of their concerns for District 2, except a small handful of people who want to push this issue through,” Hoke said.

“I don’t hear District 2 talking. I hear people telling me to hold my ground … and don’t give in. That’s where I stand on this.

“That’s my opinion on it and I will not vote for it,” he added.

Knight then called for a vote to suspend the rules to vote at the Committee of the Whole meeting in order to vote on filling the district 2 vacancy.

The motion failed in a 3-3 vote. Those voting in favor were Sloan, Kurn and Kubiniec. Those against were Knight, Hoke and Haynes.

The meeting grew increasingly toxic as members traded accusations of “conflicts of interest” and “predeterminations.” The atmosphere became so charged at times that Knight repeatedly ruled members out of order.

As the meeting adjourned, the District 2 seat remained vacant.