BY KARISSA MILLER
The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education on Monday opted to postpone discussions about filling the vacant District 2 seat on the board until May.
Acting Chairman Doug Knight, who placed the discussion on Monday’s agenda but then agreed to delay the discussion so a majority of board members would vote to approve the meeting agenda, said questions remain about the process that the Iredell County Republican Party Executive Committee used to select its nominee.
In a letter to the Executive Committee, Knight has asserted that the GOP had not followed state statute and therefore the I-SS Board was not bound by the party’s selection of Statesville Christian School teacher Matthew Youngblood to fill the seat vacated in late by District 2 representative Kevin Angell.
GOP Executive Committee Chairman Sean McGowan, responded earlier this week by publishing “a statement of disapproval of the messaging coming from the current acting chair of the ISS Board.”
At the onset of Monday’s meeting, board member Anita Kurn made a motion to remove discussion of the vacant District 2 seat from the agenda entirely, citing a lack of progress in private discussions.
“I just feel like it’s a waste of time until we can get together and come to an agreement. I’d like to scratch that off,” Kurn said.
Board member Mike Kubiniec agreed.
“I believe we have a lot of things to discuss in closed session,” he said, noting that the board had an extensive agenda.
Board member Cindy Haynes disagreed with postponing the vote.
“Apparently, last month a lot of people wanted to talk about the District 2 seat, and have it done (voted on). In my opinion, we don’t need to delay, but to vote on this,” she said.
However, the motion to remove the item from the agenda — which was supported by Kurn, Kubiniec and Brian Sloan — resulted in a 3-3 tie vote, which meant the motion failed and would remain on the agenda.
A motion to approve the agenda then failed with Kubiniec, Kurn and Sloan voting against it.
After the board met in closed session, the chairman removed the discussion of the District 2 seat from the agenda.
The latest delay in filling the District 2 seat comes after weeks of tension surrounding the issue.
At a previous meeting, board members clashed over how nominees were selected and whether Republican party officials followed the correct procedures when making recommendations. As a result, Kubiniec, Kurn and Sloan voted against the approval of many standard agenda items during the March meeting.
As a result of Monday’s delay, District 2 residents will continue without representation on the board for at least another month, but the acting chairman remains hopeful a candidate will emerge.
“I’m trying to do what’s best for the school system and kids in Iredell County. My goal is to make a motion next month so that we can vote on someone so that we can fill that seat,” Knight said in an interview.