To the Editor:
A perfect example of despotic political behavior and suppression of basic civil liberties has been on display during the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education’s last three meetings. Chairman Bill Howell’s dictatorial approach to school board leadership has polarized the members of the board and subjected the entire board to public humiliation and criticism.
The focus of Howell’s oppression has been his petty accusations against fellow school board member Mike Kubiniec. Howell has solidly established a four-member voting bloc support his vendetta against Kubiniec. They have voted to remove Kubiniec from his position as vice chairman and threaten to censure him during a future meeting. It appears that Howell and his coterie don’t like Kubiniec because he asks a lot of questions, because he is unsatisfied with the status quo when it’s not working for the school children, or simply, as has been suggested, because his accent isn’t from the North Carolina Piedmont.
At the November school board meeting, Howell’s animosity was also directed against board member Anita Kurn, who asked a question about another board member who allegedly no longer resides within her district, which is against the law. Howell applied every procedural maneuver during the meeting to rebuff Kurn’s question because the person under scrutiny votes with him on every issue. If she were to be removed from the board that would upset Howell’s four-vote majority. Knowingly ignoring or covering up this residency question about a board member might even be a misdemeanor.
Howell behaves as if his word sets the rules for the entire school board, bending established procedures to suit himself, while imposing unfair restrictions on speech of the other board members.
Because of his outrageous behavior, Chairman Howell ought to be removed from the board. Unfortunately, we citizens of Iredell County must endure this dictator’s behavior until he is up for re-election.
Meanwhile, the important issues facing the school board will continue to take a back seat.
Edward Mimnaugh
Stony Point
Jeez does this guy not have anything better to do????
From all accounts, the problem is not Chairman Howell. Surely, Iredell County can do better by its schools than Kubiniec, et al.
I can certainly understand taxpayers being upset with the constant circus over our current school board. However, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would support the school board members who only want to push their political agendas. Kubinec and Kurn certainly fall into this category. Anyone who would unapologetically say the things Anita Kurns said about innocent children has no business being on the school board. And anyone who knowingly brings an unauthorized visitor on a school campus and knowingly skirts the security system in place to protect students and staff has no business being on the board. (Not to mention having no regard for the law, board policy, or decorum.)
Please stop claiming that Kubinec is not liked because of his accent. He is disliked because he deliberately makes decisions to put children in harm’s way. He does not have the students’ best interest in mind. He says he wants to attract high-quality teachers but then he acts like he’s on a soap opera at meetings. All he wants to do is create drama. It’s embarrassing. No wonder teachers don’t want to come work in I-SS.
Paula and Ed need to fade off into the sunset. It’s a shame Moms for Liberty, along with Micah Phelps, his mommy Jill Schooley, Anita Kurn, and Mike Kubiniec are just using the two of them.
Howell should be removed and Paula Mimnaugh should immediately be appointed the superintendent. Captain K should be appointed chairman. All other board positions should be absolved. Let Paula and K run the whole deal the way it should be. We don’t need the rest of them.
Wow! Kim Shelton has admitted to being an outright facist. A slayer of democracy. Whatever school system Kim Shelton was educated in did a poor job in assuring Kim was proficient in social studies, government and other civic minded classes. I-SS please do not let our students receive such a poor education. At least teach them the difference between a democracy and dictatorship.
I’m pretty sure this post by Kim Shelton was called sarcasm.
Kim, I could not agree more. Let’s fire Dr. James, and burn Chairman Howell at the stake. (Wait! We must find another way with the burn ban and all). Immediately hire Paula Mimnaugh as school superintendent; I mean dictator. She could certainly quickly fill all vacant positions with her flying monkeys. I do worry about Ed though with no one to tell him what to do. Oh well, things happen. He can be collateral damage; after all it is just one person. No big deal. Maybe he and Anita can teach cage match fighting techniques in PE. The possibilities are endless. I think this might work, as long a we can convince the taxpayers that education is bad, me (Paula) and Moms for Liberty good.
I would love to know why Iredell Free News thinks we care enough about Mr. Mimnaugh’s opinion to keep publishing his thoughts. Everyone is entitled to have their opinion heard, but the place the place for his concerns are during public comment period of the school board meeting — not in our local news outlet.
Kubinec doesn’t have an accent, he’s whiny and the sound of his voice grates on one’s ears. As for Kurn, she sounds like the ignoramus that she is. Why do idiots always speak the loudest?
Clearly NOT! He & his wife need new hobbies.
Mr. Mimnaugh, and others:
I was desperately praying to God, yes with a capital G or “big G for Mr. Sloan, that the demonic forces would take a break from creating and espousing hatred and ignorance for a week or two.
Alas, the devil is powerful, and his demons/minions continue to do his bidding in trying to seduce normal God loving. Mr. Kubiniec, Ms. Kurn and Moms for Liberty would like to convince us that what they say was received on a dedicated hot line from the Father himself. Folks don’t believe this nonsense; it is the same type of sport Satan first used in the Garden of Eden.
Mr. Howell may not be the most polished political individual I have seen, and I do not always agree with his stance on some of the problems and issues that are inherent to a very large PUBLIC school system. I do believe Chairman Howell understands the ins and outs of the job that the people in his district elected him to do as a board member. If you recall on Dec. 5, 2022 Mr. Howell was nominated to be The Chairman of the Board of education and was the only one nominated. All seven members of the board cast their vote for confirmation. Vice Chair nominees were Dr. Knight and Mr. Kubiniec. Ironic as it may seem now Mr. Kubiniec was nominated by Ms. Abbey Trent. Mr. Kubiniec garnered four votes to become the Vice Chair.
It seems to me Mr. Kubiniec immediately began to think he was the long, awaited messiah needed to save the wretched I-SS school system. He embarked on a personal crusade to “learn and understand” the workings of the I-SS school system and NOTHING was going to stop him. I can only imagine a little voice in his head thought, (as a Naval Captain might) Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead. God was not the voice he would’ve heard. God’s ways are humble, meek, caring and loving to ALL the people including your enemies, perceived or real.
Mr. Kubiniec seems like he is his own worst enemy. He is certainly not meek or humble always espousing HIS accomplishments. I wonder who he is trying to convince us or himself. That leads me to say his removal as Vice Chair is truly a blessing for the people of Iredell Co.
On December 5, 2022, Mr. Kubiniec and the other new school board members took a sworn oath to uphold NC law, as well as the Constitution of the United States. Yet, just a few short weeks later Mr. Kubiniec and others knowing and willfully broke the law by voting for a change in the school calendar. The disregard for the law did not end there, when during the course of the next several months he participated in secret meetings, during which his language disparaged Iredell Co. students, parents and taxpayers. Mr. Kubiniec the Bible says that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. It may behoove you to dig deeper into this book. You don’t have to read 100 pages in a few days and table it as you do a budget. Take your time and really delve into what the words say and mean. Let the word of The New Testament sink into your very being. You might the drop the rock. Good advice for all of us.
Isn’t there some other county the Mimnaughs could pester?
Jim: They do this same crap in Alexander County as well.
Josh (No last name). Are you a typical uninformed liberal? Neither my wife nor I have ever attended an Alexander County school board meeting or even commented anywhere about Alexander County.
So many of the negative comments made here against Mike Kubiniec and Anita Kurn are really applicable to the “Howell Four.” They resist any changes, but take a look at the school testing statistics and then tell me that they are doing a good job.
Mr. Howell, stop wasting time at the school board meetings with the feel-good, self-aggrandizing reports from school officials and instead try to solve the problems in Iredell County schools.
Chairman Howell and the school board as a whole would have more time to problem solve if your wife and her friends would stay home and stop creating problems that need to be solved.
Paula’s husband, it is obvious people are being doxxed by your group and those on the school board. So no, I did not and will not include my last name, for my own safety. The Kubienic clan and M4L are the ones who waste precious time at the board meetings with their irrelevant pre-typed speeches by Mr. K himself. Maybe if the rest of the board actually focused on the real issues at hand, more could be accomplished during meetings.