Woke rules in N.C. school district

Be sure to read this FoxNews article about a North Carolina high school that kicked a student out for three days over the term "illegal alien".

The headline of the article is 

North Carolina high school student suspended over using the term 'illegal alien': Report

Be sure to "how" the student used the term.

The article says, in part, "Another student allegedly took offense to the term and threatened to fight McGhee’s son".

And so Leah McGhee's 16-year-old son got kicked out.

This happened at Central Davidson High School in Lexington, N.C.

The problem with suspensions is that they are imposed almost immediately, before any serious consideration of circumstances or a hearing. That happens there and here. 

By the time the student wins his case, the period of the suspension has passed. You can't give the lost time back to the student.

Iowa teachers, staff may carry guns

The Iowa legislature is seriously considering a bill to allow school teachers and staff to carry guns. 

See this article by KCCI-TV 8.

The Iowa Senate has passed the bill, and it now goes back to the Iowa House after a Senate amendment.

An online article by USAToday carried this: "More than 30 states allow teachers or other K-12 school staff to be armed in at least some circumstances, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures." One Senator said, ""Seconds count when law enforcement are minutes away even in the quickest response."

All 30 Republican Senators voted in favor. All 14 Democrat Senators voted against it.

American Citizenship

What is taught in Richland 2 schools about American citizenship, history (the real history), politics, the founding of the U.S., the meaning of responsible participation in the government, the awareness and understanding of identity politics, and the ability to think and make independent decisions?

A free online course titled "American Citizenship and its Decline" is offered by Hillsdale College at https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/american-citizenship-and-its-decline. 

Hillsdale College, in Hillsdale, Michigan, accepts NO government funding. It avoids the "strings" that are attached to government dollars. It doesn't have to kowtow to government regulations to keep the dollars flowing.

Take this eight-lesson course. You'll be surprised. Comment below, please, after you complete the course.

California city bans most identity flags

Huntington Beach, California has prohibited most non-government flags on city property. Read this article.

Gone will be LGBTQ and "breast cancer awareness, Pride, Confederate and all other non-U.S flags on city property".

Another article on FoxNews reported that the Springfield, Missouri School Board has refused to accept a LGBTQ "statement of support". The school board president, Steve Makoski, delivered a calm statement and explanation of the decision, which can be viewed here. (Apologies for the long, embedded ad.)

That would be a good position for Richland 2. 

Severely limit excessive identity activism and kowtowing to special interest groups. Close the DEI program. Get back to educating the students.

Like the New Intro to Livestreamed Board Meetings?

This afternoon I decided to check the length of last Tuesday's School Board Meeting. The January 23, 2024 board meeting length is recorded as 4:43:04. Assuming it started with the Executive Session at 5:30PM, the meeting didn't end until 10:13PM!

Did they accomplish anything important?

What shocked me was the new filler that precedes the board meeting. Watch it here or by going to livestream.com/richland2 and selecting the January 23 meeting.

There is no introduction to what you see at the beginning of the recording, and there is no button to advance past the recognition of long-time employees. It's almost like one of those endless infomercials.

If you wait long enough, the opening of the 5:30PM public session is at 4:09 on the recording. After the board enters executive session, a banner is added that the board meeting will resume after the executive session concludes. The public session resumes at 1:07:26.

A question: How much did the District spend to produce that filler?

Tonight's Agenda

I just received a text from a friend, and he had assumed I'd be going to tonight's Richland 2 School Board meeting.

So I looked at the agenda and shook my head in disgust. What a total waste of time! Of everybody's time.

Policy Proposal JLIG - Sun Safety. Seriously? The District is wasting time on a policy about sun safety and using sunscreen?

No wonder school grades and student failure-to-progress are so dismal.

And "Gavin's Law" for staff and students. There are laws on the books for that stuff. Are Board Policies really necessary?

If the School Board is going to give adequate time to all those items on tonight's agenda, the meeting should be over by dawn. 

I remember my first school board meeting in 2018, right after the shootings in Parkland, Fla. Craig Plank was the board president. I think that meeting was about 60-90 minutes long. That's all!

I urge the school board to deal with important matters - like educating the students to graduate with the skills they need for life and for further education. Cut out all the drivel. Richland 2 must be trying to out-do the Federal Government with wasted efforts, time, and policies.

Post and Courier's article about Supt's contract

The Post and Courier published an "interesting" article today about the superintendent's contract.

I had read the superintendent's contract several months ago, after it was texted to me. I didn't save it.

From memory, I recall that there was to be an evaluation within four (maybe six) months, and then the Board would decide whether to extend the contract for a year. I recall thinking at the time, "WHY?"

My opinion was the contract provision resulted from poor negotiations by Richland 2. They were under the gun to hire somebody fast, because they lost the first three months after Baron left in January. The negotiating team was behind the curve. They were not in the strong position in which an employer usually finds it. And why would the legal advice to the District ever agree with that provision?

The superintendent's contract is a personnel issue. Why did the article have comments from two board members? 

Will an evaluation occur "in the fall"? Historically, since the superintendent's contract runs from July 1-June 30, there would be a review before the end of the School Year (June 30), and a contract amendment, if there were to be one, at that time.

Angela Nash's gushing comment about the superintendent ("So far we've had such a great working experience with Dr. Moore") weakens any position of the Board, should it decide not to extend the contract when it enters its second year. That would have been better unsaid.