Don and Cynthia McQueen were the two highest-paid staffers at Torchlight Academy, with salaries of $160,000 each in the 2020-21 school year. The McQueens’ daughter Shawntrice Andrews, was the fourth-highest paid with an annual salary of $65,000.
Every Senate Democrat voted against the veto override, including two who had supported the bill that won bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Sen. Ben Clark, (D-Cumberland) and Sen. Kirk deViere (D-Cumberland), previously voted in favor.
The decision could leave the parents and guardians of 600 students in grades K-8 scrambling to find new schools in the fall. Many of Torchlight’s students live in Wake and surrounding counties.