Cleveland County fifth-graders return to school in March
Fifth grade students across Cleveland County will return to full-time instruction in March.
On Monday, the Cleveland County Board of Education voted 7-2 to send fifth grade students back to school five days per week starting Monday, March 8, for all Burns and Crest zone students and Monday, March 22 for all Kings Mountain and Shelby zone students. Coleman Hunt and Dena Green voted against the plan.
As part of the plan, any family who wishes to remain in remote-only learning can do so. I m not trying to separate school zones. (The split) is for logistics only, said board member Joel Shores.
Cleveland County School Board hires new attorney
The decision, made during the January meeting, was not without controversy.
After a lengthy discussion, five members approved the hiring of Sink Law Firm while four voted against.
A husband-and-wife team, Sink Law Firm appears online as a Charlotte company, though Jonathan Sink told Gaston County Commissioners a year ago that they were moving to Belmont. He was being hired as Gaston County’s attorney at the time. Sink bought a house in Belmont in May 2020.
Last month Leigha Sink, Jonathan’s wife and fellow attorney, told Cleveland School Board members that their family was moving to Shelby where she would be the primary attorney for the board.
The administration building for Cleveland County Schools, Shelby, N.C. | Google Maps
A North Carolina school board is exploring the possibility of putting Ten Commandments displays near the entrances at each of its school buildings, a possibility that has upset a secular legal group.
The Cleveland County School Board first discussed the idea at its Dec. 14 board meeting, drawing support and criticism in the last week from opposing national First Amendment legal groups.
During the December meeting, board member Ron Humphries made a motion to prepare, or have prepared, a policy requiring the display of the Ten Commandments . in a prominent place at or near the main entrance of all of our campuses.
By Sarah Tate
Jan 6, 2021
The Cleveland County School Board is discussing the possibility of placing a display of the Ten Commandments at each school in its district. While some members were concerned of potential lawsuits, others pointed to a North Carolina law that would permit such a move.
According to a state law passed in the early 2000s, school districts could display documents with historical significance to the country, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, pledge of allegiance, and more. The law also states that documents that exemplify the development of the rule of law could also be showcased in schools, such as the Magna Carta, Mecklenburg Declaration, or the Ten Commandments. According to the