Shelby, NC — At the last Board of Trustees meeting on July 11, 2017, the trustees had a golden opportunity to bring about change, some healing, and maybe take a giant step forward, but no, instead, they suffered from a self-inflicted, boneheaded decision. They gave away $200,000 of money belonging to the taxpayers. They let their mouths/votes write a check their keisters couldn’t cash. Instead of taking a step forward, the trustees, at that moment, set themselves up for ridicule, by becoming an addition to this ugly story. Not only an addition to the story but an addition that highlights how out of touch this group is.
Think about this. Finally, after much wrangling and rambling, the board voted to terminate Dr. Thornburg and have him out of office by July 31, 2017. Good move. But after allowing him to bring shame and disgrace, among a host of other issues and problems, they also felt that they needed to award him with parting gifts as if this were a game show, and he was the champion contestant. The majority voted to award Thornburg, $18.400 less than his salary for a full year. And for what? And to add insult to injury, the board also, claimed to charge Thornburg with a stiff fine, for using inappropriate language in a password. The fine would be the equivalent of a week’s pay, $5,000…but, Thornburg could claim it as a tax-deductible gift to the school. Could this board be any dumber? It would have been about as effective if they had made Thornburg go stand in the corner for an hour or so. And the board can’t understand why the public has so much disdain for them.
Come Monday evening, people again, will have the opportunity to see this mess, up close and personal. If you attend, be sure and keep those who cannot attend informed, via social media, websites, text messages, etc. While there, thank the 3 trustees who did not vote to waste the citizens’ money. The three are Jason Falls, Wayne King, and Sheriff Alan Norman.
To those who have kept the people informed, via your blogs, websites, news portals, etc…thank you so much. Keep up the good work. When this is over, don’t let up. There is still a big fight ahead and much work to be done.
