Mr. Howell,
I wanted to write to you today to express my extreme disappointment in your recent behavior. Prior to this year, I looked at you as the voice of reason for the ISS Board of Education. You didn’t hesitate to call out the tyranny from the governor over Covid “rules.” You voted in support of parental rights.
However, now it appears that you have set out on a personal vendetta against Mr. Kubiniec. You have displayed hypocrisy by insinuating that Ms. Kurn was simply trying to “embarrass a fellow board member” by questioning Ms. Trent’s eligibility to serve while living outside of her district, yet that is actually what you have done by removing Mr. Kubiniec from his vice chair position and attempting to censure him while making opinion statements such as “you still waste time to make yourself look important” and “in my opinion, it is your goal to tear down public education and not build it up.”
In your crusade against Mr. Kubiniec, you have not cited one board policy that he has violated. Mr. Kubiniec, on the other hand, has pointed out multiple board policies that have been broken by the board, and you simply ignored his concerns.
You have claimed that you don’t mind being attacked, yet you have repeatedly tried to infringe on the free speech of members of this community. At the October meeting, you had an attendee removed for saying something that you didn’t like while referring to him as “big mouth.” You told the attendees at the last meeting to put down their signs because you didn’t like them (I would like to know what board policy gives you the authority to do that). You tried to silence a public speaker for calling you out personally, claiming that it wasn’t allowed, for which the board attorney had to correct you.
I don’t know what has motivated you to take this turn. Is it pride? Is it jealousy? Do you feel threatened? Have you been seduced by those who lie to further their own personal agendas? Whatever the reason, I do hope that you will take a long look in the mirror and reflect on your behavior and motivation.
Lydia Wroth
Additional comments by Edward and Paula Mimnaugh
Enough.
Under the leadership of chairman William Howell, the I-SS school board is in disarray, and it’s behavior is becoming an embarrassment to the citizens of Iredell county.
This current school board has clearly lost sight of its intended purpose. While largely ignoring the problems of the children and teachers in the schools, certain members instead engage in unsubstantiated accusations, political infighting, and openly impugn each other’s integrity. This pernicious behavior has even spread outside the board’s meeting room to newspaper interviews, comments on social media, official legal hearings, and now, civil actions against a fellow board member.
Who is responsible for fomenting this infighting between members of the school board instead of taking care of business?
We believe Chairman Howell’s inept leadership style is a root cause of the dissension and disharmony between school board members. His insidious, dictatorial behavior during meetings, his negative attitude, and his verbal tone reveal his lack of respect for other board members, not to mention the attending public. Fail to agree with Howell, and you risk a personal vendetta against you, as he has done against Mike Kubiniec. Vote with Howell, and you enjoy his protection.
It’s time for both parents and the public to became concerned about Howell’s failure to lead the school board with the intention of actually benefitting the school children and their teachers. A competent leader sets aside petty differences between himself and others and instead works to achieve a consensus to solve problems. An effective leader is willing to investigate and try new approaches to solve those problems when the old methods clearly fail. He doesn’t seek personal recognition, or boast of his accomplishments, and he doesn’t abuse the authority that has been loaned to him. And importantly, he knows to maintain self-control without showing rancor toward others during meetings.
It’s apparent that Howell has failed to learn these essential leadership skills. Enough! Chairman Howell should step down immediately.
Edward and Paula Mimnaugh
