By Kenneth L. Hardin

Several weeks ago, I made a public declaration that I would begin pulling back from community service and move towards complete retirement from all involvement by my 60th birthday next June. So, what was the next step I took in pursuit of maintaining that vow? I trekked up to the Rowan County Board of Elections last week to put my name on the school board ballot for the upcoming election. That’s an indication of how well things are working out for me with this goal. Someone with divine credentials intervened because as I sat and listened to the wonderful ladies working in the elections office educate me on the process, I was informed that I lived outside of the seat’s district and wouldn’t be able to run. Part of me was disappointed but another part was relieved that I wouldn’t have to deviate from my plan.

The primary reason I initially put my name on the ballot was I have a grandson who’s approaching school age and I wanted to be involved in the equation to shape a system he may be a part of if we choose to enroll him. We haven’t decided if this is the best option for him and when we do, it’ll be a personal family decision not impacted by low test scores, bullying, graduation rates, classroom disruptions or continual lockdowns. The secondary reason is that at least once a week, someone reaches out to me via phone, text, email, Facebook messenger or visits my veterans facility with a question, issue or concern about our school system. I’ve been critical of our state report card previously in print, but I’ve tried to be part of the improvement process and the solution. Over several decades, I’ve visited classes and talked with students, volunteered with visitor behavioral improvement programs, and co-founded an afterschool program that operated for five years that worked directly with third through fifth graders to improve reading comprehension and classroom behavior. Even when I was traveling the country for work when my three now adult sons were in the school system, I would fly into Charlotte, rent a car and ensure I made PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences in person. I would then head back to the airport and fly back to whatever state I was working in.

I’ve worked with school system leadership on a few occasions to address parental concerns in an effort to find mutually satisfactory resolutions and avoid unnecessary escalation and outside external involvement. The parental issues have ranged from concern for students with intellectual disabilities, issues on school buses, parents questioning perceived inequity in disciplinary actions, staff behavior concerns and more. The previous superintendent was open and receptive anytime I reached out to her. I haven’t met the current superintendent, but I haven’t had any issues anytime I’ve called individual department leaders. I received an inbox message last week from a resident, who shared concerns about the status and direction of the Knox rebuilding project. The message read they’ve made attempts to receive information from school system leadership, but their written inquiries haven’t received a response. I’m not surprised because two years ago, when I emailed all the school board members and the principal of a high school about numerous calls and emails with a picture of a student engaged in a racist and homophobic act on an activity bus after a school-sanctioned sporting event, one school board member blocked my email and the principal only responded weeks after I escalated it. It was still never addressed.

Sadly, when there’s an absence of forthcoming and updated information, people tend to fill the void with misinformation and repeat it as fact. In all my involvement, I simply want the voiceless to be heard and that same voice to be respected. Many of the repeated questions I get are things that I think are fair and necessary for all tax-paying citizens to have answered. So, for all the people who’ve reached out to me with questions, I’ll ask them publicly. If we currently have 18,225 students in the system, which is 5,775 under the total capacity limit, why are we building a new middle school? If the former Knox students have already been displaced and reassigned for over a year and there aren’t any reported capacity issues, why are we building another school that may not be full? Why was this action not brought before the citizens and placed on a ballot for vote? If the new voucher system allows a student to go to any school, public or private, and other local private schools like North Hills, Salisbury Academy, Faith and Gray Stone are expanding, why spend $40 million of taxpayer money on construction costs to build a school that may not be fully used? Why not conduct a redistricting plan to see where we actually need new schools? China Grove, Landis and Bostian Heights schools are over 100 years old, so why not consolidate them into one and demolish all others? Why was Knox demolished at a cost of $650K instead of being sold to a charter or private school for potential profit or the county given the option to secure it? Why don’t we have a vocational high school where kids can graduate with a trade certification and be ready for employment? Why are kids still attending Hendeson with it being reported as being in such a dilapidated and unsafe condition? Why is there so much emphasis on technology at young grades instead of focusing on learning basic fundamentals?

When I’m approached by wealthy citizens, elected officials, community leaders, those employed with the school system, parents and grandparents in the parental role, I ask them their level of involvement. My primary question is whether they voted followed by whether they regularly attend PTA or school board meetings. There are many people who like to ask questions but don’t like being asked themselves. Everyone deserves answers, even me.

Kenneth L. (Kenny) Hardin is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.