In a Tuesday email to state Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis, the Weldon City Schools Board of Education says it found several of what it describes as significant factual inaccuracies in notices from the state that threaten to suspend the local board’s authority as well the state’s move to dock Interim Superintendent Rodney Shotwell’s pay.

In this report, Weldon’s responses to perceived inaccuracies are documented in the email written with the authority of the full board by Vice Chair Tiffany Hale.

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“While the Board is thankful for the SBE's support and partnership and fully intends to continue working with the SBE and Dr. Shotwell to do what is best for our students, we have serious concerns with the August 1 notice and want to make sure there is a clear mutual understanding of the facts in this matter.”

One of those is a claim by the state which says the Weldon BOE has "continuously failed to cooperate" with Shotwell since his appointment by the SBE on July I1, 2024. 

The local board contends this is not supported by the facts. 

The notice contains numerous other inaccuracies, the email says.

“The August 1 notice also establishes a list of 18 ‘expectations’ that the Weldon BOE must comply with in order to avoid suspension of its duties. Most of these ‘expectations’

are vague, subjective, and leave the board members without a clear understanding of how to operate and comply with our obligations as local elected officials moving forward.”

The board has a deep respect for the SBE and will continue to cooperate with them and with Shotwell in all matters related to the Weldon City Schools, the email says, “But these concerns must be addressed.”

Corrections to factual record requested

The Weldon BOE submitted corrections to the factual record. It is also requesting that the SBE acknowledge these facts, and reconsider its August 1 notice. It asks that the state provide clarity on its expectations.

The corrections are as follows:

The SBE's factual findings begin with the assertion that "since Dr. Shotwell 's appointment as the state board-appointed interim superintendent, the Weldon City Board has continually failed to cooperate with him and has otherwise hindered the ability to improve student performance in the Weldon City Schools." 

The facts show otherwise.

The SBE appointed Shotwell as the SBE's interim superintendent on July 11. “The Weldon BOE held only one meeting between Shotwell's July 11 appointment and the SBE's August 1, 2024, notice.”

That meeting was held on July 18. 

During closed session, Shotwell recommended 13 certified employees for hire, including an EC Director and C&I Director. The Weldon BOE approved them. 

Shotwell also recommended seven classified employees for hire. The Weldon BOE approved them. 

Shotwell then recommended an employee salary adjustment and four employee assignment changes. The Weldon BOE approved them. 

During open session, Shotwell presented 19 policies for approval on first reading. The Weldon BOE approved them. 

Shotwell and his staff also presented 16 contracts for approval. The Weldon BOE approved them. “In short, the Weldon BOE approved every single action item that Dr. Shotwell recommended to it during the July 18 meeting,” the email says.

The factual findings in the August 1 notice do not contain any reference to the July 18 meeting, the Weldon board says. “Instead, the August 1 notice supports its claim that the Weldon BOE ‘continuously failed to cooperate’ with Dr. Shotwell after he was appointed by the SBE by exclusively referencing actions that occurred before he was appointed by the SBE.”

None of those actions are relevant, the local board charges. 

They cited North Carolina statutes which only allows the SBE to suspend a local board of education's duties after the SBE has appointed an interim superintendent and only if the local board has failed to cooperate or otherwise hindered the ability to improve performance in the district after that person is appointed.

“The full and relevant facts demonstrate that after Dr. Shotwell was appointed by the SBE on July 11, 2024, the Weldon BOE fully cooperated with him and has not taken any action to otherwise hinder the ability to improve student performance in the Weldon City Schools,” according to the email. “The Weldon BOE approved every single one of the action items that Dr. Shotwell presented to it at the one and only meeting the Weldon BOE held between Dr. Shotwell's July 11 appointment and the SBE's August 1 notice.”

Because of this, the email contends, “the foundational ‘factual finding’ underpinning the SBE's decision to take the extraordinary step of considering whether to suspend the Weldon BOE's duties is not actually factual. It is not accurate and not supported by the relevant facts in this matter.”

Events before Shotwell’s appointment not accurate

The local board says the areas of concern regarding events that occurred before Shotwell was appointed by the SBE are also inaccurate.

“For example, on page 2 of its notice, the SBE asserts that the Weldon BOE ‘voted down’ Dr. Shotwell 's recommendations for finance officer and director of curriculum and instruction during its June 20, 2024, meeting,” the email says. “This is not accurate. Dr. Shotwell did not present a recommendation for C&I Director at the June 20 meeting and has never presented a recommendation for finance officer at any board meetings. 

“The board would love to fill that critical position, but Dr. Shotwell has not proposed anyone for the board to consider. He did present a recommendation for C&I Director at the July 18, 2024, meeting, and the Weldon BOE unanimously approved it.”

On the third page of the notice, Hale wrote on behalf of the local board, the SBE asserts that Shotwell recommended terminating several vendor contracts at the June 20 meeting, but the Weldon BOE declined to terminate them. “On page 4, the SBE again asserts that the Weldon BOE failed to terminate ‘wasteful contracts’ at the June 20 meeting. This is not accurate. Dr. Shotwell did not ask the Weldon BOE to take action to terminate any vendor contracts at the June 20 meeting. Dr. Shotwell and his staff did present a proposal to contract with a substitute staffing company that he described as intended to replace an existing service, but staff did not actually have a copy of the proposed contract for the board to review. The board tabled it because they reasonably and understandably were not comfortable approving a contract they had not seen.”

Shotwell’s pay

As another example, the email says the SBE asserts that during a meeting on July 9, the Weldon BOE “demanded" that the SBE allocate additional funds to the district to pay Shotwell's salary. “This is not accurate. During the July 9 meeting, the Weldon BOE was told that the SBE intended to appoint Dr. Shotwell as its own interim superintendent for the Weldon City Schools, making him an SBE employee.”

In response, the local board asked if the SBE would be using any of its own state funds to pay Shotwell's state salary when he became a state employee. “The Weldon BOE was aware that the SBE paid the salary of the SBE's interim superintendent in another district and simply wanted to know if the SBE would be paying even a portion of Dr. Shotwell's salary after he became the SBE's interim superintendent for Weldon.”

The email continues, saying, “The Weldon BOE was understandably disappointed when it learned that the SBE would not be contributing any funds at all to pay Dr. Shotwell even after he became an SBE employee, and justifiably concerned when it learned that the SBE instead planned to direct Dr. Shotwell to unilaterally transfer Weldon's funds to NCDPI, including their local funds, to pay his state salary.”

Wrote Hale: “The amount of local funds at issue, which are described in the notice as ‘only’ $2,500 to $3,000 per month, may not seem like a lot of money to the SBE, but it is a significant amount of money — $30,000 to $36,000 over the course of a year — to the Weldon City Schools that could have otherwise been allocated, for example, as a local supplement to recruit individuals for vacant central office positions, to hire a teacher assistant or bus driver, or spent on students.”

Efforts to collaborate

The email says that the state board’s factual findings and areas of concern don’t account for the Weldon BOE's many efforts to collaborate with the SBE and Shotwell over the past several months.

“As to the SBE, in February of 2024, the Weldon BOE was in the final stages of interviewing and selecting a candidate to be its next permanent superintendent when the SBE asked the board to suspend its search and to instead allow the SBE to help identify a long-term interim superintendent.”

The Weldon BOE agreed to suspend its search. 

In March the SBE recommended several interim superintendent candidates for the Weldon BOE to interview and consider for hire. 

The Weldon BOE agreed to conduct interviews and hired Shotwell. “In May of 2024, the SBE recommended that the Weldon BOE make an offer to hire an individual endorsed by the SBE for the position of permanent superintendent. The Weldon BOE agreed and made an offer.”

The Weldon board says that the SBE then rescinded its endorsement of the individual in June  and recommended that it rescind its offer. “The Weldon BOE agreed and rescinded its offer. In July of 2024, the SBE asked the Weldon BOE to schedule a special called meeting to discuss Dr. Shotwell's appointment as the SBE's interim superintendent. The Weldon BOE scheduled and participated in the meeting.”

Between the time Shotwell was hired by the Weldon BOE as its own employee on March 26, and the SBE's appointment of him as the SBE's interim superintendent on July 11, the local board approved 95 percent of the recommendations he made. “In that time period, Dr. Shotwell made approximately 100 personnel recommendations, 18 recommendations for contracts and other agreements, and five recommendations for other action items, including recommendations to more than double his delegated spending authority for service and purchase contracts and to significantly increase his spending authority for construction contract change orders.”

In short, the email says, “The Weldon BOE approved every single action item presented to it before Dr. Shotwell's appointment on July 11 with the exception of four personnel recommendations and two contracts. Since his appointment by the SBE on July 11, the board has approved everything Dr. Shotwell has presented to it. The full facts demonstrate that the Weldon BOE has cooperated with the SBE and Dr. Shotwell and overwhelmingly voted in support of his recommendations throughout his tenure with the Weldon City Schools.”

The 18 expectations

The August 1 notice established a list of 18 expectations that the local board says are vague, subjective, and leave them without a clear understanding of how to operate and meet their obligations as locally elected officials moving forward. “Some of these expectations are unnecessary and easy to meet.”

For example, the email says, “The board has and always will make all decisions in the best interests of our students. The Weldon BOE also does not and will not engage in nepotism or cronyism. In addition, the board regularly attends NCSBA conferences in which members receive training on policy, oversight, and personnel matters and has previously engaged in Master Board Training through the NCSBA. Nevertheless, the board will seek additional training through NCSBA as requested by the SBE.”

The email contends, however, most of the expectations are vague, confusing, and subjective. “For example, who determines what does or does not constitute a sound financial decision? Is it sound to approve contracts when staff do not present copies of the contract for the board to review? Who determines what does or does not constitute respectful treatment? If a board member asks questions about a recommendation, or needs additional supporting information to fully consider and weigh a recommendation, are they being disrespectful or uncooperative? “Who determines what does or does not constitute a good cause reason to object to a recommendation from the interim superintendent? Who determines whether a recommendation is designed to improve instruction? Who determines whether a contract is financially beneficial or will improve efficiency in the district? What does it even mean to refrain from issuing directives to individual staff members? Is the board allowed to ask its staff to post notice of meetings, print copies of meeting materials, provide supporting information for recommendations, or provide presentations on matters of concern at meetings? Is the board allowed to enforce any of its board policies, many of which direct staff to do or refrain from doing certain things?”

Furthermore, the local board contends that the expectations “are written such that they apply to each individual member of the Weldon BOE. As the SBE knows, the board acts by majority, and is more than any one member. The board certainly hopes that this was a drafting error. If it was not, the board is concerned with how to operate moving forward if the SBE intends to consider suspending the duties of the entire board due to a perceived violation of a subjective expectation by a single member.”

Local elected officials

“Before taking office, each newly elected board member takes an oath that includes an affirmation that the member will ‘honestly, faithfully and impartially discharge my duties as a member of the Weldon City Board of Education.’ The members of the Weldon BOE take this oath very seriously. In discharging our duties, board members often must exercise discretion and carefully weigh the matters before us when taking action. At the end of the day, the board is ultimately responsible for the district, including in matters of employment and financial management.”

The email says, “The vague and subjective nature of the SBE's ‘expectations’ leaves the Weldon BOE members without a clear understanding of how to operate moving forward and meet our obligations as local elected officials. 

“If board members simply rubber stamp every recommendation brought to us, we risk acting counter to our oath. If we exercise discretion, we risk violating the expectations and losing local control of our schools. The board is confident that the SBE understands this, particularly those SBE members who are or were also members of a local board of education.”