Moore County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Grimesey says the district will be undergoing some "organizational renovations," aimed at creating "a new culture of collaboration, trust, and respect." 

"The work of the Board of Education and Moore County Schools [MCS] will never return to its status quo, but will foster and cultivate a new normal," he said in a video released on Monday afternoon, June 29.

The carefully-worded statement honored the unprecedented level of public outcry that was sparked by his recent termination — and that succeeded in having him reinstated. But it also expressed a determination that any changes the district makes "follows appropriate due process."

Dr. Bob Grimesey from Moore County Schools on Vimeo.

"After all, are we not the same Moore County community who spoke with a single voice so loud that it gained the attention of the entire state?" Grimesey asked.

The public attention that was focused on MCS as a result of the dismissal of the Superintendent included substantial criticism of the role the Central Office staff plays in determining what is taught and how it is taught in the classroom. 

Recreation Director Mary Farley and Lakes & Dams Director Joy Smith have resigned from the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] Board of Directors, President Chuck Leach announced during the Board's Thursday, June 11 Work Session. Farley was in the second year of her two-year term; Smith was elected to the Board in March.

Leach encouraged anyone interested in serving on the Board to contact the Landowners Office.

Non-members on Committees

Continuing a debate on whether and how non-members should serve on SLLA Committees, Leach offered a compromise that he said would leave everyone unhappy.

"I believe Seven Lakes has benefitted immensely from the advice, knowledge, and expertise of some of our long term renters," he said. "I also believe it is inherently wrong for a renter to sit on the Finance Committee and vote for a dues increase, that's not paying one penny in dues." Leach said he also felt it is "inherently wrong" for nonmembers to sit on the Judicial, Community Standards, or Architectural Review [ARB] Committees.

He suggested the following policy: "Tenants and others who reside within the Seven Lakes community who are not landowners may participate in an advisory, non-voting on all the Board committees."

Director Bob Racine pointed out that state law makes no restrictions other than allowing only Association members to serve on the Judicial Committee.

"On all these other committees, they are advisory only," Racine said. "They advise the Board. We set them up. They report to the Board. I don't think we have to touch our rules and regulations or bylaws. They have worked in the past."

"I think we are operating under the misapprehension that committees actually vote," said resident Mary Meyer. "Committees tend to get consensus."

"I think saying 'non-voting members' creates a separation that we don't need in this community," she added. "We don't need to be exclusive, or exclusionary. We need to include people. There are committees that would suffer greatly, Recreation being one of them."

Resident George Temple said the Finance Committee members did tend to vote on whether to forward recommendations to the Board.

Leach argued that the Board tends "to go along with the recommendations of its committees."

Jane Leach noted that the ARB does make decisions that impact a homeowner's use of their property, without first going through the Board of Directors.

"The Board is the only group that has the right to make a decision," Resident Jim Allen said, "so a lot of the rest of this stuff is a red herring. You just had two people resign. You are having difficulty getting people to serve on committees."

"How can a committee be representative when you exclude somebody just because they are not a member?" Allen asked. "I don't get it. It doesn't have anything to do with their competence."

"You are missing a talent pool that is out there that is willing to serve and be excluding them I think you are doing something that is self-destructive."

In the end, Leach's motion, that renters and other non-member residents of Seven Lakes North and South can serve in a non-voting advisory role on all committees except Judicial, was moved to the Open Meeting in a four-to-one vote, with Director Racine opposed.

From SLLA Community Manager Ray Sohl:

Late Friday night /early Saturday morning vandals broke bottles on the pool deck and defecated on the lifeguard stand.  This required closing the pool.  The pool will re-open at 3:00 pm on Sunday. The Association has zero tolerance for malicious damage to community property and facilities.  

A reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest & conviction of persons responsible for vandalism.  It's important to report vandalism to correct the situation and prevent this from happening again. If you catch someone in the act of spray painting a building, stealing a sign, or otherwise destroying or vandalizing property, immediately call 911 and the North Gate @ 910-673-4938.

Vandalism Costs… Ultimately, every owner pays the bills for damaged equipment, stolen signs, and vandalized parks. The Association maintenance staff has spent hours cleaning up graffiti, repairing buildings, and replacing equipment.

Action being taken:

1.   Surveillance cameras will be installed

2.   Moore County Sheriff will increase coverage

3.   SLLA Security will increase patrols

4.   Reward will be posted

The Moore County Board of Education plans to appoint another board member in a special meeting on Wednesday, June 17, filling one of three vacant seats.

Chairman Bruce Cunningham told The Times that the Board's attorney, Ken Soo, has advised making the appointment as a precaution, to help ensure that the Board maintains a quorum and can legally take action.

In the wake of Dr. Bob Grimesey's dismissal and reinstatement, four of the board members who voted to terminate his contract have resigned.

Only one of those seats has been filled. The Board named former board member Pam Thompson to fill an at large seat in a special meeting on Thursday, June 11. Thompson will be sworn in during Wednesday's special meeting, scheduled for 6:30 pm at Carthage Elementary School.

That will give the Board five members: Cunningham, Thompson, Ed Dennison, Charles Lambert, and Laura Lang. And five is the minimum number of members the Board needs to make any decisions.

Attorney Soo advised that adding a sixth member would be wise, so a vote to do so is on the agenda for the special meeting.

As the scheduled time for Superintendent Dr. Bob Grimesey's annual evaluation approached, former Board member Sue Black told The Times, it became clear, in private discussions among Board members, that a majority of the Board was not in favor of keeping him in the job.

The Times interviewed Black via telephone on Saturday, June 13.

Black, who resigned from the Board in the wake of the public outcry over Grimesey's firing, is not willing to talk about why his contract was terminated, but she was willing to talk with The Times about some of the events surrounding his dismissal — and how she believes they have been mischaracterized by the press and misunderstood by the public.

In particular, she disputes School Board Chairman's Bruce Cunningham's account, as reported by the Southern Pines Pilot newspaper, of a private conversation they had prior to Grimesey's ouster.

Discomfort with Grimesey

As Board members began to work on the superintendent's evaluation, she said, they began to compare notes privately.

"Board members get to talk among themselves outside of a Board meeting," she told The Times. And, in fact, nothing in North Carolina's Open Meetings Law forbids conversations among individual Board members outside of formal meetings.

"Things like, 'Here's my experience, did you have this experience?'," she said. "That was particularly important for me, since I had only been on the Board this year."

Though Black had served a total of eighteen years on the Board of Education in terms scattered over three decades, her most recent term began in December, so she had only about six months of experience with Grimesey.

As the lack of support for Grimesey became clear, Black said, she felt it was important that all Board members were informed.

"This happened to me when I was on the Board in 1987," Black said. "I walked into a Board meeting with no idea that the Superintendent was about to be fired."

Black was recalling the firing of then-Superintendent Dr. Robert Tyndall, in a six-to-two vote of the Board. She was one of the two.

"That's not a good idea," Black told The Times. "All Board members should be aware of what's going on."