… Western elementary public meeting tonight

This is merely an attempt to suppress free speech just like when School Board Chairman Josh Wagner tried to talk the Fairgrounds Association out of letting concerned parents meet there a few weeks ago.

Is Commissioners Chairman Greg Edds giving advice?

The Woodleaf-Cleveland issue and the “redistricting” (their words) issue for the other “doomed” elementary schools are one in the same.

All the parents I have talked to from Woodleaf and Cleveland have welcomed parents from other “doomed” schools to speak up as well. Many of the West parents don’t want their kids merged next to a natural gas fired electrical generating plant that caught fire last week and wonder why the free land was not accepted far away from the danger. Speaking out about the BoE and all current issues, does not show a lack of respect for Cleveland or Woodleaf. It’s just Wagner’s way of suppressing the turn out. If you don’t want to speak – appear and wear red.

The color speaks for itself. BoE said they want our input and then tries, at every turn, to suppress it. They clearly see themselves as public masters and not public servants. Wagner should resign as he is not fit to lead.

— Todd Paris

…Editorial: How not to close schools

The only thing in dire need of maintenance after releasing the consolidation proposal is these board members’ political futures.

— Bob Davis

Travis Allen ran the proposal up the flag pole at the recent Republican Men’s breakfast club. Greg Edds, Carl Ford and other local GOP folks voiced their approval. Five members of the school board, at a recent get together, chimed in with great enthusiasm. It became a fact before any of the tax paying public had a chance to offer an opinion.

— Carl Prine

It’s important to keep in mind that student success is tied to socioeconomic status and not the acreage where a school is located. The high performing schools are made up of students who would succeed in a school on any site. Likewise, there is a reason that inner-city schools generally have lower test scores. My point is that schools like Fatih Elementary have many students who don’t get high reading scores, while Overton has about the same amount that do. The location of the school in Faith is not a magical formula for education. Test scores (which are sadly the indicators we use to measure success) range widely at every school. If you want your child to succeed, nurture curiosity and make it clear that you value education in your home. How long a child ride a bus to school has little relevance to his or her academic success.

— Cathy Mahaffey

… Community speaks out against school closings

I heard economist Milton Friedman say in 1980 that:. people vote with their feet where they want their kids to go to school and school adminstrations cannot move attendance boundaries fast enough to prevent the movement. Seems as if our admin and board need to listen to Friedman’s presentation (it’s on youtube).

— Franklin Merrell

It doesn’t make sense that the school board wants to save money by closing schools that have recently been upgraded and then have to bus rural kids all over the county. If the school board is serious about saving money they should drop the one-to-one technology philosophy that is clearly not working. How much money is RSS spending on iPads, MacBook Air laptops, and all the supporting hardware and software?

— Hunter Barrier

I moved, not just changed my address just to clarify that.

—Andrew Poston

…but we have a nice palace with a green dome..

— Chris Borre

… Federal judge upholds NC photo ID mandate

Looks like that Rev. William Barber dude at the National Association for the Advancement of Loony Leftist Drivel done lost again.

— Stephen Owen

… Ester Marsh column: Sharing the road with cyclists

This is a great article and covers many important points. Thanks for writing it and thanks to the Post for printing it. However, I think you left off one important hint to the cyclists. Cyclists need to follow the law just like automobile drivers. When I am riding and when I am driving, I too often see cyclist go right though stop signs and around corners against red lights. That is illegal and should be ticketed. If nothing else, it irritates the drivers who are following the law and stopping. Irritated drivers are a cyclist’s worst nightmare.

— Russ Stevens

…My turn: Trump’s rise no mystery

Our choices will never be good if we keep allowing the outsiders to be treated the way Trump and Carson have been treated.. Trump can handle this, he can scream louder, he can give back to them what they give to him. Trump is our only chance of getting an outsider in the oval office, our only chance of penetrating the criminality, corruption, and the abuse of Washington, the only chance to have our freedoms returned to us, and the only chance we have of improving our economy, keeping the 2nd amendment and remaining a soverign country.

— Brenda Sechrist

…Queen of the library gets a royal sendoff

Great article and well deserved accolades for a wonderful supervisor. I’m probably the umpteenth person to say this, but Sherri is almost irreplaceable. I can’t imagine trying to fill her shoes. Happy retirement, Sherri!

— Sherry Emunson Strother

…Citizens search for stars during ‘Shots Fired’ filming at Rowan County Courthouse

Just what the country needs — a television show to increase animosity toward law enforcement. Mr. Obama and the Justice Department have done a pretty good job of that already.

— Tim Deal

…Weathering the storm: PTA, principals speak about potential closures

The people of Woodleaf and Cleveland didn’t want their schools consolidated either. But the people don’t have a choice. They are going to do what they want to do. Get used to it. It’s called politics.

— Teresa Eller

I live in Faith and I am not against change. What I am against is justifying almost 9 million dollars being spent on the downtown office but yet the BoE doesn’t have the funds to maintain our schools. Hiring an architect firm to help come up with this study to consolidate rhe schools sounds odd. Is this the firm that would be used if the schools were consolidated? If so then no wonder they are saying the county should close 6 schools! This whole thing is shady!

— Angela Hendricks

It seems like everyone, except the school board and the Salisbury Post, knows that the current Mt. Ulla School bldg was constructed in 1994. In terms of buildings, this is a “new” building that they want to close. If it has structural issues now, then we got shoddy workmanship from the contractor in 1994.

— Glenda Kearns

We love Mt. Ulla. Why close a school with some of the best scores in the county?

I don’t want my kids getting on a bus at 5:45 on the morning. By the way, both of our kids live in Rowan county, but were not born in Rowan county, so the “live birth” stat in the study isn’t an accurate representation, and the age of Mt. Ulla was flat out wrong. Where else are the #’s wrong in the BOE’s “study”?

— Greg Mixon

The cabal does whatever they want and you do not matter. Somebody will profit from this and it will not be the students.

— Chris Borre

… John Hood: Two ways forward on HB2

A lot of states as well as the federal gov (passports and SSA) allow the gender marker to be changed with a letter from their physician that they are transitioning. Many states also allow the same for birth certificates. It is very similar to what is required when a woman marries and desires her name changed. This seems reasonable and really does not adversely affect anyone else.

— Rusty Eldora

At this particular point in time, no one short of the extremists believes the “transgender impersonator, little girl safety, or privacy” claims as anything but institutionalized systemic racism, that is defined as the animus courts need to show unfair discriminatory action.

It may take a while, but the end is all but assured. The only question is who is going to pay the court costs, attorneys fees, damages for the complaints and lawsuits those presenting non-conforming gender stereotypes bring. The downside is that Mississippi for example is the number one most federally dependant state and an even worse economy will only drain federal funds more. Fortunately places like New York and California where civil rights mean something, don’t have that problem. So sad, for Mississippi..

— Lori Stewart

…Rob Schofield: Bathroom predator story is a myth

I guess this is where I’m supposed to be shocked… or surprised… or something… that the NC state government would be rushing to use fear tactics to pass a law that contains far more than just the hysteria-driven bathroom clause. But because that kind of sexy sizzle sells, it’s the only part getting traction, and the GOP governor and his friends are dictating the message to make sure it stays that way.

— Sean Martin

… Letter: HB2 could cost local schools

Pat McCrory is simply an embarrassment of unparalleled proportion. When a major foreign government issues a travel advisory, NC might as well be an ISIS haven.

— Cole Guillaume

What has North Carolina’s Republican legislature done to help the middle class? Taxes were raised. We’re losing jobs. We’re losing industry prospects and revenue from tourism.

Our population growth is surely slowing. Worker’s rights have suffered another blow. Wages are stagnant and the minimum wage can not be raised. Now our public schools are going to take a hit. We need to stop voting for representatives who go against the better economic interests of the working class!

— Carl Prine

“HB2 also eliminates the ability of people to sue in state court for discrimination and bars local governments from raising the minimum wage. “

This is the crux of the Pope money behind HB2. Ask yourself who benefits the most from keeping minimum wage stagnant. Who benefits most from ppl not being able to sue on the grounds of discrimination? Keep the slaves on the plantation. Only now the slaves are multicolored – a veritable rainbow of poor.

— Whitney Peckman

…  Oscar D. Ramirez: How far we have drifted away

I take the paper and I agree with mr.Ramirez’s conclusions, but he makes many mistakes in getting there. It is called Easter, not because of a pagan god influence.

Christians are looking for Christ to return, rising above jerusalem, which is “in the East.”

Easter is the day when Christians are to looking to the East for His return;therefore it is an Easter day.

The Christian calendar got off from the Jewish calendar, when the Catholic church decided to save money, and shorten the original 8 day celebration to the current three days. Before the change, thousands of pilgrams (not the 600 who landed in Plymouth) but every believing Christian after Constantine made Christianity legal.

The Catholic church as it was first formed, fed every pilgrim who made pilgrimage to Rome on Easter. After about 600 years and thousands of conversions, that became expensive. Of course at the time, the church was the largest land holder in the world as it was known at the time. Almost every large and owner over the centuries, tried to buy their way into heaven, by leaving their estates to the church.

That included all the livestock and slaves, who continued to work as slaves for the church, raising food to feed the hungry, as well as the pilgrims.

The chuirch wanted to be cathedrals, so they started selling the food, and they shortened the celeration of Easter from 8 days to 3.

— Gary Sechler

… Cal Thomas: The felon vote

This article is a hack job. So 38 states plus have automatic voting rights restored and not 1 single Republican has complained or tried to change that law. So when Virginia does it all of a sudden it’s unconstitutional and only done to get Hillary elected. Really?

Hey maybe instead of demeaning every race and orientation why not try to reach out to them. Ex felon’s don’t have to vote Democrat but the way republicans treat and say about them says it all.

— Darren Fisher

… Jackson never wanted to be on the $20 bill anyway

Did Harriet Tubman tell anyone she wanted to be on a $20 bill? How dumb can liberals be? Does (Andrew) Jackson coming off $20 bill have any thing to do with Jackson at all?

— Steven Dean