Orange County NC Website
16 <br /> one of his heroes. He said on picketing, where is the police report, and who has been hurt. He <br /> said that if someone was carrying a sign and beating kids up then surely there is a police <br /> report. He said that losses of the freedoms will lead to closing of church doors and burning <br /> bibles. He said that is not far off and only a few years. <br /> Dan O'Leary read a quote from JFK that said those who make peaceful resolution <br /> impossible will make violent resolution inevitable. He said that they are not putting up with <br /> curtailing the First Amendment and going after children. He said this will not happen. He said <br /> this is not a joke and that the Board is trying to stifle the parents. He then read a quote from the <br /> King James Bible, Matthew 18:6, that said but whoever causes one of these little ones who <br /> believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a noose was hung around his neck, and he <br /> would drown in the depths of the sea. He said that he thinks that sexualizing kids is pretty <br /> screwed up. He asked the Board if they thought the Lord would like that from them. He said that <br /> the Board should wakeup and that he feels like he is in the twilight zone with the Board. <br /> David Kolbinsky said he has been out of civic involvement for a while. He said from <br /> 1994-2003 he was on the Board of Education. He said that what caught his attention was that in <br /> 2019, the BOE was having issues and passed a resolution that the school system was <br /> historically and systemically racist. He said that came as a shock because he was there for nine <br /> years and served with Keith Cook, Delores Simpson, Brenda Stephens, and nothing like that <br /> was talked about. He said that they had an achievement gap that was addressed every budget <br /> cycle and there was never hesitation on anyone's part. He said that nothing like this rhetoric <br /> was ever used. He said that sometimes that the board would be divided 3-4, but they all had an <br /> agreement and didn't advocate for their constituency. He said they were there for all residents <br /> of Orange County and all students. He said that he understands that there is quite a bit of <br /> acrimony in the school system and that the former superintendent left abruptly after four years. <br /> He said that he tried to call the former superintendent and ask why but that all he would say is <br /> that he was burnt out and he wanted to go do something else. He said that he called a board <br /> member that was on the board at that time, and it was worse because all they said was that <br /> they would not talk about politics. He said that he ran for the board because a superintendent <br /> was there that wanted to do something called outcome-based education. He said that they did <br /> not know what that was but that they were worried about what outcomes they were wanting. He <br /> said that they were bringing something into the school system other than reading, writing, and <br /> arithmetic. He said that the superintendent worked for them for ten years and when he left, <br /> Randy Bridges was doing such a good job, that he was hired for superintendent. He said that <br /> his problem with this ordinance is that they are weaponizing the BOCC and police against <br /> parents to silence their concern about what is going on in the school system. He showed a sign <br /> that he was carrying. <br /> Jacquie Barker said she understands there is concern about harm occurring to children <br /> on school property. She said that the alleged incident that happened to spark this ordinance did <br /> not happen on school property. She said that the restrictions will now include private property <br /> that is within 1,000 feet of a school. She said that the commissioners can now judge when a <br /> private gathering can be considered a public event and shut it down while fining each person <br /> $100. She asked what the definition for "school" is in the proposed ordinance. She asked if this <br /> includes charter schools. She said if this is about protecting where children are present then <br /> why aren't preschools and daycares included. She said that playgrounds will be included but <br /> what about museums, art galleries, and parks where plenty of children are present. She asked <br /> what they are trying to protect children from. She said all past protests were peaceful and <br /> asked what this is trying to address. She said there is no evidence of imminent danger to <br /> children. She said law enforcement is already in place for when the law is broken. She asked <br /> why they would limit freedoms when there is already a system in place to deal with someone <br /> violating the law. She asked where the statements from harmed students came from. She <br />