Facing the voters: Ronnie Grigg - School Board

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent

Ronnie Grigg

If you haven’t heard of Ronnie Grigg, at least recently, then you’re possibly hiding under a rock, or have just avoided all the political drama as long as possible.

Grigg, an incumbent on the CCS Board of Education, is currently running for reelection.   

Having four daughters of his own, who graduated from Cleveland County Schools, he wants every parent to see their children receive the best education possible.

“I didn’t get into this to be popular, I didn’t get into it to be friends with everyone,” stated Grigg. “I did this to make a difference in the community for and for the education of the children in Cleveland County. I want to see students get the best education they can possibly get and if I get another term, I will do all that I can to fulfill my promise through dedication to do the best I can for every employee and student at Cleveland County schools.”

The moving factor for Grigg was when he decided to run for his first term; he discovered some red flag information.

“When I decided to run in 2021 I had so many people giving me information on the breakdown in the school system of how people are graduating that didn’t really earn their diploma, being pushed through the hole to show better numbers and for funding,” he said.

Grigg continued, “I really believe we put the cart before the horse.  We need to focus on our school system and focus on our educational calendar and our own schools first over what’s best for the (community) college.”  

Grigg promises that he supports CTE 100% but believes there is a more efficient and simpler way to go about CTE if they would return the classes to the high schools. He worries about students leaving their respective high schools and driving to CCC for the classes, especially during inclement weather. Career and Technical Education is an opportunity for students to gain hands-on education and training for technical careers in adulthood.

“We used to teach these programs at the high schools, and I think we really need to consider returning to that for efficiency and safety of our students,” noted Grigg.

Grigg said many people have told him that they would like to see more transparency on the board of education, getting kids back into proper education, stop catering to politics, and get funding by pushing numbers, instead just go back to the basics.

He noted that many improvements have been made since his time on the school board, but believes there are still major concerns that need to be addressed.

“We are losing a large amount of teachers during any given school year, sending us resignations during the middle of a semester. We still – I feel like – have some serious financial troubles, and if we continue to also lose students to other school systems, around here, then we really have issues when our student body continues to shrink and we continue to lose quality teachers.”

“The (school) board is dysfunctional,” Grigg added. “We should be able to disagree without causing trouble for one another. Nobody has ever said to me, ‘Hey, Ronnie, let’s go have a cup of coffee and talk this over,’ it’s never happened.”

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The Administration at the main office is another area Grigg believes needs to be revamped, claiming some friendships have taken precedence over what is best for students and staff.

“CCS is like a business,” Grigg explained. “I don’t have anything against anyone – it’s nothing personal, it’s just when I say something that doesn’t line up with what other board members think it’s just my belief in what I think is best, and I believe it’s quite possible time for a change that focuses less on friendships and more on what is best for our employees and students.”

When pay raises were given to some administration staff, Grigg said he voted against pay raises due to the large salaries currently paid to administration staff because he feels the money should go to the teachers.

“Before we give any more raises to the administration, we need to make sure our teachers have the money they need for supplies at the beginning of every school year,” Grigg stated.  

He continued, “You can look at it year to year, there’s always going to be kids that walk into classrooms without any supplies, and it should not come out of the teacher’s pockets. I fully disagree with teachers paying for their own supplies.”

The Primary is March 3.

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Chuck Thompson is a reporter and columnist for The Shelby Independent. 

The Shelby Independent.