School board candidate forum slated for Jan. 29, at LeGrand Center

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent

The school board forum will involve eight of the candidates, all republican, on Jan. 29, at The LeGrand Center.

UPDATE: Jay Carpenter will not be attending as previously reported. Stephen Carroll Self will be attending now.

Anyone interested in listening to the school board candidates’ personal stances on local education issues, and wanting to ask them questions, will have their chance next week.

The Cleveland County GOP and Moms for Liberty are hosting a school board candidate forum on Jan. 29. 2026 at The LeGrand Center in Shelby.

The debate forum will be hosted by Dot Cherry, a school board member in Gastonia, that has moderated over school board candidate forums in the past, here in Cleveland County.

“She has moderated for us in the past,” said CCGOP Chair, Sherry Yocum. “She’s very fair.”

The forum was meant to be bipartisan, but only Republican candidates accepted. In a phone call with Yocum, she explained to The Shelby Independent the importance of having the forum and who was invited.

“The school board forum is to allow CC residents to learn about their candidates prior to voting for them in the march primaries,” Yocum said. She also noted that they invited both republican and democrat school board candidates to participate in the forum, but the two democrat candidates had to decline the invitation due to another event at the same time.

Scotti Biddix, Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty Cleveland County, expressed her excitement and regret that not all candidates could attend.

“We're excited and looking forward to the upcoming school board forum. While we're disappointed that a scheduling conflict prevented the bipartisan event we had hoped for, we value the opportunity for meaningful dialogue focused on the betterment of our schools and our community,” said Biddix.

The forum will consist of the candidates answering questions from the moderator in a traditional debate style manner, and then the floor will be opened for audience participation, giving those in attendance a chance to interact with the school board candidates by allowing the audience to ask the candidates questions directly.

(school board forum continued below)

“I encourage people to attended, listen – to raise questions of their own, so they’re comfortable with their decision of who to vote for,” added Yocum.  

Eleven candidates are running for four seats in the Cleveland County School Board race. There are two Democrats and nine Republicans; three are incumbents, with one seat vacant for the taking after Walter Spurling announced last year that he would not seek reelection. Two candidates are previous board members who served in the past, but are not currently on the school board, are Robert Queen and Rodney Fitch.

Aaron Bridges, Danny Blanton, and Ronnie Grigg are the current incumbents up for reelection, with newcomers Shelia Canipe, Brandon Bridges and Jay Scott Carptenter, will attend the forum.

The school board candidate forum begins at 6 p.m., at 1800 E Marion St, Shelby.

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

Copyright 2026 The Shelby Independent