Guilford County School Board rejects GOP pick for vacant seat for a fourth time

The Guilford County Board of Education voted to reject a GOP appointment to fill a vacant seat for a fourth time on Tuesday.

Pending legislation would require the board to approve him. 

The District 3 school board seat opened when former member Pat Tillman became a commissioner in November. 

Since Tillman is a Republican, it was up to the county GOP to recommend his replacement. But the school board has repeatedly voted to reject its pick, GCS Teacher Michael Logan. 

The issue prompted State Reps. Jon Hardister and John Faircloth to introduce House Bill 88 last month, which is an act that would require the board to approve Logan. 

For future vacancies, the board would be required to approve the appointment made by the county executive committee of the vacating board member’s political party. 

The appointment must be a registered voter, a resident of the district where the vacancy exists, and the committee must have made the appointment within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. If all of that checks out, the act states that the individual shall be sworn in at the board’s next regular meeting. 

Still, the board voted 6-2 to reject him at Tuesday night’s meeting, garnering mixed reviews from the public. 

GCS parent Maria Adams shared her thoughts during the public comment portion of the meeting. 

“Mr. Logan's unique perspective and experience as a 26-year GCS teacher is invaluable to this board of education,” Adams said. “The citizens in District 3 are appalled at how Mr. Logan has been treated by certain representatives on the school board. Mr. Logan’s character and name has been slandered.”

Immediately after Adams, another resident from District 3 spoke on the subject with a different viewpoint. Lizzie Biddle had this to say.  

“For democracy to be healthy, we need both liberal and conservative thought and open dialogue. This is extremely difficult when winning through political expediency is the goal,” Biddle said. “Unfortunately, such has been demonstrated by the fight to seat Mr. Logan both locally and up at the state legislature.”

Biddle also thanked the board for standing up against “bigotry” and “racial prejudice” — which Logan has been accused of representing on social media. 

The six board members who voted against Logan wrote in a column in the Greensboro News & Record last month that approving him would be “unacceptable” in light of his posts. They said they would welcome a different GOP candidate.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.