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Residents urge board to reverse censorship of Shelby High activism club; speakers cite Equal Access Act and student safety
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Cleveland County School Board during public comment to allow a Shelby High School activism club to host a trivia event recognizing LGBTQ+ figures, saying the board's decision to bar the event violates students' rights and harms vulnerable students.
Dozens of residents told the Cleveland County Board of Education during public comment in March 2025 that a decision to prevent an activism club at Shelby High School from hosting an LGBTQ+ history trivia game amounted to unlawful and harmful censorship.
"The Equal Access Act is clear. If one student club is allowed, they all must be treated equally," Rod Powell told the board, arguing the district had singled out the club and unlawfully restricted student speech. Powell called the district's action "not just wrong; this is illegal."
Several other speakers framed the dispute as a student-safety and mental-health issue. "When you erase LGBTQ+ voices, you're telling students, our students, that their identities don't belong in school," Powell said, warning that exclusion contributes to higher rates of depression and suicide among LGBTQ youth. Austin Costner and Ron McCollum made similar points, noting the history of LGBTQ advocacy and saying support and safe spaces reduce violence and improve student engagement.
"This community has made significant contributions to society," Austin Costner said, describing LGBTQ figures and activism as part of local and national history and urging the board not to "erase or marginalize" students who identify with the community. Ron McCollum, who said he spent two decades working in the district, appealed to the board to treat the issue as a mental-health and school-safety concern and to restore spaces for students to belong.
Jenny Ross, a Crest High School graduate and district parent, criticized a superintendent letter that described the planned trivia event as ‘‘indecent’’ and urged the board to allow students to exercise free speech. "What is indecent is belittling this entire group of people, including our very own students," Ross said.
Board members did not take formal action on the club during the meeting. Several board members and the superintendent acknowledged hearing the public comments; some board members used their closing remarks to praise teachers and staff and encourage constructive engagement with families. The public-comment period rules, read by board member Aaron Bridges at the meeting’s outset, reminded speakers that the board cannot answer confidential student or personnel matters during the forum and that individual board members lack authority to act independently.
Ending: The board did not announce a decision on the Shelby High activism club during the meeting; speakers urged the board to review the legal issues raised and to consider the mental-health implications of school censorship for students.
