Public commenters raise concerns about fees, district IT and privacy at Cox Mill
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Summary
Three public speakers at the Dec. 8 Cabarrus school board meeting urged the board to address alleged fee-based incentives that affect graded work, district online-system problems, and a student’s claim about privacy in girls’ locker rooms at Cox Mill High School.
Three members of the public used the board’s public comment period on Monday to press the Cabarrus County Board of Education on separate concerns: parent complaints about fee-based incentive days, technical and transparency issues with district online systems, and a student report of discomfort and safety concerns in a high school locker room.
Thomas Hatcher, a parent, told the board his children met the requirements for incentive days at Harris Road Middle School but were excluded because they did not pay voluntary fees. Hatcher said one incentive event cost about $18 and another cost $42.02 and alleged that students who paid were exempted from a quiz or graded assignments while unpaid students had to complete graded work. "I don't understand how that's not extortion," Hatcher said, and he said repeated attempts to get an explanation from district staff had not produced a response.
Paul Wanish, speaking for a community group, described what he called usability and transparency problems with district technology. He told the board that Canvas is unavailable at times (he cited Sundays), Infinite Campus lacks filters and easy navigation for families, retake-status information is not visible, and families are sometimes asked to use student passwords to access materials. Wanish also said the district's IT group may be understaffed by about 15% and urged the board to create a community panel to collect user feedback.
A junior at Cox Mill High School who identified themself as Tristan said a ‘‘biological male who dresses and acts like a female’’ participates on the school’s cheer team and uses girls’ locker rooms and restrooms. Tristan alleged a peer saw the student watching girls change and said the school principal told them "the court has decided that there isn't anything we can do" and advised that an uncomfortable student could "go somewhere else." Tristan asked the board what it planned to do to ensure privacy and comfort for female students.
Board members acknowledged the comments but no staff response or action was recorded in the public portion of the meeting. The board did not take immediate action on the items raised during the public comment period; issues raised would require follow-up by staff or potential future agenda items to generate formal district responses.