Thursday, October 1, 2026
®
The World's Local News Source®
Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Another one of the nine candidates running for the four available Cleveland County School Board Seats has come forward to speak on their platform. Ronnie Grigg hopes to retain his position on the board for another four years to accomplish more of his goals in the school system.
Grigg is a Kings Mountain native who earned his high school diploma there, making him a product of the Cleveland County School system. He went into business directly out of high school, starting a rent-to-own company after graduating. After growing and selling this business, he went on to found another successful carpet-cleaning business, with 3 decades of growth and 30-plus employees to show for it. This experience has left Grigg as a firm believer in offering trade routes to children within our education system.
Ronnie Grigg during his WNN Studio interview - Cherryville, NC - February 18th, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
Grigg wants to see reform in the way the school system currently operates. He feels the current board does not respond well to open discussion. In his time, he found asking questions discouraged. He wants to see this resolved so that all of the system's 15,000 students receive the same fair treatment. He wants to see Cleveland County Schools producing leaders and success stories. To him, this means focusing more on students beyond the top students to ensure opportunities are available to everyone.
One of the main issues raised by the public with Grigg is the mismatch between population growth and the current size of the schools. Despite being told the growth is not coming quickly enough to warrant concern, he claims the current school space is already approaching maximum capacity. This leads to one of the current issues among the board with the sale of Marion Elementary School. While it is currently closed, Grigg would like to see the school system retain this asset to prepare for anticipated population growth. If the property is to be sold, he’d like to see the system properly compensated. Grigg would also like to see plans put in place now to counter this growth, rather than addressing the issue when it has arrived.
Grigg also sees the reliance on electronics as an issue. He believes that students shouldn’t be offered these materials until later in their education. This would return younger grades to paper-and-pencil learning. This issue also extends to cell phone usage in school. Currently, after completing a cell phone safety course, children are allowed to use their phones during lunch. However, this decision is typically up to the individual principal, and Griggs notes that in schools where this has been taken away, there is more face-to-face communication among students.
Grigg’s own children attended a charter school for a portion of their education. When they switched to public schools, they shared the common sentiment of boredom in public education. His daughters attributed this to being so far ahead that they had already learned what was considered grade-level by Cleveland County Schools. He sees one of the major advantages charter schools have is their selection process. This allows the charter schools to select for more hands-on parents, while many public education students see little to no assistance from their parents.
One advantage the Cleveland County School system has is its connection to Cleveland Community College. Students are allowed to begin taking college courses early, enabling them to leave high school with an associate's degree. However, Griggs believes the career path decision may come too early. He believes this decision should be delayed until later in high school, so students have a firmer understanding of what they want to do, whether it is a trade or a college-focused path.
Grigg is one of the school board members who has been previously censored. After speaking out on a student not receiving any punishment for a school prank when others have faced things such as expulsion, he and another school board member were both suspended for 90 days. He believes that policies have been unfairly interpreted to grant leniency where it wasn’t given to other students. He wants to see this corrected with equal and fair treatment for all students. He feels this is a significant problem with the policy system outlined in the student handbook and code of conduct. He believes previous instances should weigh more heavily on current decisions to ensure students are treated fairly.
You can watch the full interview below to hear Grigg’s full thoughts on each issue. Remember that the Republican candidate decision will be made on March 3rd, 2026. Early voting starts on February 12th and runs through the 28th. The mail-in (absentee) ballot request deadline is February 17th. Mail-in ballots started going out to voters on January 12th. If you are a candidate or incumbent that would like to speak publicly on your stances, email: newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com.
For further WNN articles and news stories, visit https://wisenewsnetwork.com
For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork
Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com
North Carolina Press Association Member
©️Copyright 2026 Wise News Network. All rights reserved.
