Gaston parents protest over school district’s financial woes, anti-Islam post
Thirty minutes before the start of the Gaston County Schools board meeting, attendees already spilled out of the boardroom and into the cramped hallway.
Around 100 total seats in the meeting room had filled within the first five minutes of the doors being open. Whispers in the hallway indicated no more seats would be added ahead of the meeting to accommodate those who stood outside.
“They don’t want us to talk,” one woman speculated. “Well, I’m not leaving,” another said.
There was more than enough to discuss.
A crowd of protesters gathered outside the building ahead of the meeting — partly prompted by an anti-Islamic Facebook post made by Gaston School Board Member Tod Kinlaw in March. Kinlaw later deleted the post, but many gathered outside said it wasn’t enough. They want his resignation.
Others were there to demand more funding for public schools and protest recent layoffs in the district. Earlier this month, the district announced it would need to eliminate 175 positions ahead of the 2026-27 school year. Last week, educators began to receive notices they were laid off. One district high school, Highland School of Technology, is losing its theater program as a result of the cuts.
The school district narrowly averted 100 layoffs at the end of March, and potentially 300 more by the end of the school year, with an emergency $10 million from Gaston County commissioners March 24.
The Facebook controversy, combined with the district’s dire financial straits, have tensions in Gaston County boiling over.
“Many of us no longer trust that our elected officials are doing what is best for our children,” Brittany Elkin, a Gaston County parent, told the board. “That is why this room is packed.”
Reactions to Kinlaw’s post
Several protesters and speakers at the meeting called for Kinlaw’s resignation over his March Facebook post which called Islam a “satanic death cult.” However, Kinlaw has not made any indication he plans to resign.
“As a person that works in public education, he really has no business disenfranchising and speaking that way about the Muslim population in our community,” Kristen Moyer, a Gaston County parent, told The Charlotte Observer.
She held a sign which stated “Islamophobia is not welcome in Gaston County.”
President of the Gastonia branch of the NAACP Sean Bates also called for Kinlaw’s resignation.
“We’re beyond the point in which an apology will be acceptable,” Bates told the board Monday night. “He’s lost his way as to being able to represent all students.”
Bates claimed students in the district have reported racist and Islamophobic bullying.
“We have students who are scared, and you guys should feel responsibility for that,” he said.
Kinlaw remained stolid throughout most of the public comment period and did not address calls for his resignation.
Moyer said, even without a resignation, she hopes the board takes action to respond to Kinlaw’s post. Board Chair Josh Crisp previously told The Observer the board “does not have the authority” to remove an individual board member from elected office.
“It would be nice if they would censure him for that kind of behavior and hate speech,” Moyer said. “We need to make our Muslim community feel welcomed and included.”
Budget cuts
The board on Monday voted to approve Superintendent Morgen Houchard’s 2026-27 budget recommendation, which includes a $58 million request from Gaston County.
Houchard cut about $3 million in salaries and benefits from an original request to create the version approved Monday.
“We began our reduction in force process last week, and many were given notice stating that their job next year would not exist,” Houchard said. “But, I want everyone to know that we are working tirelessly to offer those employees other employment through attrition and retirement, which takes time … I know that does not make it any easier for them at this time, but I want everyone to know that we continue to do what we can for all our employees throughout this process.”
GCS projects about 230 currently-held positions to be vacated before the start of next school year, with planned retirements, resignations and contract non-renewals.
But, many wondered how the district made decisions about what positions to cut and called for more transparency and communication.
“I believe that we need to support our school systems and our teachers, and I don’t understand why they’re not doing that,” Teresa Atchison, a lifelong Gaston County resident and former GCS student told The Observer. “A lot of this stuff is done behind closed doors, so we need to have more transparency – real transparency.”
