Grimesey in awe after being reinstated as Moore County superintendent
Moore County Superintendent Robert Grimesey is still in awe over his experience of being fired, then rehired four days later.
Posted — Updated"Nobody can remember anything like that happening before," he said on Tuesday, his first day back. "Let's use the term extraordinary."
School board members voted 5-3 to fire Grimesey during a closed-door session on Thursday.
"I was never really given a lot of clarity as motivation in the termination," Grimesey said. "There was nothing in my view that substantiated termination."
On Friday, Rep. Jamie Boles, R-Moore, called for the resignations of those who voted to fire Grimesey. If they didn’t step down, Boles threatened to push a local bill to recall the school board members.
The news of his termination spread quickly through the community, prompting hundreds of concerned parents to petition.
On Saturday, three of those board members resigned.
On Monday, amid a standing ovation inside a packed Union Pines High School auditorium, the board voted to reinstate Grimesey.
"I don't have any concerns with the working relationship with the existing board members and myself. They invited me to return by a 4-1 vote. They're all good people," he said.
After the vote, a fourth board member resigned.
Laura Lang, the remaining board member who voted to remove Grimesey, said she will not resign. She also criticized Boles' actions.
"I would say it is sad that an elected official would use a threat like that to get other duly elected officials to resign," she said in an email to WRAL News. "At this time, I intend to continue in my role until my term expires in December 2016."
Parents say they are thankful to have Grimesey back in office.
"I think it's excellent," said Justin Bradford. "I think it's a move in good faith for the people of Moore County."
Grimesey said he is confident he can work with all of the board members moving forward.
"This has been an extraordinary civic lesson that has engaged a community to take notice of how policies are made," he said.
The board will begin the process of temporarily replacing the resigned members on Thursday.
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