Denita Dowell-Reavis
The Alexander County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting for August on the 11th. The meeting opened with the pledge led by board member Anthony McLain.
Voting District Update
Board members unanimously approved a plan from Taylor Dellinger with the Western Piedmont Council of Governments to redraw the school board voting districts. Redrawing the districts is required because of the 2020 census. The districts need to be approximately 5,206 voters with a plus-minus margin of five percent. The map developed by the WPCOG and the Alexander County Board of Elections led to seven district boundaries that follow roads and precinct lines as best as possible. Originally, Dellinger had hoped to have three proposals to bring before the board. But after the work from WPCOG and the board of elections, there was only one option to approve.
Board Chair Matt Reese told voters that each member will be elected in specific districts but will still answer to all school families across the county. The purpose of the redistricting is to make sure that no district has more political influence than another. The timeline to approve the districts was important because in December, those who are running for office in 2026 will need to file to be on the ballot. The board of elections will now be responsible for making sure people know which school board district they will vote in.
The new districts would not affect where students go to school.
In November 2024, Alexander County voters approved a referendum that requires the seven voting districts to be redrawn to match the 2020 census. The referendum also established that Alexander County School Board members must be elected by political party.
Till this vote, the school board’s voting districts had not been updated since 2001.
Honors and Recognitions
Communications Director Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis opened the meeting with recognition for several students who earned awards over the summer. The first group included Beta Club members from Alexander Central High School who competed at the National Convention in Orlando, Florida in June.
Beta Club sponsor Donna Reid says the students competed in 21 competitions and placed in 8. She says, “To my knowledge, this is the most that we have won EVER at Nationals.”
Some of the winners had to take tests to place; some had to design or draw, and some had to perform.
Beta Club National Winners
Aniston Chapman – 5th Place – 12th grade Psychology
Chloe Echerd – 8th Place – 12th grade Health and PE
Bo Lewis – 2nd Place – 11th grade Health and PE
Aaron McLain – 7th Place – 11th grade Spelling
Carter Payne – 8th Place – 10th grade Spelling
Pierce Reed – Champion – 11th grade Science
For the competition, the musicology team first takes a quiz about music. That allows them to earn a spot to move on to compete against 15 other teams. Then, they go to the live rounds where they answer questions about music from all genres. Students Aaron McLain, Chloe Echerd, Aniston Chapman, and Pierce Reed earned third place in Musicology.
Next, for the second time the National Beta Champion in performing arts is Carter Payne. Payne played a medley that included “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” Payne had only two minutes to impress the judges and a crowd of about 5,000.
Finally, the board recognized Beta sponsor Donna Reid, who is the Beta representative for the state of North Carolina for the next four years.
FFA State Award Recognitions
Also busy this summer were several members of the FFA and their teachers. During the state convention in Raleigh in June, some ACS students came away winners.
Earning second place in the state was the Ag Mechanics Team made of Jude Bumgarner, Colt Mckee, Lukas Day, & Weston Rogers.
Next, were two students who submitted projects and then were announced as champions at the State Convention. Those winners are Allie Lackey for Veterinary Science and Laurel Mitchell for Beef Entrepreneurship.
The ACHS Dairy Judging Junior Team also won first place. That’s made up of Daisy Smith, Laurel Mitchell, Joel Payne, & Sadie Rust. The students had to judge the cows based on a set of criteria and then present their reasoning for the scores they assigned to the animals.
Finally, another championship team is composed of Brennan Little, Weston Brown, & Micah Chapman. They won the Cattle Handling competition. These students had to know about safety, industry standards, and how to care for the animals.
Paul Harris Fellow
The board also recognized the social worker for Alexander Central and Alexander Early College, Carrie Head as a Paul Harris Fellow. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. In particular, Ms. Head is very involved with helping the local Rotary Club collect and distribute food for students in our school communities to make sure they have their basic needs met. Ms. Head is in her 10th year with the district serving students and families.
Technology Update
The board unanimously approved a new contract for Encore Technology Group to complete the paging systems at Hiddenite and Wittenburg Elementary Schools. Only two companies turned in a bid for the district; business rules usually expect three bids for work. Encore has done work prior with the district and is able to work on weekends and nights to complete the job. Technology Director Kim Bishop told the board members that doing the work will cost the district about $220,000 dollars. The money will be pulled from the half-cent sales tax that Alexander County collects and gives to the school system for capital needs.
Finance Update
Finance Director Sharon Mehaffey reported on the auditors’ visit from August and said the group will have a presentation for the board in October. She also reminded the board members that the district has not used any fund balance for the past month. Mehaffey says that each department and Superintendent Dr. Griffin helped evaluate the spending for staff and resources in the district to make sure they did not dip in the fund balance.
Mahaffey reported on what’s known as a mini-budget that was approved by the state legislature. The budget increases the amount to pay for local employees’ retirement and health insurance, at a cost of $245,000 in new money.
Mehaffey says based on the state’s mini budget, teachers will get a step increase in pay if the salary schedule shows they should. In other words, teachers in years two through 14 will get anywhere from $75 to $97 dollars a month more. However, teachers with 15 years of experience are frozen at a rate with no increase in salary until they reach 25 years.
Superintendent Report
Dr. Bill Griffin discussed with the board about the district’s new look, vision, and mission. The district now has the vision of “Building a Legacy of Excellence” and a mission of “The Educational Choice for Every Child”. Griffin also created a logo that he plans to show to all teachers when they return to work on the 18th.
He also outlined details of a new state law known as House Bill 959. The law says that students are not to use their cell phones during instructional times. The district already had a policy in place that said academics are to be a focus and students should not use their cell phones when it is time for learning. The goal of the new law is to make classrooms distraction free and help students focus on their mental health. Schools will be responsible for sharing with students and parents the steps they will take to comply with the law.
Dr. Griffin shared with board members another law that requires schools to share videos or parts of videos with students about child abuse, neglect and predatory practices that adults may engage in. The purpose of the new law is to educate students on how to advocate for themselves. Ultimately students would learn how to avoid unhealthy relationships with adults who serve as staff members or other influential persons in their lives.
School Board Policies
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Alisha Cloer presented a second reading for a policy which was approved unanimously.
Policy No. 6140 – Student Wellness
The board also heard first reading for four policies and will hear those again with feedback next month.
Policy 3620 – Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations
Policy 4023/7233 – Pregnant and Parenting Students and Employees
Policy 4040/7310 – Staff-Student Relations
Policy 4240-7312 – Child Abuse and Related Threats to Child Safety