Denita Reavis
The Alexander County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting for October on the 8th. The meeting opened with the pledge led by board member Scott Bowman.
Honors and Recognition
Communications/Testing/AIG Director Dr. Denita Dowell-Reavis welcomed the board to recognize ACHS athletic director Nathan Robinson. Robinson recently won the Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award named after The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s former Executive Director. The award recognizes people with 10 years or more of service and commitment to high school athletics and the students.
Board members also recognized Emery Miller, a student at Alexander Early College for winning the statewide contest for a slideshow. The competition was sponsored by the Soil and Water division. Emery was lauded for having impressive visuals and clear graphs and charts in her presentation.
The district also recognized Ellendale’s Nicole Childers, Wittenberg’s Whitney Dietzler, Stony Point’s Shannan Sigmon and Alexander Early College’s Mary Brown. Each of the four worked this summer to earn either their local or state endorsement to better serve academically and intellectually gifted students.
French Student Visit
ACHS French teacher Nancy Grenier introduced some students who are taking part in a French exchange program for the next few days. The students told the board members they appreciated the opportunity to visit the United States. In all, the school is hosting 21 students and two teachers. The French students have participated in an ice cream social and outings with the Alexander Central High School students. They are staying with local families during their visit.
Facilities Update
Facilities chair Scott Bowman asked to have the board vote on whether to offer the Ellendale property to the county. State law requires a school district to first offer a surplus property to the county before listing it for sale. Bowman says the property is nearly 6.9 acres. The board voted unanimously to send the decision to the county commission and potentially list it for sale.
Budget Update
Chief Finance Officer Sharon Mehaffey told the board that the 2024-25 budget is balanced and should not have to dip into fund balance; however, she says it is tight. She presented this school year’s budget resolution for their approval. The overall $63.7 million dollar budget pulls most of the money from the state with $37.2 million for salaries and staff. The general expense fund, which is local money, Mehaffey says is $7.6 million. The local money also largely funds salaries and staff.
Finance assistant Andrea Robinette pointed out to board members that the district did get an increase in state funding this year, but that increase was offset by state raises for staff. In other words, it did not feel like the district received more money. While any district appreciates the state paying teachers and staff more, the General Assembly does not always allocate enough money to cover the raises passed in their budgets.
For the fund balance, avoiding taking from it allows the district to keep some in what is similar to savings. Last year, the board authorized Mehaffey to take $809,404 dollars from the fund balance to pay salaries and expenses.
Here’s a list of the 2024-25 funding:
State Fund $37,243,658
General Expense $7,608,040
Federal Fund $3,379,433
Capital Outlay $7,427,601
Child Nutrition $3,491,544
Child Care $ 307,370
Local Fund $4,289,392
Overall, the amount given from the state to Alexander County Schools has decreased steadily over the past ten years because of declining enrollment. The amount the state gives the district this year is based on the first two months of the prior year. The number of students has decreased by 83 students this year compared to 2023-2024 but the district should not feel the impact. Still, ACS will have to plan for less funding based on the latest enrollment drop. That drop will be at the heart of the discussion when administrators begin to craft the 2025-26 budget. Mehaffey says the district should know by December how much money is available for next year.
Last year, board members heard from the 13 community groups, 11 parent groups, and 12 staff groups about the budget crunch. The top suggestion was to cut staff since there are fewer students in the district.
The board agreed to use the district’s Reduction in Force (RIF) policy to make the personnel cuts. Some board members believed most of the money the district needed could be found through normal attrition–retirements or those moving out of ACS–and would not require new cuts. Ultimately, seven people were offered transfers for other jobs in the district and 13 people were on the lists of cuts. Staff from the Human Resources office says those 13 found jobs outside the county or outside of education.
Superintendent Dr. Bill Griffin has told the board that the district will “live within its means” meaning any expansion of programs or projects will remain on hold for this school year.
Meantime, the district is still waiting to learn if the state will continue to fund the elementary school resource officers through school safety grants. That money is expected to come through.
Personnel Report
Dr. Alisha Cloer presented a personnel report which included a recommendation to approve Bryan Davis as the new facilities and maintenance director for Alexander County Schools. Chris Campbell, who served in the position for six years, is leaving the district to work with Iredell County Government. Davis has five years of experience as the Facilities Services Manager in Caldwell County. Davis is also a pastor at Indian Hills Baptist Church in Lenoir. He officially starts his new duties on October 11th. Director Campbell has shepherded the district recently through several grant funded projects including the $2.5 million dollar football field upgrade, $5.5 million dollar Sugar Loaf gym construction, and the $200,000 tennis court resurfacing.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Bill Griffin reported he was grateful Hurricane Helene did not hit the county harder than it did and reported that there was no major damage to the school buildings from the storm. He also thanked the local agencies, including Emergency Management, for supporting our schools.
The state has declared Alexander County in the disaster area, so that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can offer temporary lodging, basic home repairs, and other disaster-caused needs. Counties to the West including Watauga, Ashe, Buncombe were hit harder than Alexander County due to flash floods.
After the hurricane, the state school superintendent asked the General Assembly for $150 million dollars for repairs and renovations and for help replacing school nutrition equipment, supplies and technology not covered by insurance. Superintendent Catherine Truitt is also asking the legislature to waive part of missed classes for schools. Griffin thanked a variety of school groups and clubs who have collected supplies to help with needs as Western North Carolina recovers from the storm.
Also, Griffin told board members he was updating them on his 100-day plan; he says the time has passed quickly. He said his entry plan was to learn, reflect and then act based on needs he recognizes. Griffin says he’s proud of administrators and staff for trying to move this school district forward. He says he wants to reassure folks that things are fine. He says that it is pleased to reiterate that no funds will have to be used out of the district fund balance to make the budget for 2024-25.
School Board Policies
The board unanimously approved the following policy revisions presented by Chief Financial Officer Ms. Sharon Mehaffey.
Policy 5071/7351 – Electronically Stored Information Retention
Mehaffey also presented a second reading for several new policies, which were unanimously approved.
Policy No. 2310 – Public Participation at Board Meetings
Policy No. 3220 – Technology in Educational Program
Policy No. 3225/4312/7320 – Technology Responsible Use with attached PDF
Policy No. 3420 – Student Promotion and Accountability
Policy No. 3460 – Graduation Requirements
Policy No. 3620 – Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations
Finally, in new business, Mehaffey presented for first reading the following:
Policy 7440 – Assignments/Reassignments/Transfers