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2019-20 Board Meeting Minutes » February 3, 2020

February 3, 2020

Summary of Board Minutes

February 3, 2020
 
The Board of Education of the Wilkes County Administrative Unit met in a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, February 3, 2020 in the Arnold and Becky Lakey Boardroom at 613 Cherry Street, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28659.
 
Present for meeting were Chairman Mr. Randall “Rudy” Holbrook, Vice-Chairman Mrs. Sharron Huffman, Board Members Mr. Kirk Walker, Mrs. Leslie Barnes and Mr. Darren Shumate. Also present were Superintendent Mr. D. Mark Byrd, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, Chief Technology Officer Ms. Julie Triplett, Chief Finance Office Mr. Seth Prevette, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Donna Cotton, Director of CTE Mr. Wayne Shepherd, Director of Child Nutrition Mr. Marty Johnson, Director of Maintenance Mr. Bergie Speaks, Director of Exceptional Children Ms. Jennifer Blankenship, Director of Student Services Ms. April Marr, Director of Pre-K and Elementary Education Ms. Callie Grubb, Director of Middle School, Federal Programs, Interim County Athletic Director, and Cultural Arts Dr. Joe Bullis, AIG Coordinator Ms. Angie Lamb, Director of Public Relations Officer Ms. Morgan Mathis, and Executive Administrative Assistant Ms. Carolyn Triplett.
 
Chairman Mr. Rudy Holbrook called the meeting to order and recognized our special guest in attendance.
 
Chairman Mr. Rudy Holbrook recognized Board Member Mr. Darren Shumate to lead the Invocation.
 
On a motion by Mrs. Huffman, seconded by Mr. Shumate and duly carried, the agenda was approved as presented.
 
Chairman Mr. Randall “Rudy” Holbrook recognized Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd for the Superintendent’s Welcome and Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Byrd along with Dr. Donna Cotton completed twenty-two Principal Mid-Year Reviews and he expressed how excited they were to see the leadership skills in our schools. Mr. Byrd announced that this week is National School Counselor’s Appreciation Week, and Wilkes County Schools is very fortunate to have the people working with our students in those roles that we do, we owe them a tremendous “thank you”! If you get an opportunity, take a minute to say ”thank you” to one of our twenty-seven school counselors, whether it is this week or later in the year. I assure you that they will appreciate it. And I can say without a doubt that they are having a tremendous impact on the lives of our students in Wilkes County Schools.
Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, recognized West Wilkes Middle School which earned special recognition from Franklin Covey, the creator of the Leader in Me Initiative. Principal Ms. Pam Huffman received notification from Franklin Covey Education on December 11, 2019 announcing that the school had been named a 2019 Leader in Me Lighthouse Academic Honor Roll School! The Lighthouse Academic Honor Roll award recognizes Leader in Me Schools that have both met the rigorous requirements necessary to achieve and maintain Lighthouse School Certification and shown exemplary academic growth or proficiency as measured by state accountability standards. Forty schools across the country are being recognized for this award. West Wilkes Middle School is one of two middle schools receiving this recognition in the nation. They will be recognized at a future Leader in Me Symposium. Congratulations to West Wilkes Middle School!
 

Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, recognized the 2020 North Carolina Child Hunger Hero Award. Each year, No Kid Hungry recognizes a North Carolina Child Hunger Hero. Anyone who is working to fight child hunger in North Carolina can be nominated for the award. They believe heroes can be working through in-school or out-of-school nutrition programs, food banks, food drives, backpack buddy programs, local policy or advocacy, or anything else geared toward fighting child hunger. We are proud to announce that Mr. Ritchie Cornette, principal of Mulberry Elementary School, has been selected as a winner of the 2020 North Carolina Child Hunger Hero Award! Mr. Cornette is known for keeping the Mulberry food pantry box full for the community to have food on weekends, and has also been a big supporter of the annual Benny Parsons Race Against Hunger Food Drive each year. Mr. Cornette will be recognized at the 9th annual NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, recognized The Northwest Regional Science Fair winners. This competition was held at Appalachian State University on January 11, 2020. Thirteen Wilkes County Schools’ students were selected to represent the Northwest Region at NC State University on March 27-28, 2020. Congratulations to the following winners:
 

Eli and Shalyn Bare – Traphill Elementary

Kate Bivins – C.C. Wright Elementary

Ansley Bryant – Millers Creek Elementary

Thomas Speaks – Ronda-Clingman Elementary

Alea Mitchell – Central Wilkes Middle

Ralee Bare – North Wilkes Middle

Breagha Kilpatrick – East Wilkes Middle

Camden Barlow – Central Wilkes Middle

Isabella Byers – West Wilkes Middle

Harley Minton and Patrick Ferroni – Wilkes Central High

Vernon Wilson – Wilkes Central High

Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, recognized the Poetry out Loud Winners. Wilkes County Schools held the Poetry Out Loud district competition on Monday, January 6, 2020 at the Stone Family Center for Performing Arts. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Twelve students were in attendance for the competition. Each student was asked to recite one poem during round one, and a second poem during round two. One poem had to be less than 25 lines, and the other had to be prior to the 20th Century. Congratulations to runner-up, Chloe Sheets from West Wilkes High School! Congratulations to winner, Skyler Teague from West Wilkes High School! Skyler will advance to participate in the state Poetry Out Loud competition February 22, 2020.
Superintendent Mr. Mark Byrd, along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Westley Wood, recognized The Elks Hoop Shoot Winners. The Elks Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest is a program designed to provide an interesting, character-building, competitive program for all boys and girls in the contest regardless of their previous athletic competition or abilities. The Lodge 1846 Hoop Shoot Contest was held on January 11, 2020 at West Wilkes Middle School. Congratulations to the following first place winners from each age group who advanced to the regional competition:
 

Age 8/9 Boys: Peyton Gregory, Mulberry Elementary

Age 8/9 Girls: Jaelynn Lenderman, Moravian Falls Elementary

Age 10/11 Boys: Trey Hutchison, Traphill Elementary

Age 10/11 Girls: Kelsey Madden, West Wilkes Middle

Age 12/13 Boys: Mason Sparks, East Wilkes Middle

Age 12/13 Girls: Jianna Holmes, Central Wilkes Middle

 
The regional competition was held on January 26, 2020 in Morganton. Congratulations to the following first place winners who will advance to the state competition on February 8, 2020:
 

Age 8/9 Boys: Peyton Gregory, Mulberry Elementary

Age 12/13 Boys: Mason Sparks, East Wilkes Middle

Age 12/13 Girls: Jianna Holmes, Central Wilkes Middle

Focus on Curriculum was presented by Mr. Wayne Shepherd, Director of Career and Technical Education. Mr. Shepherd gave a brief update on the CTE and Apprenticeship Program. Although our ADM has declined the last couple of years, the CTE enrollment which includes CCP courses continues to rise. The graduation rate for CTE concentrators was 87.3% last year. 81.3 % of our students enrolled in CTE courses earned industry recognized credentials which compared to only 77.4% state-wide. Wilkes County Schools leads seven neighboring counties in Health Care credentials and work-based learning experiences. Currently, we have nineteen high school students participating in internships with local companies in Wilkes County. The application deadline for an apprenticeship is March 1, 2020. We are proud of the opportunities that our students of Wilkes County Schools now have available to them.
Chairman Mr. Rudy Holbrook asked if anyone had signed up for public comments. No one signed up.
 
On a motion by Mrs. Barnes, seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried, the minutes for January 6, 2020 were approved as presented.
 
On a motion by Mr. Walker, seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried, the Personnel Report was approved as presented.
On a motion by Mrs. Huffman, seconded by Mr. Shumate and duly carried, the Out-of-County/Overnight Field Trip list was approved as presented.
 
School Group Destination Dates
East Wilkes High School FFA - Poultry Team
Raleigh, NC
 02/18/2020-02/19/2020
East Wilkes High School FFA
Greensboro, NC
 03/07/2020-03/08/2020 
East Wilkes High School FFA - Business Team
Mt. Olive, NC
 03/10/2020-03/11/2020
East Wilkes High School HOSA
Charlotte, NC
 04/01/2020-04/04/2020
West Wilkes High School HOSA
Charlotte, NC
 04/01/2020-04/04/2020
Roaring River Elementary School 5th Grade Students
Camp Harrison, NC
 04/27/2020-04/29/2020
North Wilkes High School Concert Band Students
Fort Mill, SC
 05/08/2020
Wilkes Central High School Select Students
Europe
 06/24/2020-07/03/2020

On a motion by Mrs. Huffman, seconded by Mr. Walker and duly carried, the Budget Amendments for the State Public School Fund and the Current Expense Special Use Fund was approved as presented. 

On a motion by Mr. Shumate, seconded by Mrs. Barnes and duly carried, the 2020 NCSBA Legislative Committee Nomination was presented and approved. The North Carolina School Board Association’s Board of Directors invites each local school board to nominate one of its members to serve on NCSBA’s Legislative Committee. Mrs. Sharron Huffman was nominated, and her nomination was approved as stated above. Mrs. Sharron Huffman abstained from voting.
Chairman Mr. Holbrook had the following announcement:               
  • February 14, 2020 – Optional Workday
  • February 17, 2020 – Required Workday
 
Chairman Mr. Holbrook announced the next meeting to be March 2, 2020. This meeting will be held in the Arnold and Becky Lakey Boardroom located at 613 Cherry Street, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina beginning at 5:30 PM.
On a motion by Mr. Walker, seconded by Mrs. Huffman and duly carried, there being no further business, the board adjourned at 6:10 PM.