Moore County Board of Education – Moore County Edition

Jun

25

2024

School playgrounds and auditoriums to see improvements

PINEHURST — The Moore County Schools Board approved new contracts that will see upgrades and new equipment coming to school playgrounds and auditoriums at its Monday, June 10 meeting. A $650,000 contract with Creative Playscapes will see updates to all elementary school playgrounds, covered by bond premium funding. The schools will be getting fresh layers of engineered wood fiber mulch, and some schools will see completely new equipment while others will see repairs to existing playgrounds. The new equipment is expected to last between 15 to 20 years. A $138,000 contract with Stage and Gymnasium Specialties will cover the replacement…

May

24

2024

By A.P. Dillon

Civil rights complaint filed against Moore Public Schools

NewsMoore County Board of Education, Moore County Schools

RALEIGH — Two activist groups have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights alleging discrimination over Moore County Schools' implementation of North Carolina's new Parents' Bill of Rights (PBR) law. That law was enacted by the General Assembly on August 16, 2023, after both legislative chambers overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 49. After the PBR was enacted, the Moore County Board of Education adopted an amendment to its Comprehensive Health Education Program policy on November 6, 2023. The amendment included a prohibition on “instruction on sexual activity or sexuality” in Kindergarten through…

May

24

2024

By Ryan Henkel

Board of Education approves removal of some fees

NewsMoore County Board of Education

The Moore County Schools Board of Education approved changes to the student fee schedule in its May 13 meeting. The changes remove middle and high school “other semester courses” and “math” fees, as well as enacting a decrease in the daycare tuition for 2024-25. Board member David Hensley wanted to remove graduation and science fees as well: “You tax what you don’t want and you reinforce what you do want and we want our students to graduate and we want our students to take math classes,” Hensley said. “But we punish them with a tax. We can say, ‘Oh, it’s…

May

04

2024

By Ryan Henkel

Board of Education approves preliminary budget for upcoming year

NewsMoore County Board of Education

The Moore County Schools Board of Education met Monday, April 15, discussing the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. Superintendent Tim Locklair, who briefed the board, said the proposed budget would total $166.5 million with almost $39 million coming from Moore County, an increase of some $3.7 million. Assistant Superintendent for Budget and Finance Tina Edmonds reported that district staff found budget efficiencies of $632,800 by freezing out various vacant positions as well as a local technology grant. “There’s been a lot of hard work and I believe it’s a good budget,” said board chair Robert Levy. “I believe it’s…

Feb

23

2023

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Board of Education approves pilot programs to help recruit and retain bus drivers

NewsBOE, MCS, Moore County Board of Education, Moore County Schools

CAMERON — The Moore County Board of Education met Monday, February 13. The board was given an update on the state of the school’s operations department by the new Executive Officer for Operations, Jenny Purvis, who had been in that position since January 3, following the leave of former executive officer John Birath. However, the presentation mainly focused on the transportation department. “As we look at transportation, transportation is something I hear as I go from site to site, and I also hear from parents,” Purvis said. “We’ve identified some issues and just want to be very transparent about those…

Jun

15

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Board Members make promises for improved safety in schools

NewsEducation, Moore County Board of Education, psychologist

CARTHAGE – The Moore County Board of Education met Monday, June 13 for a brief meeting where they approved contracts for psychological services and insurance plans as well as made strong promises about the safety of Moore County Schools. The board approved the contract for two psychologists to provide exceptional educational psychological services for the 2022-23 school year. For both positions, the total cost will be $129,600 which will come from ESSER funds. “The positions are for EC student psychological testing that is required by law,” said Interim Executive Officer for Academics and Student Support Services Dr. Seth Powers. The…

May

11

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Moore County Schools to resubmit bids for needed elementary school construction

NewsMoore County Board of Education, Moore County Schools, school construction

CARTHAGE — The Moore County Board of Education met Monday, May 9 with a positional appointment and a couple of budget confirmations on the agenda. The board voted to reappoint George Little to a second term to the Sandhills Community College Board of Trustees. The Moore County Board of Education appoints four members to the Sandhills Community College Board of Trustees each to four year terms, one each year. Board members Stacey Caldwell and Philip Holmes screened two applicants for the position and made the recommendation for Little to be reappointed. The board also approved a bid by Fields Plumbing…

Apr

13

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Board approves school budget increase

Government, NewsBOE, budget, Moore County Board of Education

CARTHAGE – The Moore County Board of Education met on Monday, April 11 with the preliminary 2022-23 budget the focus of the agenda. The board approved a significant budget increase of $7,689,500 for the 2022-23 school year – helped along by federal emergency funds – for a total budget request of $39,539,500 to be presented to the County Commissioners for approval. “You might say that a 24% increase in local funding is a big ask, and it is a back ask,” said board member David Hensley. “But in addition to paying our people properly after a decade plus of not…