The Moore County Board of Education honored two outgoing board members at its regular meeting Nov. 7. The two members are transitioning off the board at the end of November.
Libby Carter joined the board in 2015 after teaching English at Pinecrest High School. She has served as chair and vice chair, spoke to legislation on key topics and appeals, and was on the budget committee.
Ed Dennison served for twelve years and began in 2012. He served as chair and vice chair, on policy, appeals and legislative committees. He served on a Michigan school board for nine years and is a navy veteran. He thanked his wife, Sandra Dennison, and said he looks forward to spending more time with her. He thanked all Moore County employees for their commitment to raising the graduation rate from 82% to 93%.
Carter and Dennison decided not to run for re-election.
Under the Master Facilities Plan modernization project, the board approved using the capital and North Carolina Education Lottery funds for projects previously removed to offset retention bonuses using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER). Construction costs increased during the time when the bonuses were made, and construction projects were removed from the ESSER approved list.
The board will review renovating locker rooms at Union Pines and Pinecrest high schools at a later date.
Superintendent Dr. Tim Locklair and Executive Officer for Operations Cory Satterfield reviewed the Master Facility Planning List, and after a brief discussion, the list was approved but not as a list in order of priority.
The Master Facilities Committee prepared the list of projects for the board’s consideration to include on its Master Facility Plan.
The list was prepared based on board input and discussion on integrated planning for school and community (IPSAC) study and land use study (LUS) presented Oct. 11.
The Master Facility Plan List follows:
*Increased capacity and modernization of Pinecrest High School
*Increased capacity and modernization of Union Pines High School
*Completion of North Moore High School modernization
*Modernization or replacement of Carthage Elementary School
*Modernization or replacement of West End Elementary
*Modernization and expansion or replacement of Sandhills Farm Life Elementary
*Modernization and expansion of Cameron Elementary School to align with its core capacity
*Expansion of Crain’s Creek Middle School to align with its core capacity
*Construction of a new middle school in Area I
The above approved list will be sent back to the Master Facilities Committee for discussions on funding and order of priority.
During board action, the board approved the 2022-2024 revised school improvement plans along with the school safety plans.
The revised policies may be read here.
With a past concern of the public open meetings law, policy 1310 was reviewed and amended to read board meetings include asynchronous electronic meetings.
The board approved Beynon Sport Surface’s $2,721,535 bid to replace the tracks at North Moore and Pinecrest high schools.
Beynon Sport Surfaces has completed similar projects in North Carolina.
On May 3, 2021, the board approved $11,427,500 for capital projects as part of its overall federal ESSER II and III funding plan.
Within the approved ESSER II and III revised board approved budget, $1,560,000 was allocated for replacement of Pinecrest High School’s sports field track system, and $1,132,200 was allocated for replacement of North Moore High School’s sports field’s track system.
Board member David Hensley did not vote for replacing the tracks. He said he could not support spending nearly three million on sports when there were elementary students in trailers, which some “respectfully” called cottages.
During the capital projects update, the board shared a list of 58 projects showing the funding source for each project and the status of each project. The total approved budget for these projects was $22,571,135.
The county maintenance facility was allocated $221,000 to replace the central office HVAC system.
Sandhills Farm Life Elementary School will have the split heating and air system replaced at $425,000.
West End Elementary School was allocated $638,500 to clean or replace ductwork, replace heat systems and air handlers in the gym, cafeteria, and building 3.
New Century Middle School will have the hot water boiler replaced at $56,000.
Cameron Elementary School was allocated $543,000 to replace all HVAC, electrical, lighting, ceiling, floors, partitions and windows, and abate asbestos floor tile and mastic in the exceptional children’s building.
Pinecrest High School will have pavers replaced at $397,000.
Hensley made a motion to remove replacing Pinecrest High School pavers from the list. He said he had visited the campus, and the existing pavers had minor mis-adjustments.
Board member Robert Levy supported Hensley’s motion, but other members outvoted the two.
Feature photo: Moore County School Board members Libby Carter (left) and Ed Dennison (right) are honored at the Nov. 7, 2022, regular meeting for years of service with board member Pam Thompson (middle). Photo via Moore County Schools.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected].
