The Moore County Board of Education met Feb. 7 for its business meeting and reviewed COVID-19 safety.
Students exposed to COVID-19 while eating lunch will no longer be required to quarantine.
Slide on COVID-19 exposure while eating, not requiring quarantine, is from Moore County Schools on Feb. 7, 2022 at the Moore County School Board work session.
This decision was made by the Moore County Health Department based on ABC Science Collaborative and Department of Health and Human Services data.
No changes were made in the current mask mandate.
The following slide shows staff recommendations.
Slide on mask requirements is from the Moore County School Board of Education work session on Feb. 7, 2022.
During a discussion on the 2022-2024 Strategic Revision Plan, the plan’s goal was identified, and public survey questions were evaluated.
Board member David Hensley said the goal was to improve grade-level performance.
Hensley said survey questions should ask, for example, third-grade teachers if they ever felt threatened to pass students not prepared for the next grade. And to ask if the teachers ever felt threatened by lack of discipline enforcement.
“We have a question, ‘Do you want a skilled and diverse workforce?’” Hensley said about the survey being “self-serving.”
Hensley said people will answer yes, not thinking about how the outcome affects the quality of education. He said the question should be made into two separate questions, identifying “skilled” in one question, and identifying “diverse” in a separate question.
The board also discussed the sale of Aberdeen Elementary School. An offer of $200,000 was accepted Jan. 10, and an upset bid was received from The Elite Group in Mint Hill for $350,000.
The bidding process was made public and will conclude Feb. 15.
The board reviewed several items to be considered at its business meeting on Feb. 14.
The board reviewed a schedule for repairs and remodeling of elementary schools in Cameron, Westmoore, and Highfalls.
The board reviewed replacing field tracks at North Moore and Pinecrest high schools by CLH Design, P.A. in the amount of $135,000.
The board reviewed an offer to cover the material, labor, and maintenance of a synthetic infill turf system at the John W. Williams Athletic Complex at Pinecrest High. The donation offer is from the Pinecrest Athletic Club at a value of $850,000.
The board reviewed plans to amend Southern Pines’ conceptual development plans to modify the extension of South Carlisle Street within Morganton Park North.
The board reviewed plans for paving restoration of the bus parking lot at North Moore High School for $80,792.50 with Fred Smith Company and for $180,000 with TNT Asphalt Solutions. The board noted the lower bid was compliant with the budget.
Executive Officer for Budget and Finance Andrew Cox presented a review on classified salaries. He recommended option B in the slide below to comply with the State General Assembly’s 2022 budget, which included a $ 13-hour minimum.
The State General Assembly passed their 2022 budget, which included a $13/hr. minimum wage or a 2.5% increase for classified staff, effective July 1, 2021.
The board suggested reaching out to commissioners to increase funds allocated for the salaries.
Slide on Classified Salaries is from the Feb. 7, 2022, Moore County School Board work session.
The board reviewed using federal government emergency connectivity funds for 218 T-Mobile hot spots at $52,320 to meet online learning needs.
The board reviewed replacing Chromebooks for students in second through fifth grades by Jan. 2023, using the same funds, plus Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER) at $140,812.
In March 2021, Moore County Schools conducted a sealed-bid process for Lenovo 100e Chromebooks (with four-year Accidental Damage Protection) and Trafera was selected.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected].
