001really think makes it official just oh my God makes it okay yeah I'm ready I'm not tapping it good evening welcome to the March 4th regular scheduled board meeting um I'd like to welcome Mr rif Snider to welcome his students for the Pledge of Allegiance good evening I'm Wade rer and I serve as the principal at Newport Middle School I would like to invite Christian Hill and Sophie pretty up to the podium they are both current seventh [Music] graders I pledge of aliance to the flag of the the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all you guys can come up here we have some pictures pictures can't get away that fast come on look excited guys this is an
002exciting time good job thank you good [Applause] [Music] job and if you'll remain standing or please stand we'll have Caroline green come do the invocation for us can everyone bow their heads heavenly father I pray that you fill everyone's heart and here who is in here today I pray that you Enlighten what is darken us strengthen what is weak in US mend what is broken in us and heal what is sick in US Lord everything that is out of our control is in your hands Lord and you're working all things together for our good so I pray that you take our worries out of our mind and let us know that and let us know that your words promise us all joy and victory Lord on the way Lord help us keep our eyes on
003your promises and not our problems in Jesus name I pray amen amen good J good job yes and we have a certific picture good thank [Music] you and now Mr Paylor is going to recognize the North Carolina Schoolboard Association Merit certificate recipient good evening board could I please invite Miss Katie Statler to come to the front so the North Carolina School boards Association recognizes board members who success who successfully complete Schoolboard training by awarding certificates based on the total cumulative training hours to qualify for certification individuals must complete a minimum of 30 training hours per year we are proud to present our board chair Miss Katie Statler with the North Carolina School boards Association certificate of Merit in recognition of her achievement of 55 cumulative training hours this includes 30 hours required for certification which
004she successfully completed in the 23 24 Academic Year right she just as sh as [Laughter] ever picture thank [Music] congratulations thank you we would now like to recognize the 3A winter indoor track and field state meet Champions um these are West Carter at high school student athletes that won gold at the 3A winter indoor track in State field meet in Winston Salem in February um if you'll join us up here we have Marena Marson um Anderson day Elena sherline and Sally King who finished first in the girls 3200 meter relay race um also Mr Josiah Jones who took first place in the boys long jump good job [Applause] [Music] ready one two three good job [Applause] don't have to like no really yeah Travis everybody's leaving Travis is leaving congratulations now if we consider the
005approval of the meeting agenda I'll make that motion motion by Miss Chadwick I'll second that motion and second by miss wheatle all in favor perfect um public commenting we do have two for public commenting this evening you're fine thank you it is now time for public comment anyone present tonight wishing to make public to make comment should have filled out a request to speak public comment form to ensure civility of relevance and time management there are specific requirements for public comment set forth in Schoolboard policy they include comments are limited to matters pertaining to public education the speaker shall State his or her name at the beginning of his or her comment speaking time will be limited to 3 minutes per person a 3-minute timer will appear on TV screens in the bottom corner the
006timer will beep when there are 30 seconds remaining and then it will beep a final time when your time is up for civility and decorum no speaker shall make obscene remarks or issue personal attacks or insults no complaint against the school employee or student will be permitted although this may be heard in closed session at a later date following consultation with the superintendent much information about individual students students including a speaker's own child is confidential under state and federal law and we discourage and often prohibit such information in Open Session the chairperson May immediately terminate any comments that violate these rules board members will not respond to questions except occasionally to request clarification with that our first Speaker this evening is Kelly Pinker good evening my name is Kelly Pinkard and I am the mother
007of two children who attend West Carter at high school who were placed in hard lockdown on Friday please let me first offer my gratitude to the administration of West Carter at high school and to the Morehead City Police Department for their rapid response on Friday when there was a threat to our school and specifically to our children the threat was neutralized quickly and our children were kept safe and for this they have my unending gratitude that said this shouldn't be the reality for any child not just just in Carter County but for any child anywhere but Carter County is our home and where we as a community can effect positive change know that when I refer to our children during my three minutes I also extend the same hopes for security and safety to our
008Administration teachers staff and coaches we as a community see you and appreciate you and know that you are right there protecting our children as if they were your own I know that everyone in this room is in agreement that the physical and emotional safety of our children is Paramount we all have the same hopes for our children to go to school receive an education to feel safe while doing so and to return home safe at the end of each school day our children have been traumatized and terrorized as parents we are heart sick and we feel helpless we don't know the words to use to calm these young hearts and Minds so when words fail actions matter my intention in speaking tonight is to announce that I would like to partner with the Carterette County
009Public School Foundation to bridge the gap between where our security measures currently stand and where security best practices would have them to be a move to create and fulfill a wish list so to speak within the confines of what you can share without jeopardizing our school security of security and safety needs that are not currently funded or not currently slated to be funded but are a goal of our Board of Education and administrators to have in place for our County Schools a gap that may exist only due to budgetary constraints and not because our Board of Education isn't doing everything in their power to keep our children safe I believe the parents in this County and the local businesses who care deeply about our children and who also have children in these schools are ready
010to take action I have a lot of experience in community-based and driven fundraising having raised a total of over 100,00 for several worthy causes over the years both outside and inside this County I am ready for school security in this County to be my next fundraising campaign so I respectfully ask the board of directors to reach out to me at their soonest convenience to let me know what is needed financially to fund any security and safety initiatives that are desired but not currently funded or slated to be funded and I will work alongside the Carterette County Public School foundation and our community to make these wishes into reality our Words May Fail them but our actions don't have to thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight and to offer my funraising efforts to our
011County's children thank you yeah thank you next Miss mckeny Keeler good evening members of the board my name is McKenzie Keeler I grew up in Carter County Schools attending Broad Creek Middle School and graduating from caran high school in 2020 I'm currently pursuing my masters in social work at East Carolina University which requires three days a week of hands-on experience for two semesters under the supervision of a master's level social worker thank you for allowing me to speak during school Social Work Week to share my experience as a school Social Work intern and to highlight the invaluable role that your school social workers in our schools School Social Work focuses on removing barriers to Student Success School social workers provide Crisis Intervention family support and advocacy serving as a link between students families schools and
012Community agencies to ensure Children and Families receive essential resources some resources might include Transportation housing eyeglasses and even alarm clocks one of the biggest challenges our students in our schools experience is school stability many students have unst living situations whether they are homeless living with another family in foster care or being raised by grandparents these transitions can lead to inconsistent attendance academic struggles and emotional distress I've had the privilege of learning firsthand the complex challenges students face through my internship under Miss Jenny pure who serves six school buildings in Carteret County Schools her knowledge of the area its resources and the family she works with has been invaluable in addition to working with Miss pter I've gained invaluable insights from shadowing your three other Carter County School social workers each of whom has contributed to
013my understanding of the school Social Work field Beyond working with students School social workers collaborate collaborate with families Educators and Community agencies they collaborate with teachers and staff in developing strategies for Student Success connecting families with Community Resources and work closely with the Child Protection Team at the Department of Social Services your school social workers provide stability for families ensuring that no student in our school system misses school due to circumstances beyond their control School social workers are not just sport staff they are a Lifeline for students and families they work beyond the classroom in school building shaping Futures strengthening communities and ensuring Student Success as we celebrate School Social Work week I want to recognize the dedication of your school social workers in Carter County Schools they are problem solvers Advocates and essential members
014of our school team this experience has strengthened my passion for social work and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from your school social workers thank you for your time and for allowing me to share my experience thank you thank you thank you m Kaylor thank [Applause] you a quick question after you finish your internship you don't you don't have to stand back up will you are you going to make plans to stay in caret county or as of right now no well that's not the answer I will there's no school Social Work positions open I mean Miss pilter might give you hers Miss pure don't want lose Miss she said if one ever opens up I would highly recommend you coming back cuz you are awesome so thank you for what you do
015thank you guys thank you um i' like to consider approval of the board minutes from February 4th 2025 meeting first by Mr White do we have a second I will second that second by Mr Jenkins all in favor thank you now we have Mr Blair propes just kidding did I skip that I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented thanks I will second that thanks first by Miss SLE a second by Mr Jenkins all in favor oh I see what I did perfect new here did that too yeah now Mr probes all right good evening board um before you is just a policy a policy for first read um this particular policy is a is one that you have previously adopted and it is a local revision this is not one come
016from the the Schoolboard Association this revision comes from our administrators who have requested um some uniformity when it comes to parents requesting excused absences for educational opportunities particularly I think that they find issues with this when uh parents have uh multiple kids that go to different schools and they're just TR of look for some uniformity so the the revision to the policy gives way for us to create an administ administrative regulation that correlates with that so that will be the policy for adoption next month also with that policy is actually the administrative regulation for informational purposes that's not something the board has to adopt that's something that's issued by the superintendent so be happy to answer any questions you may have about the policy or the regulation thank you all right thank you and now
017to Mr Paylor for Bond project yes ma'am um so um you heard earlier this evening in the parent advisory uh committees that the lockers did begin um to be installed this evening or today at bro Creek Middle School um and also uh what was not mentioned is the lockers were also beginning to be installed at croan high school today in their new addition it just took this long to get here so those two uh projects are going on um East coret High School culinary lab there uh continue to work on the electrical they have the mechanical equipment roughed in um they're getting ready to start on the exterior walls where they have to replace the windows with CMU walls and and that's going on um now that's actually getting ready to start at westart high
018school the mechanical work there continues um they're instilling uh installing the ceiling Grid in the new Wing the science Wing the terazzo has been poured on the vocational Hall which is the hall that leads to the new band room and we're just waiting on the final inspection for the band room before we can occupy it so any questions on bond projects so thank you right back to you for comments good evening um first I'd like to thank um all the parent advisory council members who spoke earlier this evening we appreciate their service and helping us as a school system um I'd also like to congratulate all of our board members uh for receiving some board training this past year especially uh our chair Miss Statler was recognized earlier for the Merit certificate from the school
019birth Association so we appreciate your dedication to continuing to grow um please note that March is National Music in our schools month um we're also recognizing this week the read Across America day which is Dr Seuss's birthday we're recognizing our social workers so thank you McKenzie for highlighting that and we do appreciate our social workers and I'll say that they are stretched very thin and we appreciate all that they do for our kids and families it's also uh we're recognizing School breakfast and then on March 21st we will recognize uh World Down syndrome day um the next regularly scheduled board meeting will be held here on Tuesday April 1st at 6: pm and Mrs shair just concludes my remarks do we have any comments from board members we do have Miss poer here I do
020want to thank you there are four social workers across the entire County and we have 77 77 UND and some change students so that is that's a lot of students for four people and they have big jobs and big big roles that they fill so I just wanted to thank you while you're here you else I know they're gone but the uh The Advisory Council all the volunteers at all the schools um it's a great thing that they're doing for the schools and for the students and I really do appreciate hearing from them you know the the little things we don't hear about a lot of times all the programs and events and things like that but I really appreciate that and I guess I would like to say thank you to central office for
021how they handled uh Friday both Nate and I have daughters at West C and um as we've got someone in the audience who has a child there and um that was a tough situation and I think that uh youall handled it very well you were very very uh transparent and communicative as you could be so thank you for um how how that was handled perfect as Mr Paylor said our next regularly scheduled meeting will be um Tuesday April 1st at 6m and this meeting will be live streamed on our YouTube channel and that is it do I have a motion to adjourn make that motion motion motion by Miss Wheatley second by Miss Chadwick all in favor perfect