00111 of the 2026 Alexander County Board of Education meeting. This time we'll stand and Matthew Reese will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Attention, salute, pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Remain standing as Dr. Bill Griffin leads us in our mission and vision statement. >> Our mission at Alexander County Schools is that we are building >> a legacy of excellence. And our vision is to be the educational >> educational choice for every child. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dr. Griffin. At this time, we need to approval of the agenda. Do I have a motion to approve? Make a motion to approve the agenda. Motion by Matt Reese,
002second by Anthony McLain. All in favor say I. I. Okay. Thank you. Agenda approval. Next on the agenda is honors and recognitions. Um, Dr. Alicia Clore is going to lead us in that tonight. Good evening. Am I on? I don't like it. Does it now? >> There we go. There we go. There we Good evening, Dr. Clore. All right. Well, I've never had the of doing this, so I'm kind of excited tonight. I'll try to keep my voice. I've got that yearly allergy issue, so I'll do the best I can here. So, I have the pleasure of [clears throat] recognizing our 2026 FCCLA state conference awards. In March, we had several students who were competing in events at the FCCLA state leadership conference in Greensboro. That is a society national career and technical student organization
003for students in family and consumer sciences education. Thank you to our amazing FCCLA advisers, Amber Huffman. If you're here, if you would like to stand, that would be great. >> [clears throat] >> Courtney Millsaps Mindy Seavert and sponsoring sponsoring and preparing our students. We recognize these following students who were state award winners in the competitions. You all want to come up? Come on up. I think that'd be great. >> [laughter] >> Be great. All right. So, for early childhood, we have Carson Williams IN THIRD PLACE. >> [applause] [applause] >> ADDISON LANDRETH IN FOURTH PLACE. >> [applause] >> FOR OUR SPORTS NUTRITION TEAM, we have Laney Kraus and Aniya Taylor IN FOURTH PLACE. >> [applause] [applause] >> NOW, I THINK IT'S TIME FOR A PHOTO. YOU WANT to get the background? Michelle, do you want to
004get the background? Get the background. Can you do that? >> [laughter] >> Josh, we're talking about it. Just go up there. There you go. Here we go. Thank you. >> [clears throat] [snorts] >> All right, let's give them a warm ROUND OF APPLAUSE. >> [applause] >> GOOD JOB. ALWAYS MAKES US PROUD TO SHOW ALL THE wonderful things we have going on. All right, the next thing is our 2026 SkillsUSA state results. SkillsUSA students traveled to Greensboro for state competition on April 15th through the 17th. The motto of SkillsUSA is preparing for leadership in a world of work. This organization gives students opportunities to practice technical and professional skills that are learned in their CTE classrooms. Alexander Central High had students competing in carpentry, construction core, drafting, electrical, fire fighting, and motorcycle service. Thank you to
005our skills advisors. If you're here, if you would please stand. Josh Bowles, Royal Hat Roy Hadley, sorry. Justin Deal, Jeremy Honeycutt, and Jordan Wagner. Thank you. If you'd like to come up, we're going to DO A PICTURE. >> [applause] [applause] >> APPRECIATE Y'ALL, JESUS. APPRECIATE Y'ALL. ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S ANNOUNCE our students and their awards. For carpentry, we had Samuel Fluellen IN SECOND PLACE. >> [applause] >> FOR CONSTRUCTION CORE, TY WEATHERMAN IN FOURTH PLACE. >> [applause] >> ELECTRICAL WIRING, ELIJAH ANDERSON SECOND PLACE. >> [applause] >> ELECTRICAL WIRING, ELIJAH HARRINGTON THIRD PLACE. >> [applause] >> ELECTRICAL WIRING ONE, NOLAN HOOK SECOND PLACE. >> [applause] >> FIRE FIGHTING NATIONAL, COLEY WHITNER IN THIRD PLACE. >> [applause] >> AND IN MOTORCYCLE CYCLE SERVICE TECHNOLOGY, BANKS LEVERN [clears throat] SECOND PLACE. >> [applause] >> OKAY, IT'S PICTURE TIME. GOOD
006JOB, GENTLEMEN. >> [laughter] >> We didn't want you to miss your picture. That's awesome. I might rearrange and put the students in the middle, if that's okay. [clears throat] >> [laughter] >> All right, and then I'm going to ask you all to uh Scooch. scoot and switch. Scooch. Scooch up. Okay. All right. Same deal. And one, two, three. Hold those certificates for me. >> [snorts] >> Thank you, sir. >> All right, let's give them one more ROUND OF APPLAUSE. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A LOT OF EVENTS GOING ON TONIGHT. SO, I know a lot of people are out and about. So, thank you all that came were able to come that came tonight. We have another award that is very very meaningful. Uh we have a fire academy award. And so, we
007have a student, Dakota Rollins. Dakota, are you here? Right there. Come on up here. I want to I want you up [applause] here WHILE I READ. >> [applause] >> I WANTED YOU TO COME UP BECAUSE I WANT EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO LOOK at you good while I read this cuz this is amazing. You ready? Okay. Dakota is a student in the fire academy who is naturally quiet and reserved. While driving home with his mother, they incur they encountered a house that had an attached garage that was on fire. Dakota, demonstrating his confidence and his training that he's learned from being in this fire academy. He immediately directed his mother to call 911 and knew exactly what to report to that dispatcher. He rushed over to the home and he beat on the windows and
008the doors, which alerted the people who were inside and they were able to escape safely with their pet before the fire department arrived. So, that is amazing and AN AWESOME FEAT. >> [applause] [applause] >> I WAS GOING TO SAY HIS FIRE INSTRUCTOR MIGHT might need to be up in this picture. Absolutely. Absolutely. Just makes me want to hug his neck. That's awesome. Awesome. Thank you FOR THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. SO, NEXT WE HAVE GOVERNOR SCHOOL. We have three outstanding students from Alexander County schools who've been accepted into Governor School. From Alexander Central, we have Rankin Excuse me, Rankin Rankin. I'm so sorry. I'm doing trying to do my best here. Rankin Taken Heart and Jason Dang Dang Jason Dang is not able to be here. So, here is Let's do this one.
009There's Rankin. Good job, Rankin. >> [applause] >> GOOD JOB, RANKIN. FROM THE EARLY COLLEGE, WE HAVE ELIZABETH RAMIREZ. >> [applause] >> It says that Elizabeth is at the award ceremony for the Early College. So, we will make sure they get that. After a rigor rigorous selection process, these three students were picked from a pool of 1,800 students statewide to attend the Governor's School this summer. What an honor. Rankin will be at Excuse me, Rankin. I will keep wanting to put a T in in your name. Will be at Greensboro College to study natural sciences. Jason will be at Meredith College in Raleigh to study math, and Elizabeth will be at Greensboro College to study Spanish. The North Carolina Governor's School is a 4-week summer residential program for gifted and talented high school students in its
010a long history of being one of the most prestigious honors for a high schooler. The experience requires a weighted grade point average of 3.5 or higher and is recognized nationally by college admission officers as a top-tier summer activity. So, CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK. >> [applause] >> GOOD JOB, RANKIN. GOOD JOB, RANKIN. COME ON, BABY. >> [laughter] >> DO YOUR THING. COME ON, BABY. >> [clears throat] >> THAT'S AWESOME. >> [applause] >> THAT'S LIFE CHANGING. ALL RIGHT. SO, AGAIN, thank you so much for coming. We appreciate your support. We would not have this availability if it wasn't for our parents and our families who support us in all that we do. So, um you are very welcome to stay and if you so wish tonight, you're very welcome to do that as well. So, have a
011good evening everyone. Good night. Just leave it if I could. Just Just The the the awards that we passed out it just makes me really proud of this county, right? And and all these young men and women who have went above and beyond and I I know you may not see it now, but you are the future. And and a lot of these trades that we talk about in CTE, the these things are going away and and people just honestly, if you want to know the truth, they're just not willing to work hard enough to do these trades anymore, right? And uh it just makes me super proud to see the achievements that you folks have been able to pull off. Young man, what a fabulous job you done. I mean sometimes kids get a
012bad rap this day and time, but there's still a lot of good in these kids and uh we want to support them as a board and I know our superintendent does and I just couldn't be more proud of Alexander County. So, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> [applause] >> AND AND CHIEF DEAL, THIS WEEK I WAS ABLE to write a grant for for and your program, Dakota and and Coley. Just letting y'all know that. Again, investing in the CTE is what this board is about. So, we appreciate every part of CTE, the electrical, the fire, we name them all. Uh we just appreciate everything y'all are doing for our community and our kids. So, thank y'all. THANK Y'ALL. [applause] ALL RIGHT, Y'ALL DON'T HAVE TO STAY. >> [laughter] >> Y'ALL CAN STAY NOW. DON'T LEAVE. YOU
013GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO, BUT SOMEDAY THEY'RE GOING to stay with us. Yeah, someday they're going to stay with us. We should have snacks or something. Hey, thank you, buddy. Good job, bud. Congratulations, everybody. Great job, guys. Proud of you. It was like 50 and then there was There was 10 left? Yeah. And then there was And then there was >> [laughter] >> Leave us. Andrew and Sharon, y'all can sit down there. >> [laughter] >> Why are you moving back, Freyro? Cuz I'm bad. >> [laughter] >> Love you. Hey, bud. Flap out. Hey. Hey guys. >> [laughter] >> Michelle, we have no public comment. Thank you. At at this time, uh the next item of the agenda is to approve the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? Make a
014motion. Motion by Corey McClain, second by Shannon Authement. Do I have All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye, thank you. Uh consent agenda has passed. Uh next on the agenda is our report section, and first report is from our CFO, Sharon Baughman. Okay. I have something a little different than the the regular budget amendments. I bring to you tonight the continuing resolution for 26 26-27. If if we do not have a budget, even if there is a state budget, we will not have time to prepare a budget before the new year begins. And so this continuing resolution allows us to continue with operations until we we get a budget approved. It It limits us to to the same levels of spending that we had in the budget for 25-26, except if salary increases are given,
015then we can go ahead and apply those. So I need approval. Board members, you see this 26-27 resolution that Sharon has created for us. Do I have a motion to approve this resolution? Make a motion to approve the resolution. Second. Motion by Matthew Reese, second by Anthony McLain. All in favor say I. I. Resolution passes. Thank you so much. Thank you, Sharon. Next on the agenda is Dr. Alicia Cloer, assistant superintendent of human resources with our human resources report. Chairman, vice chair, board, and Dr. Griffin, good evening again. You have before you the personnel agenda with lots of items. It's that time of year. So for usual and customary, do you have any Well, can't have questions now, but what's the pleasure of the board? Board members, Uh you had the documents in in front
016of you to review before the meeting. What is the pleasure of the board? Do we have a motion to approve the human resources report? I make a motion to approve the human resources resources report. >> Have a motion by uh Corey McClain. Second. Second by Shannon Oxendine. All in favor say I. I. Approved. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Dr. Clark. All right. Next on the agenda is Dr. Bill Griffin, our superintendent's report. Thank you, Chairman Baggett Hart, Vice Chair Bowles, members of the board. Um several things I have to discuss this evening, but I'd like to begin by uh just congratulating again East Alexander Middle School. We had a visit from our superintendent state superintendent public instruction Mo Green visited with us on April 30th. Several of you and most of you were
017in attendance for for that day and it was just an amazing time to celebrate the great things that are taking place within our school system. And I just like to commend Principal Lisa Watson, Assistant Principal Jessica Cook there, Dr. Amy Bowles for having a key and integral part of writing the grant that we received from Golden Leaf. But just the fact that our state superintendent took time >> Sure. out of his busy schedule and his entourage had many many people with him to to go into classes. They not only spoke with us as administration to which they did an amazing job there and rolled out the red carpet for him. Performances by our band and chorus for Superintendent Green, but but they spent time an hour hour and a half in our classrooms and just
018continuing to praise the instruction and things were taking place in those classrooms. Many of our tours were led by students and just the fact that students were out there in middle school having having it together enough to be able to to take her take around dignitaries from across the state of North Carolina and and just brag about what's taking place there. So, couldn't be more pleased with with what we're doing with that grant and the fact that we're showcasing stuff within our county across the state. So, just very very excited about what's taking place there. And then finally, it's it's that time of year. The end of school has once again made itself present and and here we are. It seems like we just we started school just a couple months ago. We snapped our
019fingers and and here we are. Again, I couldn't be more pleased with the things that are taking place within our school system. I'd like to thank our teachers. Last week was teacher appreciation week. To which I went around to to many of the buildings and they were celebrating the entire week for for not only our teachers, but I think it was nurses day and and then we celebrated our principals and assistant principals and administration and and all those involved with with pulling off this thing we call school. It takes a lot of employees pulling together and they're all very special and important and we'd just like to recognize them. So, so thank you and hats off to them. And then we've got a and and too, we start our assessments tomorrow. A couple of small
020assessments today, but the majority of them are elementaries, middle schools start our EOGs tomorrow and then those will be followed later on with our EOCs at the high school, but um you know, it's it's a one-day snippet of our performance, but a lot goes into that and and I know there's there are students out there that are a little anxious and a little nervous about what tomorrow brings, but we know they're going to do an amazing [snorts] job. We know that our educators in the classrooms have devoted an entire year, an entire semester worth of instruction and tomorrow's payday. We'll get paid for for that hard work and and I know that we'll be proud of those results and the things that they they've given and just can't say thank you enough to our to
021our staff but also our students for giving their all and then that's all we can ask them to give their all. And then we've got a lot of important dates that are coming up to close the school year. It seems like every day is packed and have multiple events but but that's good. We celebrate the great things that are taking place. We have the 15th Alexander Early College will be their last day of school. The 18th I believe is Monday is graduation for the for the Early College and then Friday the 22nd next week will be the graduation for ACHS. So so it's here. It's upon us and then the 25th will be a holiday. Then we come back next week on the 26th and we celebrate our of the year and our retirement celebrations.
022And then follow with that with work day. So the end is is certainly near and culminating here quickly. I just can't say enough of how proud I am of our staff, of our leaders and I want to say thank you to our school board. Our Board of Education, you guys stand by us. I truly believe in my heart that each of you represent great things for our students and our communities and I appreciate your support. So thank you very much. Thank you Dr. Griffin and you know, just got to give you a little kudos tonight. When we talk about strategic partnerships it doesn't get any bigger than State Superintendent Mo Green visit Alexander County. And you know, we appreciate you heading that up. We know we you didn't do it on your own but again
023the the Golden Leaf program, Marzano everything that's going on at at East Middle Middle School brought Mo Green to our county. Jesse and I had the ability to walk around with with with State Superintendent Green and and those students and what an experience that was for me as a board member and to be able to have a relationship now with Mo Green, have an open door. I felt like we have an open door policies that that you've you've preaching since you've been here and uh got to have that. We've got to have that to to make some changes going forward, and I just appreciate you, Dr. Griffin, >> [snorts] >> um for you doing that. Uh again, Blair Eddins was there, Mo Green was there, and just continue the strategic partnerships going forward uh to
024make Alexander County Schools exactly what they need to be for for our community. So, thank you. Uh any other board member have anything to add? >> I just think just a few points on the vision of making ACHS the educational choice for every child, the the success story that's being paved in East Alexander is exactly [snorts] that. And my hat's off to you, Dr. Griffin, and to your team, because the remarkable improvement that we've seen just in the last 12 months is just nothing short of that remarkable. And I'm very optimistic for the future and that AC the ACS schools across the board, elementary, middle, and high school truly is the educa- educational choice for every single child in our county. And I look forward to seeing this ADM continue to go up as a
025result of that. >> There you go. Hey, that's right. Thank you, Rob. I'll add that on the day of Mo Green's visit, um it was a it was a tremendous afternoon, and um the when we were wrapping things up, one of the persons from the Golden Leaf Grant, and then a person from Mo Green's um personnel team came up to me and made the comment that they were so glad that East was their last stop, because it this blew them away, what they saw. Good. Outstanding. And so I I shared that with Dr. Griffin. I don't think I've shared it with any of you you other guys, but that was a tremendous comment that they made about what they saw at East that day. Yeah. Thank you, Cory. They've seen it all. Now they know
026what good looks like. There you go. All right, thank you, Dr. Griffin. Thank you board members. Uh at this time um I need a motion to um We've got a closed session executive session tonight. So, we need to a motion to uh enter into to close open session and enter into closed session. Sorry. >> a motion to close open session and enter into closed session. Motion by Rob. Second. Seconded by Anthony McLain. All in favor say aye. Aye.