Hello, BCS Staff and Families.
Here’s a look at the BCS Board Briefing for February 8, 2024. The full broadcast is on YouTube, and photos are posted in this Google Drive folder.
In our Good News segment, we recognized the following individuals:
· NCMEA All State Honors Orchestra – Lucas Asplund, Roberson High School
· Assistant Principal of the Year – Kasey King, Reynolds High School
Curriculum Feature:
· Buncombe County Schools Foundation – Learning Without Limits
Action Agenda
· 2023-2024 Budget Amendment #2
· Resolution to Approve Design-Build Concept for North Buncombe High School HVAC Renovations
· NCSBA 2024 Legislative Committee
· RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LOCAL CONTROL OF SCHOOL CALENDARS
· RESOLUTION SUPPORTING AN EXCEPTION TO THE PARENTS’ BILL OF RIGHTS FOR SUICIDE RISK ASSESSMENTS
· District Media and Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) Recommendation
Consent Agenda
· Minutes: January 11, 2024 – Special Called Work Session
· Minutes: January 11, 2024 – Regular Meeting Open Session
· Personnel Report
· Advisory Council Members: Request to Add/Remove Members
· T.C. Roberson High School: Request to Use Athletic Capital Outlay Funds
Policy for Ratification
· Policy 6220: Operation of Student Nutrition Services
Information Agenda
Policies for First Reading
· Policy 1310/4002 Parental Involvement
· Policy 3210 Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials
· Policy 4240/7312 Child Abuse and Related Threats to Child Safety
· Policy 4342 Student Searches
· Policy 4720 Surveys of Students
· Policy 5210 Distribution and Display of Non-School Material
· Policy 6401 Ethics and the Purchasing Function
· Policy 6430 State Purchasing Requirements for Equipment, Materials and Supplies
· Policy 7100 Recruitment and Selection of Personnel
· Policy 7130 Licensure
· Policy 7310/4040 Staff-Student Relations
· Policy 7510 Leave
· Policy 9125 Participation by Women and Minority-Owned Businesses
Announcements/Future Meetings
· On February 15, 2024 there will be a Special Called Public Hearing on Board of Education Electoral Redistricting. At 5:00 p.m. the proposed electoral redistricting options will be on display in the Maple Room at Entrance “B” with the public hearing following at 6:00 p.m. in the Minitorium at 175 Bingham Road, Asheville, NC 28806.
· The next Board of Education Regular Meeting is March 7, 2024. Work session updates and Closed Session beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Executive Conference Room, and the Open Session beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Minitorium at 175 Bingham Road, Asheville, NC 28806.
Superintendent's Comments
Good evening Board Members, Teammates, Parents and Members of the Community,
Since last we met, we had the opportunity to celebrate our reason for being as 221 graduates from our 11 high schools crossed the stage, having earned their high school diplomas! This was the largest cohort of mid-year graduates in school system history. I am so proud and appreciative of all of our teachers, administrators, and staff members who poured into the lives of these students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Some of the graduates were graduating early. Others had taken a little longer pathway before reaching graduation. Regardless of the pathway they are on, we are cheering for them as they go out to make a tremendous difference in this world! I would like to especially thank all of our teammates who worked so very hard to create such a beautiful memory for our graduates and their families.
This week we are celebrating National School Counseling Week by pausing to acknowledge and celebrate the amazing School Counselors across our school system. Our School Counselors actively engage in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests and talents; they work in partnership with parents as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today’s world; they focus on positive ways to enhance students’ academic, career and social/emotional development; and work with teachers and other educators to provide an educational system where students can realize their potential and set healthy, realistic and optimistic aspirations for themselves. Our School Counselors are certified, experienced educators. The combination of their training and experience makes them an integral part of the total BCS educational program.
Next week we will honor our bus drivers. Each day in our school system, 203 buses safely transport over 13,000 students almost 16,000 miles each day to school and back home again. They transport students on Field Trips and to athletic contests. This does not occur without our dedicated bus drivers, mechanics, and transportation staff. Our Bus Drivers are committed to safe, reliable, and efficient transportation for every student, every mile, every day.
The Buncombe County Schools Foundation is excited to announce that it is Scholarship Season! The Foundation provides over $300,000 in scholarships each year. Information on all scholarships can be found on the Buncombe County Schools Foundation Website. If you know a senior in our school system, please encourage them to apply.
Our Community Town Halls are currently underway. We have had great meetings in the Erwin and North Buncombe Districts. The feedback and input from parents and community members as we create our new Strategic Plan together has been invaluable. Our next Community Town Halls will be on Monday night in the Enka District and on Tuesday night in the Roberson district. The dates, times, and locations of all of our Community Town Halls are available on the school system’s website.
I am excited to share that later this month, we will have the opportunity to enjoy the talents of our incredible student-musicians as our Elementary, Intermediate, and Middle School All-County Choruses will perform on February 27th, at 6pm in Brookstone Church in Weaverville. Please make plans to join us as students from across the county come together in song.
As always, we recognize that we stand on the shoulders of giants. We face the challenges before us. We know that students, families, and the community have never needed a strong, loving, and caring school system as much as they do now. We accept this challenge. We commit to each and every one of our students. We continue to elevate to greater heights. We give our all because our students are worthy of our very best efforts, our teammates are the best of the best, and every moment we have in school together is precious.
To our team and to our Board Members, Thank you for all that you do for the students, families, teachers, and staff of Buncombe County Schools.
Madam Chair, this concludes my comments.