[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6401073,"mediaKeyId","2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f","parentId",2066591,"title","Residents press board on redistricting, enrollment projections and equity; NAACP raises staff-treatment concerns","audioSeconds",131,"startMs",5337000,"endMs",5468000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f&start=5337&end=5468","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f/thumbnail_5337000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6401073/North-Carolina/Residents-press-board-on-redistricting-enrollment-projections-and-equity-NAACP-raises-staff-treatment-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6401073-b913b7a1d06193907f7c40ce9b5f2334/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001861&Signature=CH8YQoqxSH4HrEnYelX4JFgz-auKiwRiq1b1ULkSi9H7jncuexQcIk5Q0uO3yiMSzQool0so2QdfhUxsMmmhEVBiornkEdCn7paiFJ~Qt9GgiuLP1biaFAyFZ2OdvxVweTyCZbQG8daBWPC7kHlRiTpCkEH-qCbLjHZAUFGInxKnY~YH2q-ALgJSUbmg7hK6AhT2L6kP650PcIrG30smyMkcYWFlC9pfwj8i5ZawSvdyGUG0xYW0EfHrnEeLzVeyG32MyCbahnOjGFw6BpX7JqWKecDqxipxKz~EgqvUrFdvPXR7orD8t8ehtqbr-cpmcJCSnuBQ6v-5fAoPx4jzqA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Moore County Schools","date","2025-01-03T14:28:14Z","article","Public comment at the Aug. 12 Moore County Board of Education meeting focused largely on the district’s redistricting and facilities plans, with parents and teachers urging action to relieve overcrowding and the Moore County NAACP raising civil-rights and staff-treatment concerns.

“I'm here to really talk about supporting the redistricting efforts,” said Alexa Roberts, closing the public-address period by urging the board to consider the “greater good” for students. Several speakers said redistricting and new construction were necessary to address overcrowded elementary schools and long-term growth.

Sarah Slusser, who said she served as West Pine Elementary’s parent representative on a redistricting advisory committee, argued that a 2015 master facilities plan had included a smaller, cheaper addition to West Pine that, in her view, could have avoided reassigning children from that school. “The 100 student increase in capacity to West Pine Elementary was only going to cost $1,200,000, about $12,000 per student,” Slusser said. “At 38,000,000, the new Pinehurst Elementary will cost 47,500 per student. Even if capacity was added to the cafeteria and gym, tacking on a few $1,000,000, it still would have been dramatically more cost efficient. The newest draft of the student assignment plan reassigns about 38% of the kids in my school.”

Slusser and other speakers questioned enrollment projections. The transcript includes a cited Carolina Journal column noting forecasting errors in Wake County; Slusser asked who would be held responsible if projections prove inaccurate and neighborhoods needed reassignment again within a few years. A board member responded later that the district’s ORED projection in Moore County had an approximate 1% error rate in recent data and that the district actually had 140 more students than projected for the past year.

Teachers and staff described classroom consequences of overcrowding. Tanya Kearns, a fourth-grade teacher at Sand Hills Farm Life Elementary, described teaching two classes of 29 and 28 fourth-graders in a portable classroom, saying she lost instructional time for restroom breaks and that whole-school activities and clubs were limited by space.

Other public-address items included: Anthony McCauley describing a mentoring program he runs called Males of Distinction; John Snipes asking how to resolve a land/right-of-way concern tied to a planned road turning lane near a school site; and residents expressing both support for and frustration with the redistricting process and the master facilities plan.

Olinda Watkins, president of the Moore County NAACP, used her three-minute comment to press the board on what she described as allegations of mistreatment of Black coaches and underrepresentation of minority educators. “Enough is enough,” Watkins said during public address. She also raised concern about a recent raffle of a Glock pistol tied to a district event and said the NAACP planned to pursue the matter; the transcript records Watkins saying the organization considered the matter serious enough to request legal redress and to seek an emergency meeting with the board attorney.

Chair Walling Miller and other board members responded from the dais, clarifying some items: a board member noted the ORED projection error in Moore County was about 1% (the district saw roughly 140 more students than projected this past year) and encouraged the public to consult posted facilities-plan documents and timelines available on the district’s website.

No formal action on redistricting was taken at the meeting; the board continued to receive public comment and will proceed with committee work and staff analysis as previously scheduled.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","MCS School Board Business Meeting 8-12-19","oneSentenceSummary","Public comment at the Aug. 12 Moore County Board of Education meeting focused on redistricting, enrollment projections and equity, with parents, teachers and the Moore County NAACP pressing the board on overcrowding, forecast accuracy and alleged mistreatment of minority staff.","taxTitle","Moore County Schools, School Districts, North Carolina","taxId",13041,"location","North Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6401078,"Moore County Schools to replace ConnectED with SchoolMessenger 'Communicate' and new website platform in September",171,7148000,7319000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f&start=7148&end=7319","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f/thumbnail_7148000.jpg","/articles/6401078/North-Carolina/Moore-County-Schools-to-replace-ConnectED-with-SchoolMessenger-Communicate-and-new-website-platform-in-September","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6401078-223bbe8a8eb66e478762b48efc21b9bc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001861&Signature=i5GJv8Oc9wh~t5zE8dwlfSMxNIfOaPROfV1Gp2wXSHa7Q3Gyx05iM98oc~kJ89N8QQGjM3bkkXc8NHbV-hThHOfYOcb6f~O-oUHvuMDfDTZOjWTiWQGPWQC06HouJMc2Yu0Mpsr1tP2uz4LFXiynq2P~ouZGwcDiYCN1JezxmiR3r9wnSjW2A1mJgzVfPdZ65HYwOOg~7VJt3VyaBpHBzIwgOkByKyiVOUGB3eSfiGB61K-ZInHyVKiFr6FtiOofEpXhxQ~fXi1O2tVf-kyIBKcB47SP-fApSgnvYNAInyWVbwBba9-NlCY9bGj1ddEK8yxwavcoeroU51YSGrg7wQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Moore County Schools officials told the school board on Aug. 12 that the district will transition its mass-notification service and district/school websites to products from SchoolMessenger, moving from the current ConnectED system to SchoolMessenger’s Communicate and the Presence web platform in early September.

District communications staff said the change follows expiration of the previous contract and aims to consolidate services, streamline site maintenance and integrate directly with PowerSchool. Catherine Murphy and another district presenter described faster editing tools, built-in translation, ADA compliance and direct bus-route messaging as key benefits.

“The school messenger service ... it replaces what is now referred to as ConnectED,” Murphy said, adding the service is branded “Communicate.” She said the platform provides near-instant reports showing which calls and emails were delivered and which failed, down to the individual contact level, which staff can use to identify and correct contact-data errors.

District presenters said the new system will integrate with transportation so schools and transportation staff can send bus-route alerts directly to affected families, and that PowerSchool integration will let administrators target messages to grades or groups (for example, “send to sixth grade”). The district said the contact database pulls nightly from PowerSchool and that the system already contains about 14,000 individual contacts and more than 50,000 phone numbers.

Presenters said the web platform, Presence, uses a standard template adopted by many U.S. districts, offers consistent site navigation across schools, supports calendar sync (including automatic athletic-calendar subscriptions) and automatic translation tools. Laura Mae demonstrated the site layout the board saw during the meeting.

Murphy said the district migrated to the vendor on July 1 for testing and that staff have been working through delivery issues such as spam warnings and rerouting. She said the vendor offers 24/7 support for district and school users and unlimited training for school webmasters.

The district estimated a modest cost reduction from the contract consolidation, telling the board the change saves about $4,000 over three years. Murphy also said implementation carried some costs and that the district expects staff-time savings and easier content maintenance to increase net benefits over time.

The district is providing school-based webmasters with a demo site now and plans an early-September public launch so schools can begin the new year on the new platform. Ecklund and Murphy said the Android app will require parents to download an updated version from Google Play while the iOS app will update automatically.

Questions at the meeting addressed whether teachers could have individual pages (technically possible but not a current priority) and how emergency messages can reach multiple phone numbers (the system supports emergency blasts to multiple numbers per contact).","District staff previewed a planned early-September switch to SchoolMessenger’s Communicate service and the Presence website platform, saying the systems will integrate with PowerSchool, improve reporting and ADA compliance, and reduce costs modestly over three years.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6401063,"Votes at a glance: Moore County Board of Education — Aug. 12, 2019",5406,221000,5627000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f&start=221&end=5627","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f/thumbnail_221000.jpg","/articles/6401063/North-Carolina/Votes-at-a-glance-Moore-County-Board-of-Education-Aug-12-2019","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6401063-9e470032f7a7d4fb08a0fc76acf853d2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001861&Signature=Ww2WwHg66xH-wdcEBudior4E0m61EnyrgzbYDlvU8t-lGnOaQxVO4uxxga4ulwcIdAf1hPr2y8CTZ9RDHKaL1uuvKNErRNWDhSii8QRw2LTOQWC3MGXjkrEbUEMHw1PwvSR~5F9LVv69sllHDVWKzV~IDmJa1j5M43Rdoqd6daME-Cdu3Bb5K7njAaLCFkgx0RuxlsCOJINlfqSVscco4LDSWtO~GdrB~BgkPJ4fiyZ47w5iMV9hA7pksOEnlP6LE0e9lg5F7MPTFQW7UE2y9ui~Tz3k~AfPwE5w~rE0Hfkc7eiLRZRunBv65Z4IG70GK8jLBNZNUz5AzN0xoiRvyg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Moore County Board of Education recorded the following formal motions and outcomes during its Aug. 12 regular business meeting.

• Motion to enter closed session: A board member moved to enter closed session “to prevent the disclosure of confidential personnel information pursuant to general statute 143-318.11A1, A5, and A6 and general statute 115C-319, and to consult with the board attorney and preserve the attorney client privilege pursuant to general statute 143-318.11A3.” The motion was seconded; the meeting record states, “Any discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 50.”

• Motion to approve the meeting agenda: A motion to approve the agenda was made and seconded; the board voted “Aye” and the chair announced “Motion carries, 6 0.”

• Motion to approve the consent agenda: Miss Thompson moved to approve the consent agenda and Dr. Brown seconded. The board voted “Aye” and the chair announced “Motion carries 6 0.”

• Motion to adjourn: A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The chair called the vote; the meeting record states “Motion carries 6 0.”

Each tally above is recorded in the meeting transcript as presented; individual roll-call names were not provided for every tally in the transcript excerpts.","Summary of formal motions and roll-call outcomes recorded in the Aug. 12 board meeting.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6401068,"Board honors longtime member Bruce Cunningham with tributes, plaque and memories",2210,5602000,7812000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f&start=5602&end=7812","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2066591-0d430bc13eb4e8462353af288bdfcb1f/thumbnail_5602000.jpg","/articles/6401068/North-Carolina/Board-honors-longtime-member-Bruce-Cunningham-with-tributes-plaque-and-memories","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6401068-24ab79c10580f98b535cd3d12bf7ac50/orig.mp4?Expires=1771001861&Signature=DaykAC-do3cgH-r1~0SBERhOkY1BA~ni1U2kitc4N6Jr7v7GjWeQ-neiF0hPZmdVgJNTX5H-zKWotm4hF1U0YTyTcHNV-xDJuZVxc1txC7DLH0uSfVMwFBY9~1~SL8IbdARKqigqItioEHhEWM778uhiMMQMVSgqVy0Y34H54gp-bc7IkzRm-sSUA5Y1xVkFsJECxpgnmbp37i6ybfie5XhEBp78rGRm6uG9G5~ccfLWymWDRjNcKkU7RUZfZ1KzXsmAP02A2xKXbKtuFaUt5fe7rWC~PVs1Q1G05VRdJ~i1hIGwEC-8GFdsgoekzumVJJt7ahLogF6vfjdKSJQp9A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Moore County Board of Education began its Aug. 12 meeting with an extended tribute to former board member Bruce Cunningham, whose death the board and community had marked in recent weeks. The board observed a moment of silence, heard several remembrances from students and former colleagues, and presented a plaque to Cunningham’s family.

A student who said she knew Cunningham through speech and debate described his volunteer support. “He was our team dad,” Lorele Nagy said, recounting that Cunningham “devoted half, sometimes all of his weekends to our team” and that he often documented and celebrated the group’s activities with photographs and trips.

Bob Christina, identified as the former principal of Pinecrest High School, gave an extended account of a day Cunningham spent touring Southern Pines and other parts of Moore County to orient Christina after his appointment as principal in 2015. “I learned everything about north Northern Moore County area,” Christina said, describing Cunningham as deliberate, knowledgeable about local history and intent on ensuring the success of school leaders.

Board members and community speakers recalled Cunningham’s long service to the county and to the schools — including involvement in Springfest, the Sunrise Theater renovation, playground projects and campaigns supporting school bonds. Dr. Grimsey, speaking for the board, described Cunningham as “an ultimate bridge builder” who sought compromise and community service.

The board presented Anne Cunningham and family members with a plaque “in memory of Bruce Cunningham Junior” recognizing service to the Moore County Board of Education (2004–2019) and listing chair and vice-chair terms. The plaque included the phrase the board used to describe him: “1 person in a large number of volunteers.”

No board action was taken related to the tribute; the memorial remarks occupied the opening portion of the business meeting.","The Moore County Board of Education opened its Aug. 12 meeting with an extended tribute to former board member Bruce Cunningham, with students, former colleagues and board members offering memories and the board presenting a plaque to his family.","actionData","errors"]

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Residents press board on redistricting, enrollment projections and equity; NAACP raises staff-treatment concerns

Moore County Schools to replace ConnectED with SchoolMessenger 'Communicate' and new website platform in September

Votes at a glance: Moore County Board of Education — Aug. 12, 2019

Board honors longtime member Bruce Cunningham with tributes, plaque and memories