Wayne County school board approves MOA changes, textbook purchase, calendars, IT contracts and property dispositions

Wayne County Public Schools board members voted on a package of operational and instructional items during their Feb. 3 meeting in Goldsboro, approving an amended memorandum of agreement for the WISH school-based health program, the purchase of new high-school biology textbooks, an adjustment to one schoolhour schedule, technology contracts and the disposition of three district properties.

The board approved the amended WISH MOA, described in meetings as technical edits to reflect changes in Trillium funding and revised job duties for the WISH-funded position; the motion was made by Mr. Latham and seconded by Mr. West and carried by voice vote.

The board approved the purchase of state-adopted high-school biology textbooks and associated consumable workbooks after curriculum staff said teachers reviewed candidate materials. The districtreported the publisher agreed to provide student online access early at no additional charge; the motion to accept the purchase was made by Mr. Henderson and seconded by Mr. Fook.

To address missed instructional hours after inclement weather, the board approved a 10-minute morning extension to Wayne Little High Academyhours through the end of the school year to meet North Carolinastatutory contact-hour requirement; the motion came from Mr. Latham and was seconded by Mr. West.

The board also approved the nontraditional 2025-26 calendar for Wayne School of Engineering and Wayne Early Middle College after staff said the calendar aligns classroom and employee days more closely with community college schedules. Mr. West moved the calendar and Mr. Polk seconded.

On finance and technology, the board approved several items that had come out of the Finance Committee, including an agreement to test a data-governance tool, Lightbeam.AI, with the understanding that the contract is pending legal review; the motion approved items K through N as a block by voice vote. The proposal was presented to the board by technology staff as a proactive system to detect and redact personally identifiable information (PII) in district Google accounts and to provide targeted user training.

Facilities items approved included a purchase order of $29,750 to widen an exit at the current Wayne Academy (funded from maintenance local) and the disposition method for three surplus properties on Holly Street, School Street and Fremont; Mr. Sanders moved the PO and Mr. West seconded; the property dispositions were approved together following Facilities Committee recommendation.

The board accepted committee reports, approved multiple purchase orders recommended by the Curriculum Committee, and approved the consent agenda items A (minutes) and C (student reassignments). The general personnel report (Consent 7B) was addressed separately after Mr. West recused himself; the personnel report was approved by the remaining board members.

Procedural votes included a motion to enter closed session to discuss confidential personnel and student matters under North Carolina law; the motion was moved by Mr. Sanders, seconded by Mr. West, and carried. The meeting adjourned on a motion by Mr. West and a second by Mr. Henderson.

A parent raised a public-safety concern during the public-comment period, saying a person had threatened her child at a school event; school staff said an investigation is already underway.

Because most votes were taken by voice and hand-raise rather than recorded roll-call, the board did not provide name-by-name tallies for many items during the meeting.