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Board reviews routine items: course‑guide changes, arts diploma endorsement, contract amendments and facilities bids
Summary
Moore County Schools staff presented routine but substantive items Feb. 3 — updates to the high‑school course guide, a proposed arts diploma endorsement activity list, contract increases for special‑needs nursing and interpreting, roof repair bids for Northmore High School, the district audit contract and the summer reading‑camp plan.
Moore County Schools staff presented several routine items Feb. 3 that the board placed on the consent agenda for the Feb. 10 regular meeting. Highlights:
High‑school course guide: Donna Gephardt reviewed updates to the 2025–26 course guide, including releveling of arts courses (novice/developing/accomplished/advanced per DPI changes), the required Economics and Personal Finance graduation requirement, new CTE offerings (hospitality and tourism at Pinecrest), JROTC alignment under CTE and a proposed leadership development elective at Pinecrest and Union Pines. The board instructed staff to include the innovative high‑school program and Connect Virtual Academy materials for family planning in the guide.
Arts endorsement (diploma seal): State Board graduation policy 007 created a new arts endorsement for diplomas. The board reviewed a district list of extracurricular arts activities (performance attendance, community arts activities, rehearsals, competitions, summer intensive programs and a teacher‑approved “other” category) that students must log for a required 40 hours of non‑graded arts extracurricular activity and maintain a reflection form. Donna Gephardt said DPI allowed retroactive eligibility for current seniors this year. Board members asked staff to examine consistent recognition at graduation (program notation, cord or ribbon) and report back; staff agreed to consult principals and present a recommendation.
Exceptional children contracts: Neil Waters, chief administrator for Exceptional Children’s Services, asked the board to approve contract amendments to meet increasing student needs. MGA Home Care, which supplies skilled nursing for students with significant medical needs, needs an increase to the not‑to‑exceed amount of approximately $487,700 (contract rate cited as $65 per hour) after caseload rose from three to six students. All American Interpreting (interpreting services for deaf students) requires an increase of about $52,000 to bring the contract cap to roughly $182,000; part of that increase reflects a delayed invoice and expanded services (interpreting during athletics and driver‑education activities).
Facilities: Northmore High School roofs — two projects were bid separately and recommended to save cost while using the same Tremco membrane products and warranty process. For Building 9 (EPDM membrane needing restoration), the low responsive bidder was Fox Hill Construction at $114,048 for a fully reinforced fluid‑applied membrane with a 25‑year warranty. For the main office build‑up roof, Gallagher Management was the low responsive bidder at $225,400 to remove and replace the top built‑up layer with a 30‑year warranty. Work is planned to minimize disruption and will include periodic Tremco preventive maintenance inspections.
Audit contract: The board reviewed the contract recommendation to retain Anderson, Smith and White as the district’s independent auditor for the year ending June 30, 2025. The FY‑25 audit fee is $53,000 plus up to $5,000 in mandatory non‑attest services. The firm’s RFP covers FY‑23 through FY‑25 with an option to add two years; staff provided inflationary estimates for FY‑26 and FY‑27.
Read to Achieve summer reading camps: Staff presented requirements under Senate Bill 387 for required reading camps (72 hours of literacy instruction offered to qualifying second‑ and third‑grade students). District camps typically run two weeks in June and two weeks in July, run four‑day weeks, provide breakfast and snack, supply transportation, and prioritize smaller class sizes and targeted interventions. Staff said state funding (P.R.O. 016 or similar allocations) covered much of the cost in past years (about $135,000 last year, roughly $140,000 projected this year) and that camps have enabled dozens of students to reach proficiency. Attendance varies; participation is voluntary and parents make the final decision.
Board action: At the Feb. 3 work session staff sought board consensus to place these items on the Feb. 10 consent agenda; several items were set for consent, and contract and roofing awards were recommended under staff action for approval at the February meeting.
Ending: Staff agreed to return with details on graduation recognition for arts seals, and with the requested financial clarifications related to skilled nursing and interpreter contract costs.
