School board approves expanded Opportunity Culture contract with Public Impact LLC
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Summary
Columbus County Schools approved a renewed contract with Public Impact LLC to expand Opportunity Culture advanced teaching roles to four additional schools; funding for the state-supported stipend expires at year-end and the district has a sustainability plan if state funding is not renewed.
The Columbus County Board of Education voted to approve a services contract with Public Impact LLC to expand the Opportunity Culture initiative into four additional district schools.
The board approved the contract after a presentation describing how the district will add a mix of full-release and partial-release “MCL” (multi-classroom leader/advanced teacher role) positions at Old Dock, Halsborough Artesia, West Columbus High School and Williams Township. Board members heard that the state funding that supports stipend and implementation costs for the advanced roles expires at the end of this year; principals and school leaders have been told they would need to cover ongoing costs if the legislature does not renew the program funding.
Superintendent staff and curriculum leaders said school designs vary: some schools plan partial-release MCLs embedded in a grade team, while others place full-release MCLs in specialty roles. The board was told that current openings will be filled from within each school’s existing teacher allotment so positions would revert to classroom assignments if outside funding disappears. The district said it will monitor the expansion with a two-year plan tied to student growth metrics and that MCLs will share student-level EBOS data for progress monitoring once state data are released in August or September.
Board members asked how many positions each school will receive and whether openings will be new hires or shifts of current staff. Curriculum staff replied that exact headcounts depend on enrollment and availability of qualified candidates and that principals chose whether positions would be full- or partial-release. The implementation team said teams from each school met multiple times with Opportunity Culture staff and district leaders to design differentiated plans based on recent data trends.
District staff noted phase 1 included Acme Delco, Chadbourne Elementary, West Columbus School and Tabor City; phase 2 (the current year) adds Old Dock, Halsborough Artesia, Williams Township and West Columbus High School. A three-year grant written by the district allows up to 11 of the district’s 12 schools to onboard; CCCA was excluded as it is already an innovative high school, and the small enrollment at Nakaina was cited as a sustainability concern if stipend funding is lost.
The board approved the contract on a motion by Dr. Strickland, seconded by Miss Grice. The motion carried.
