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Superintendent reports steady opening, new grants and ongoing operational strains on transportation and data systems
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Stover reported a smooth school opening with current on-site enrollment at roughly 11,305 pre-K–12 (11,070 K–12), announced a $300,000 Department of Energy prize plus additional textbook and IB grants, and outlined continuing challenges: a shortage of bus drivers/substitutes and data-migration issues from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus.
Superintendent Dr. Stover told the Rockingham County Board of Education that the school year opened smoothly and presented a snapshot of current enrollment, recent grants, and operational problems the district is addressing.
Dr. Stover reported that current enrollment figures of students who have physically attended school are 11,305 pre-K through 12 and 11,070 K through 12, slightly below projections but still trending as attendance stabilizes in the first weeks. "So that's the, what the state counts ... We're a little bit below projections, but not very much below," he said during the report.
The superintendent announced grant awards intended to support district programs: the district has received a $300,000 prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (described in the meeting as "no strings attached" and already received), a potential three-year grant of up to $150,000 to work with Rockingham Community College (RCC) on student textbooks and Career and College Promise (CCP) course needs, and a one-year grant from the Reedsville Area Foundation for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Dr. Stover said portions of future grant-related spending will require separate board approvals.
Dr. Stover identified two major operational issues. First, the district continues to face a long-term shortage of bus drivers and substitute drivers. To address that, the district revised classified staff job descriptions to state driving expectations, aims to create a predictable sub-driver schedule so employees can plan around driving weeks, and is coordinating with testing staff at the North Carolina Department of Transportation to certify drivers; Dr. Stover warned the testing capacity is limited and not an immediate fix. "This is not a quick fix situation," he said.
Second, the district is managing a difficult migration from the PowerSchool student information system to Infinite Campus. Dr. Stover described data-migration delays and the need for staff to spend extra hours correcting records. He said the district chose not to switch midyear and is continuing to work with data managers and previously assigned staff to correct records.
Board members emphasized safety measures implemented at school openings, including weapons-detection and open-gate systems at middle and high schools, as well as the district's use of bus cameras to document stop-arm violations. Dr. Stover praised principals and staff for teamwork in covering routes and running a smooth opening.
What happens next: district staff will continue recruiting and training bus drivers, pursue committee and board approvals for any grant spending that requires authorization, and work through Infinite Campus data issues with district data managers and vendors.
