Columbus County School leaders presented and the board approved several partnership agreements at the Dec. 4 meeting.

A local articulation agreement with Southeastern Community College was approved to streamline student transition from high school firefighter programming into the college’s fire rescue and emergency management pathways. The board also approved a memorandum of understanding with the YWCA of the Lower Cape Fear to continue services supporting young parents, health services and self-sufficiency programming for students and families.

Separately, the board considered a revision to a previously approved memorandum of understanding with Duke University’s Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). The superintendent explained the amendment concerned access to de-identified data for community schools research; the board voted to rescind the earlier MOU (approved Sept. 22, 2025) and adopt the revised agreement after legal review.

The board also approved a School and Community Partnerships agreement with UNC Charlotte to provide field experiences and interns, consistent with similar agreements the district maintains with other universities.

Each item was approved by motion and voice vote; the transcript records the recommendations, motion and voice approvals but no roll-call tallies.