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Cleveland County honors Superintendent Steven Fischer as he prepares to retire
Summary
Trustees presented Dr. Steven Fischer with the Order of the Longleaf Pine and offered tributes at their June 8 meeting; Fischer used his final regular board meeting before a July 1 retirement to outline five principles he hopes guide the district.
Trustees of the Cleveland County Board of Education honored Superintendent Dr. Steven Fischer at their June 8 meeting in Shelby, presenting him with the Order of the Longleaf Pine on behalf of North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
Jack Hope, executive director of the North Carolina School Superintendent Association, traveled to Shelby to present the award and praised Fischer’s leadership, calling him “the voice of reason and a trusted leader who leads with clarity and purpose.” Hope said the award was recommended by state legislators and conferred in recognition of Fischer’s longtime service to the county’s students and schools.
Board members offered personal tributes. One trustee said the district is “a model district” under Fischer’s leadership; another thanked him for being “honest” and “a stickler for following the rules.” The remarks highlighted Fischer’s 12 years as Cleveland County’s superintendent within a 30-year career in public education.
Fischer used his allotted time to give operational updates — including a special called meeting scheduled for June 15 and a July regular meeting moved to July 20 — and to summarize the start-of-school timeline for 2026–27: licensed teachers begin July 29; beginning teachers start July 31; all teachers and staff resume August 5; and students return August 12 (early college follows a different schedule). He closed with five parting principles for the board and district — encourage one another; find good in one another; lavish one another with the fruits of the spirit; trust one another; and cultivate one another — and thanked staff, board members and the community.
The ceremony and comments marked Fischer’s final regularly scheduled board meeting before his retirement on July 1. The board did not take any hiring action at this meeting; trustees noted a superintendent search is underway and members and public commenters asked that the board publicly share priorities and timelines for that process.
The board’s next scheduled meetings include a special-called meeting on June 15 and committee meetings in early July; the regular July meeting is scheduled for July 20.
