Randolph County Schools board clears bulk personnel actions after public plea to protect bus drivers

The Randolph County Schools Board of Education held a special personnel meeting that included three employee hearings, a public comment urging the board to protect bus drivers and other service personnel, and a lengthy series of roll-call votes on superintendent recommendations.

Mr. McCauley, the employee whose hearing the board called, told the board the transfers for bus operators were linked to scheduling and instructional-compliance issues at the high-school level. "The primary reason for the transfers for the bus operators was due to the recognition that any more outside of compliance related to instructional limits affecting the high schools predominantly," McCauley said.

A resident who spoke during the hearing described family ties to district transportation and appealed directly to the board to consider the effect of cuts on students. "I want you to understand how important these drivers, teachers, and other personnel are. They are not just here for a paycheck," the resident said, adding that some students rely on bus drivers and teachers as only trusted adults.

After hearings, the board voted to enter executive session to discuss personnel and later said no decisions were made while in executive session. Returning to the public meeting, the board approved several grouped sections of the personnel agenda by voice or roll call: transfers (Section B), termination of service personnel (Section C), contract renewals (Section D) and transfers by mutual agreement (Section E) were recorded in the transcript as passing 5–0.

The board then proceeded line-by-line through many individual superintendent recommendations (Section F and G). Roll-call outcomes were mixed and at times required clarifying repeats of votes on the record. Examples recorded in the transcript include: Gerald Veil (superintendent recommendation) — motion failed, recorded "fails 4 to 1"; Cynthia Bodkins — passed 5–0; Amanda Caston — passed 3–2; Tina Cooper — failed, recorded as 1–4. Several other named recommendations passed or failed by narrow margins; a small number were "pooled" (removed from the vote list) because of funding or other administrative reasons (for example, Morgan Sands and Kylie Eisenhart were pulled from the list and not voted on).

On contract renewals (Section H), the board voted to remove one name from the bundle and later recorded an abstention: the transcript shows Janie Nolan abstaining on the Haley Noland item while the remainder passed. The board approved Section I (termination — extracurricular) 5–0.

Votes at a glance (selected items recorded during roll call): Gerald Veil — failed (4–1); Cynthia Bodkins — passed (5–0); Amanda Caston — passed (3–2); Tina Cooper — failed (1–4); Declan McGill — passed after re-do of roll call; Trena Robinson — passed (5–0); multiple other individual recommendations recorded as passed or not passed in the transcript; two names (Morgan Sands, Kylie Eisenhart) were pooled for later consideration. Where the transcript shows confusion or repeated roll calls to confirm votes, outcomes above reflect how each item was recorded in the meeting record.

The board closed by scheduling future regular meetings and adjourning at about 07:47.

The meeting record shows both an emotional public plea about the local impact of personnel decisions and an administrative, line-by-line roll call that produced a mix of approvals and rejections of superintendent recommendations. Several individual votes were closely divided, and a few items were removed from the table for later action or because funding became available.

The board did not announce additional public hearings on these individual personnel decisions at the meeting; items that were "pooled" were not voted on and will require future action or clarification by the district.