NOTE: This meeting was the board’s annual organizational meeting. I completed my second consecutive year as our board chair and I want to publicly thank my board colleagues as well as the community for their unwavering support. We all know public education is under attack from many corners of government, however, the level of community support for CHCCS public schools remains outstanding, as is the exceptional financial support from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. I’ve been in public education since my first classroom assignment in 1975 (yes, 50 years ago!) and my passion and commitment is as strong now as it has ever been. I thank the community for the opportunity to continue serving on the board, and I look forward to hearing from you (ggriffin@chccs.k12.nc.us) in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
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TL; DR
The meeting began with the swearing-in ceremony for new board member Melinda Manning, and two returning board members, George Griffin and Riza Jenkins. Welcome Melinda!
Riza Jenkins was elected Chair, and Barbara Fedders was elected Vice-Chair, both to one-year terms. Congratulations Riza and Barb!
The board approved a number of new and revised courses for 2026-2027.
The board reviewed committee assignments for the next 12 months.
The board approved an Architectural & Engineering Services Contract for the replacement of Carrboro Elementary School within the guidelines of the 2024 Bond Project.
The board received a presentation of district performance during the 2024–25 school year across key indicators such as growth, proficiency, graduation rates, discipline, attendance, and student perception data, and connected these outcomes to progress on the CHCCS Strategic Plan 2027.
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The first agenda item was titled “Approval for New and Revised Courses for 2026-2027.” This annual process involved selected courses in World Languages, Journalism, Social Studies, Artificial Intelligence, Art, Music, and Career & Technical Education (CTE).
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The next item was titled “Recommendation for Approval of Board Committees, District and Non-District Committees, and School Liaisons.” This annual board organizational discussion provided the newly elected Chair some guidance on board committee assignments, and liaison to external committees.
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The next item was a “Recommendation for Approval: Architectural & Engineering Services Contract for the Replacement of Carrboro Elementary School - 2024 Bond Project.”
Overview of Selected Firm (Copy and pasted from the board meeting Abstract.)
“Established in 1963, LS3P is a multidisciplinary firm offering architecture, interiors, and planning services to a wide variety of clients nationwide. LS3P creates architecture that enriches the community through a culture of design excellence, expertise, innovation, and collaborative engagement. With 100 years of school design experience (including its Boney Architects heritage dating back to 1922) and LS3P’s work on over 2,500 school facilities, LS3P has served over 160 school districts across the Southeast, many of which are in North Carolina. LS3P is passionate about creating leading-edge learning environments and has conducted extensive research into the future of education. LS3P’s expertise includes the design of flexible, diverse learning spaces that support the full integration of technology. LS3P believes that better spaces support innovative teaching and engaged learning. By collaborating with CHCCS, LS3P can forge enduring connections by bringing new levels of thought, insight, and inspiration to the design and architecture process, with proven results. With a staff of over 500 employees, LS3P has the resources to offer total design capabilities from site selection to occupancy. Yet, they are small enough to give personal attention to our district.
Capital funding for Architectural & Engineering Services has been identified within the BoCC-approved 2025-26 Capital Investment Plan, as part of the 2024 Orange County Bond Program. The proposed contract award ($3,081,600) consists of a total basic services design fee of $2,686,389 (6.39%) and is based on an initial construction budget of $ 42,000,000. It also includes additional scope design fees totaling $245,211 and a $150,000 allowance for preliminary site/field engineering services.”
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The final item was titled “Accountability & Strategic Plan Update 2024 – 2025.” (Copy and pasted from the meeting Abstract.) This was a major review of student performance outcomes. The scope of the data is too large and comprehensive to present in a condensed manner here, therefore, the reader is encouraged to open the slide deck presentation. Click HERE To get started!
PURPOSE:
“Inform the Board of Education with a clear, comprehensive picture of district performance during the 2024–25 school year across key indicators such as growth, proficiency, graduation rates, discipline, attendance, and student perception data, while also connecting these outcomes to progress on the CHCCS Strategic Plan 2027. The presentation highlights strengths—such as high growth results, strong science outcomes, reduced discipline incidents, and improved attendance—alongside focused areas requiring improvement, including early-grades reading, ATSI-designated secondary schools, and 8th- grade mathematics, ensuring board members have the evidence and context needed to guide decisions and support next steps.
BACKGROUND:
This update is grounded in federal and state accountability requirements, which use a combination of growth, achievement, and student group performance metrics to determine School Performance Grades… and areas requiring targeted intervention; it also reflects shifts such as the rollout of new state science assessments and changing student demographics. The presentation highlights strengths, including reduced discipline incidents and improved attendance. Since the implementation of the Strategic Plan, we have seen steady improvement; CHCCS met 40.1% of goals for 2024-25. The deck synthesizes multiple years of longitudinal data to illuminate trends—both positive and areas of opportunity—and pairs these trends with responsive actions underway in literacy, mathematics, MTSS, restorative practices, and school improvement planning, providing the board with the essential context needed to understand why certain challenges persist and how district-level supports are being aligned to address them.”
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