Caldwell County Board of Education

14 meetings on our record, 12 of them from the past year and 2 with unconfirmed dates · typical meeting 58 min · 10,665 students · 7 members on our roster

Latest · Sep 8, 2026: Caldwell County school board approves federal programs plan and amended policy revisions Play 50:04
Newest meeting we have: Sep 8, 2026 · District's board page ↗ (it may list later ones)

On the board: Darrell Pennell, Board Chair · Chris Becker, Vice Chair · Teresa Branch, Board member · Ann Edwards, Board member · BJ Fore, Board member · Mark Gerson, Board member · Joe Sims, Board member

Watch the board’s yearA decision it made, its hours, its busiest night at the mic and where its time went, each with its source

Recent meetings

What the board took up lately

Board meeting · 1 h 00 minTuesday, September 8, 2026Caldwell County school board approves federal programs plan and amended policy revisionsSpeakers: Darrell Pennell, Joe Sims, Teresa Branch

Play 50:04

Board meeting · 1 h 35 minMonday, August 10, 2026Caldwell County board approves updated beginning teacher support plan and personnel itemsSpeakers: Darrell Pennell, Joe Sims, Ann Edwards

Play 31:33

Board meeting · 1 h 23 minMonday, July 13, 2026Reading and test scoresSpeakers: Darrell Pennell, Chris Becker, BJ Fore

Watch

Board meeting · 25 minMonday, June 29, 2026Budget cuts and layoffsSafety, weapons and policeSpeakers: Darrell Pennell, Chris Becker

Watch

The board

Who talks on this board

Minutes speaking per full board meeting · 12 board meetings, Nov 10, 2025 – Sep 8, 2026 · talk time only, never tone or stance

Listed by seat0 members can be compared fairly; we rank at 4.

Coverage: about 64% of members’ speaking time named (30%–90%)

Minutes = time we heard them speak per meeting, from the speech we have named so far, so each is a floor: at least that much.

Runs the meeting

Darrell PennellBoard Chair · runs the meeting, not ranked5.9min, at least12 of 12meetings heard, of those while seated—runs the meeting, counted apart0.1questions asked per meeting, at least

Members · listed by seat

Chris BeckerVice Chair · We could name only 3% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%0.1min, at least3 of 12meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Teresa BranchBoard member · We could name only 12% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%0.4min, at least3 of 12meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Ann EdwardsBoard member · We could name only 15% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%0.5min, at least4 of 12meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

BJ ForeBoard member · We could name only 14% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%0.5min, at least4 of 12meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Mark GersonBoard member · We could name only 11% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%0.5min, at least2 of 8meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Joe SimsBoard member · We could name only 26% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%1.2min, at least3 of 10meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.0questions asked per meeting, at least

Minutes speaking per full board meeting held while seated; a meeting they missed or stayed silent in counts as zero · bar = minutes named so far · talk time only, never tone or stance · Hamlet

Meetings on our record

All 14 meetings on our record

Meeting time

Where the board's meeting time went

Ceremony and recognition24%15%–33%

Budget and finance8%2%–18%

Safety and discipline0%0%–17%

Public comment0%0%–17%

The two readers didn’t agree on 28% of the time; it counts toward no topic, so every share above is a floor.

Not shown: facilities, closures and enrollment, curriculum and instruction, student services and special education, labor and personnel, governance and policy, routine business, other subjects, whose checks haven’t passed

Public comment

Of the 14 meetings on our record, we counted public speakers at 13; 1 had at least one.

1 speaker1 speaker0.1 a meeting on average

Federal district ID 3700580 · student count from the federal 2023-24 count · meeting videos posted by the district