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Catawba County Schools board meeting, Aug 17, 2026

1 h 21 min · 2 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 21 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Catawba County school board adopts student privacy and classroom recording policies 1:16:45

  • The board unanimously approved a two-year Google licensing upgrade, a new fire alarm system at Blackburn Elementary School and four change orders for a sawmill building at Fred T. Ford High School. 31:31
  • The board heard a presentation on the current schematic design for 6th grade middle school additions and renovation projects and unanimously approved the design. 31:53
  • The board unanimously approved policies on student privacy in restrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations and on video and audio recordings in classrooms. 1:16:45
Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and agenda 0:51
    • Tim Settlemyre called the meeting to order, and the board approved the July 27th, 2026, minutes unanimously with the present members. 0:51
    • A district staff member asked the board to add a quarterly fundraising request from a high school to the consent agenda as item number 5. 6:39
    • The agenda change was approved unanimously with present members. 7:13
  2. Chairman and superintendent reports 7:13
    • Tim Settlemyre said Quest served 400 students at 6 sites over the summer and noted that school begins next Monday. 7:13
    • The superintendent said preliminary testing results would be shared September 3rd and described Constitution Day lessons marking 250 years of United States history. 8:32
  3. Public comment 10:17
    • April Underwood read the rules for public comment, including a 3-minute limit for each speaker. 10:31
    • A speaker at public comment raised the separation of church and state and said policy 2.315 is not legal. 11:20
    • Another speaker at public comment spoke in support of the proposed student privacy policy for restrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations. 14:39
  4. Consent agenda 16:18
    • Tim Settlemyre called for a vote on consent agenda items 1 through 7. 16:18
    • The consent agenda was approved unanimously. 16:18
  5. School system budget resolution 17:05
    • A district finance staff member said the budget resolution is a starting point and that amendments, including state raises, are expected soon. 18:32
    • Tim Settlemyre thanked the finance team for putting raises into pay scales before the July payrolls. 20:17
    • The staff member said the total budget is about 3.9% higher than last year and that the state passed average 8% teacher salary raises. 20:52
  6. Google licensing upgrade 21:43
    • A technology staff member asked to return to Plus licensing after storage issues that began August 1st, citing a first-year cost of $72,000 compared with close to $100,000 originally quoted. 21:53
    • The staff member estimated a credit of about $54,637, leaving $18,799 to pay, and said Plus would provide 20 gigabytes per user. 21:53
    • The staff member said the upgrade could allow the district to cancel an EdPuzzle subscription, saving around $28,000 a year. 29:21
    • The board approved the two-year quote unanimously. 31:31
  7. Middle school additions schematic design 31:53
    • A staff member said the additions at one school are approximately 30,000 square feet, with Phase 1 on the critical path for students to arrive in August of '28, and that the school will total 114,000 square feet after the project. 37:03
    • A second architect described classroom additions, cafeteria expansions and concessions and restroom buildings at the other four schools, including a 24,637-square-foot, 2-story addition at Mill Creek. 46:19
    • Tim Settlemyre asked whether water would reach the softball field, and a speaker said there will be water supply to the new building. 49:17
    • The board unanimously approved the current schematic design for the 6th grade middle school additions and renovations project. 56:55
  8. Blackburn Elementary fire alarm system 57:23
    • A facilities staff member said a guaranteed maximum price for the middle school projects may come back around February. 57:34
    • The staff member said the Blackburn system is the district's oldest, the replacement costs $216,444.95 and it would be funded with capital outlay through county government. 57:34
    • The board approved the Johnson Controls quote unanimously. 1:00:04
  9. Sawmill building change orders 1:00:04
    • A presenter said the four change orders total a credit of $40,000, mostly from district electricians doing electrical work. 1:00:34
    • The presenter said the final value of the project would be $238,450. 1:00:34
    • The board approved the change orders unanimously. 1:03:20
  10. State school boards association nomination 1:03:20
    • The board was asked to submit one nomination for a possible vacancy on the North Carolina School Boards Association Board of Directors, with a September 25th deadline. 1:03:39
    • The board voted unanimously to nominate one of its members. 1:04:11
  11. Emergency medication policy first reading 1:04:11
    • A staff member presented the EpiPen policy on first reading with no vote, saying it makes sure every school has 2 EpiPen kits available. 1:06:35
  12. Student privacy and recording policies 1:06:35
    • A staff member said board members asked for a student privacy policy that aligns with a student's biological sex, and that the policy includes an exception for emergency services and allows administrators to make reasonable accommodations. 1:10:04
    • A staff member said provisions inconsistent with North Carolina being a one-party consent state were struck from the draft policy on video and audio recordings. 1:13:00
    • Greg Whitener said the goal was to make sure the board was legal in how it presented the motion. 1:17:29
    • The board approved both policies unanimously. 1:17:33
  13. Superintendent evaluation timeline 1:17:50
    • A staff member said the evaluation usually takes 1 or 2 months to complete because input is gathered from administrators. 1:18:07
    • Tim Settlemyre asked to have the evaluation ready by the October working session. 1:19:33
  14. Closed session 1:19:33
    • Tim Settlemyre sought a motion to go into closed session to consult with an attorney and on personnel. 1:19:33
    • The board went into closed session. 1:19:33

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “8-17-26 Board of Education Meeting”