Hoke County Schools board meeting, Sep 8, 2026

1 h 14 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

School board hears potential $480,000 in additional asbestos abatement costs 34:30

  • A district staff member told the board that an updated asbestos inspection found more asbestos-containing material than a previous inspection, potentially adding $480,000 in abatement costs, and said the project had just over $1.8 million unencumbered. 34:30
  • The staff member also estimated that keeping the old media center would cost about $670,000 to just shy of $1 million and add approximately 210 days, and a speaker then said we need to stop this. 45:29
  • The board approved a motion on the maintenance salary changes. 1:11:11
Item by item (13)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 6:37
    • A motion was made to amend the agenda by adding an action item authorizing participation in the multi-district social media litigation after the personnel report. 7:27
    • A motion was then made to approve the agenda as amended. 8:27
    • The amendment passed, and the agenda as amended passed. 8:14
  2. Chair's Pick teacher award 8:34
    • During the chair's report, the September 2026 Chair's Pick Award went to a 4th grade teacher selected from 38 nominations who earned 76 out of 76 possible points. 8:34
    • The teacher received a certificate and a $250 check. 10:06
  3. Superintendent's report on test scores 11:16
    • The superintendent said the district's needs-based grant deadline is in early October and the narrative would be shared with the board. 11:16
    • The superintendent said the all subject and all grade composite score for end of grade testing increased 3.7 points, with proficiency increases in 14 of the 18 tests and a 15.2 percentage points increase in biology. 12:53
    • The superintendent said West Hope Elementary had a 19-point increase, bringing its letter grade to a C and exiting low performance, and that a detailed report would come next month. 15:05
  4. Student and staff recognitions 18:09
    • The district's AIG program director described North Carolina Governor's School as a 4-week residential summer program and said 800 of 1,162 applicants were accepted, including a district student. 18:25
    • The student described studying natural science at Governor's School East. 23:07
    • A staff member recognized a library media coordinator named the 26⁠-⁠27 Region 4 Media Coordinator of the Year by the North Carolina School Library Media Association. 28:08
  5. Public comment and consent agenda 30:45
    • A staff member said there were no public comments. ~31:15
    • The consent agenda included meeting minutes and the school board policy second read. 31:18
    • The motions on the minutes and the policy second read passed. 31:36
  6. High school construction project update 31:50
    • A staff member said the contractor was about 88.8% paid, the contractor contingency was 100% used and $281,000 remained of just over $2.4 million in contingencies. 34:05
    • The staff member said additional asbestos found in a new inspection could cost $480,000 and that just over $1.8 million in unencumbered funds could cover it. 37:36
    • The staff member estimated keeping the media center at about $670,000 to just shy of $1 million with about 210 days added, and a speaker said the district does not have an extra million dollars or 210 days. 45:29
  7. Echo Ridge Apartments payment agreement 54:25
    • A staff member said the apartments charge teachers $850 per month and that an unwritten agreement called for a $30,000 annual payment from the board until the loan is paid off in March 2029. 54:37
    • The staff member said a financial support agreement had been drafted and the partner organization would vote on it at its October board meeting before it comes to the board. 56:11
  8. Elementary school traffic pattern update 58:46
    • A staff member said traffic at Rockfish Hope Elementary School was doubled into 2 lines as a short-term solution and that an NCDOT engineer visited and was expected to send a report this week. 59:22
    • A speaker asked about adding a turn lane, and the staff member said that was one thing being looked at. 1:03:30
    • A speaker raised traffic concerns at Westside Elementary, and the staff member said other schools would also be reviewed. 1:03:42
  9. Vacancy report 1:06:41
    • A staff member reported 33 certified vacancies and 16 classified vacancies for a total of 49. 1:07:34
  10. Architect selection 1:08:14
    • A speaker compared the two firms under consideration and said one was founded in 1969 and had 250+ public school projects. 1:09:26
    • The motion on the architect selection passed. 1:10:48
  11. Maintenance salary changes 1:11:04
    • A motion was made to approve the maintenance salary changes. 1:11:11
    • The motion passed. ~1:11:17
  12. Questions on employee bonus payments 1:11:23
    • A speaker asked when the bonus would take place, and another speaker said the money was expected to drop by the end of September. 1:11:24
    • A staff member said convocation checks were $100, or $92 after tax, and that payments were pending the commissioner money. 1:12:12
  13. Closed session 1:13:04
    • A motion was made to go into closed session under North Carolina General Statute 143⁠-⁠318⁠-⁠11 for personnel and student matters and to consult with the board's attorney. 1:13:14
    • The motion passed. ~1:13:46

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “HCS Board of Education 9-8-2026”