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Wake County Schools work session, date not confirmed yet

5 h 21 min · 2 videos

Discussed chronic absenteeismDiscussed reading and test scores

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 5 h 21 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  2. Cheryl CaulfieldBoard member
  3. Chris HeagartyBoard member
  4. Christina GordonBoard member
  5. Jennifer JobBoard member
  6. Lynn EdmondsBoard member
  7. Sam HersheyVice-Chair
  8. Toshiba RiceBoard member
  9. Tyler SwansonChair
  10. Wing NgBoard member
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Part 2 · 3 h 27 min

Wake County board passes religious release time policy on first reading, 8⁠-⁠1 2:37:40

  • Speakers at public comment raised concerns involving a teacher at Middle Creek and HVAC problems at Lynn Road. 57:58
  • The board also passed its consent agenda. 1:39:13
  • The board passed Board Policy 3210 on first reading by an 8⁠-⁠1 vote after Lynn Edmonds asked how many times a material could be challenged. 2:18:09
  • The board also voted 8⁠-⁠1 to pass Policy 3510, which a staff member said includes a section on release time religious instruction required by a new state statute. 2:37:35

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (12)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 0:19
    • Tyler Swanson called the meeting to order, said all 9 board members were present and proposed moving Board Policy 6220 from first reading to action. 0:19
  2. Recognition of former assistant superintendent 2:18
    • A presenter gave the Order of the Longleaf Pine Award to the district's former assistant superintendent of academics, who had served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal. 3:11
    • The honoree thanked the board and said the honoree had worked in the district for an entire career. 10:05
  3. Naming of Farmington Woods amphitheater 10:47
    • A presenter brought a recommendation under Policy 9300 to name the outdoor amphitheater at Farmington Woods for an educator who served in the district for more than 33 years. 12:19
    • Tyler Swanson moved to name the school's outdoor amphitheater for the retired principal. 17:43
    • One board member said the recognition was appropriate. ~19:05
  4. Sustainable instructional device strategy 21:48
    • A staff member said the district had collected screen time data by grade level and gathered feedback from over 1,300 staff members and school administrators. 26:08
    • The staff member said a finalized strategy would be presented at a work session in November. 27:04
    • Tyler Swanson said the instructional portion would go to the Student Achievement Committee and other parts to the Facilities Committee. 29:43
  5. Public comment 29:43
    • Student speakers thanked the district for investing in arts education. 34:53
    • Several speakers at public comment raised concerns about the release time religious instruction policy, including background checks for adults working with students. 42:13
    • Other speakers at public comment raised concerns involving a teacher at Middle Creek, the cost of student parking permits and HVAC problems at Lynn Road. 57:58
  6. Consent agenda 1:38:38
    • Sam Hershey moved to approve the amended consent agenda. 1:38:58
    • Tyler Swanson announced the consent agenda passed. 1:39:13
  7. Instructional materials challenge policy 1:39:21
    • A staff member said the policy creates a formal challenge process open to parents, district teachers and any Wake County resident, based on a new state statute. 1:40:52
    • A motion by Cheryl Caulfield to change the policy language to and/or failed for lack of a second. 1:43:12
    • A staff member said the draft policy would not prevent a material from being challenged multiple times, and one board member said that was alarming because of the staff time required. 1:52:25
    • Tyler Swanson announced the policy passed 8⁠-⁠1. 2:18:10
  8. Religious-based exemptions and release time 2:18:27
    • A staff member said the statute requires schools to excuse absences for religious instruction by a private entity for at least 1 but no more than 4 hours per week. 2:19:06
    • Sam Hershey asked whether a background check could be required for anyone other than a parent picking up a student. 2:20:37
    • One board member said they intended to move the policy forward to comply with the law but did so in protest. 2:31:24
    • Tyler Swanson announced the policy passed 8⁠-⁠1 on first reading. 2:37:42
  9. Child nutrition services policy 2:37:42
    • A staff member said the revisions provide the same meal selections to all students regardless of unpaid meal debt and bar administrative penalties on students for unpaid meal debt. 2:37:56
    • Lynn Edmonds moved to approve the policy on first reading. 2:38:54
    • The motion was announced as passed. 2:40:12
  10. Superintendent comments 2:40:12
    • The superintendent said 9 schools had HVAC issues and critical work orders fell from 51 to 31. 2:41:54
    • The superintendent said the district's general guidelines are 74 degrees for cooling and 68 degrees for heating. 2:42:46
    • The superintendent announced a Family and Community Engagement Summit on September 19th and 21st at Leesville Road High School. 2:48:39
  11. Board member comments 2:50:41
    • One board member said they supported the policy update and asked to bring student parking back for discussion. 2:56:28
    • Jennifer Job noted Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week. 3:06:52
    • Sam Hershey said the board feels it whenever there is an HVAC outage. 3:22:45
  12. Move to closed session 3:24:17
    • Tyler Swanson called for a motion to go into closed session for the reasons stated on the agenda. 3:26:09

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

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “2026-09-01 Work Session”