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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

Click any moment below to jump the video to that second. Video length 3 h 27 min.

Playing part 2 · 3 h 27 min of 2. Back to part 1

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.

Who spoke

Who spoke

Cheryl CaulfieldBoard member
Chris HeagartyBoard member
Christina GordonBoard member
Jennifer JobBoard member
Lynn EdmondsBoard member
Sam HersheyVice-Chair
Toshiba RiceBoard member
Tyler SwansonChair
Wing NgBoard member

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