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Asheboro City Board of Education Meeting Recap
Kelly Thompson, CTE Teacher of the Year
ASHEBORO - At approximately 7:30 p.m., Chairman Michael B. Smith welcomed all in attendance for the Asheboro City Board of Education’s monthly meeting. In his opening statement, Chairman Smith asked all attendees to participate in a moment of silence for the two Asheboro City Schools students who passed away over Memorial Day weekend in a tragic car accident, and for the children who lost their lives last week in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.  Following the moment of silence, Chairman Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance. Once the Board approved the meeting’s agenda, the meeting proceeded with Special Recognitions and Presentations.

Special Recognition and Presentations
Starting off Special Recognitions, the Board heard from student-performers with the Park Street Ensemble from Asheboro High School. They sang several songs that were performed the last week in May during their final concert of the 2021-2022 school year.

The Asheboro City Board of Education then recognized Energizer as the June Community Partner Spotlight. Since 2001, Energizer has provided close to 500,000 batteries for various student, teacher, and school needs. The district was proud to thank them for the long-standing partnership with ACS.

The next recognition was presented by Director of K-12 Education, Deanna Wiles. She recognized two math teachers with the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Outstanding Educator award. Recipients included Bridgett Kiser from South Asheboro Middle School and Michelle Belote with Charles W. McCrary Elementary School.

Director of Career and Technical Education, Sarah Beth Robbins, presented Kelly Thompson from South Asheboro MIddle School with the CTE Teacher of the Year Award for the 2021-2022 school year. She then recognized two students who have been accepted into the Apprenticeship Randolph Pre-Apprentice Program.

Director of Support Services, Dr. Drew Maerz, followed by recognizing Asheboro High School senior, Arianna Lovingood-Smith who placed fourth overall in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Track and Field Championship. Lovingood-Smith has also signed to be a member of the cheerleading squad at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Public Information Officer, Leigh Anna Marbert shared the Points of Pride report, highlighting:
  • The Asheboro High School Athletic Commitment Ceremony in which six students signed to play college athletics.
  • Madison Arroyo and Tramir Martin, recipients of the Randolph County Sports Council scholarship for AHS senior student-athletes.
  • The South Asheboro Middle School Girls Soccer Team, conference champions with an overall record of 16-0-1.
  • The North Asheboro Middle School Boys Soccer Team, conference champions after a win over Southwest Randolph Middle School with a score of 2-1.
  • The Lady Blue Comets Soccer Team who finished a phenomenal season advancing to the third round of playoffs. They concluded the year in second place in the Mid-Piedmont 3A Division with an overall record of 17-5-2.
  • The 31 recipients of scholarships from the Asheboro City Schools Education Foundation. Top honors were given to Alonzo Castro and Luis Martinez Aguirre, recipients of the $1,000 Dr. Diane L. Frost Centennial Scholarship; Tiffany Martindale, recipient of the $2,000 Ruby B. Smith Scholarship and the $2,000 Lana Gail Harris “Dash” Scholarship; Roxana Vazquez Acuna, recipient of the $1,000 recurring T. Henry Redding Scholarship for Achievement; and Journey Craven and Yu Chen, recipients of the $2,000 Katie Bunch Servant Leadership Scholarship.
Following Points of Pride, Superintendent Dr. Aaron Woody concluded Special Recognitions by celebrating Dr. Drew Maerz, Director of Support Services who has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2022. Dr. Maerz has been named the Superintendent of Highland County Public School in Monterey, VA.

Superintendent’s Report
Following Special Recognitions and Presentations, Dr. Woody shared a number of highlights about the esteemed Asheboro High School Class of 2022. He noted, “The Asheboro High School Class of 2022 has had a remarkable year. Our senior class has earned over $2,000,000 and counting in academic/athletic scholarships, grants, and other monetary awards given by community clubs and organizations, corporations, colleges/universities, and various branches of the military. Of our 243 graduates, we have 34 Distinguished graduates and 38 Honor graduates. Our students have reported their intentions to attend over 32 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Evansville, and a number of others throughout our great state.”
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Public Comments
Asheboro City Schools’ appointees to the Randolph Community College Board of Trustees, Reynolds Lisk and Chris Yow, addressed the Board with information about the college during the Public Comment period. They provided updates about construction at Randolph Community College including the new state-of-the-art Allied Health Center, as well as the search process and timeline for selecting a new president at RCC in the wake of Dr. Bob Shackleford’s retirement.

Consent Agenda:
The Board then moved to unanimously approve the Consent Agenda which included minutes from the May Board of Education meeting. The Consent Agenda also included the approval of seven policies, personnel transactions, an overnight field trip request, School Nutrition Bid Recommendations for the 2022-2023 school year, a resolution to increase the micro-purchase threshold for the 2022-2023 school year, pay dates for the 2022-2023 school year, a list of school treasurers, a Sodexo contract amendment with Asheboro CIty Schools for the 2022-2023 school year, a CTE Articulation Agreement, and a Memorandum of Understanding between ACS and Randolph Community College.

Information, Reports, and Recommendations:
Dr. Maerz then presented one board policy for a 30-day public review. It will be listed on the “Board of Education Policies Under Review” website page until the July 2022 meeting. Dr. Maerz then provided an update about the Student Dress Code which is currently undergoing a review process. He provided a timeline for potential adjustments to the dress code and assured the Board that if this is the consensus of the Student Dress Code Team, changes could be in place by the 2022-2023 school year.

The next presentation was delivered by Director of Facilities and Maintenance Chris Scott. He updated the Board on the Asheboro High School Phase III renovation.

Action Items
Following Information, Reports, and Recommendations, board members unanimously approved the CTE Local Application Plan, the 2022-2025 AIG Plan, and a contract change order between Asheboro High School and contractor J.M. Thompson. The Board also unanimously approved to continue with masks optional until the July meeting.
 
Board Operations:
In Board Operations, Chairman Smith discussed a number of calendar events including:
  • AHS Graduation Ceremony, 7:30  p.m. at Lee J. Stone Stadium (weather permitting)
  • ACS Retirement and Service Awards Celebration - June 10, 8 a.m. at the SAMS gymnasium
  • Special-called Board Meeting - June 28, 5:30 p.m. in the Central Office Board Room
  • Special-called Board Meeting - July 28, 5:30 p.m. in the Central Office Board Room
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:39 p.m.
 
The Asheboro City Board of Education will meet for their July meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2022 in the auditorium at North Asheboro Middle School. An agenda for the meeting will be posted by Friday, July 8, 2022. Should you have any questions, please contact Clerk to the Board, Angel Etheridge at 336-625-5104.
 
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