School Board Meeting Summary - January 12, 2026

A Photo from the January Board Meeting of all of the Tamara Stamey scholarship recipients, the board members, Dr. Elliot, Ms. Miller, and Tracy Markland. This Scholarship is presented to four people every year and helps fund teachers throughout pursuing their National Board Certification. Photo Creds: The Watauga Democrat

Roz Rabinowitz, Junior Editor of The Powderhorn and Student School Board Representative

The monthly school board meeting was Monday, January 12. These meetings often cover accomplishments of students and staff throughout the County, and the Board passes policies that directly affect the Watauga County school system. After the normal opening session, call to order, and moment of silence, the meeting began with Dr. Leslie Alexander presenting her Superintendent's report.

Dr. Alexander reported that for the first time in a couple of years, Watauga High School has had semester one exams begin on time, with the hope that our week would continue to be snow-free. She also reminded those present that on Monday, January 19, Watauga County will not have school in celebration of Mt. Luther King Junior Day.  

As the Student Board of Education Representative alongside senior Athena Elliot, we are responsible for presenting a student report. For the student report this month, we covered the high school's production of Matilda the Musical, the high school's choir and band,  exams, DECA’s district competition, and Mr. WHS. Watauga High School students have been working so hard, and that hard work was presented and recognized by us at this board meeting. 

During this Board meeting, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Childers, and County Commissioner Braxton Eggers recognized several Watauga sports teams that had great accomplishments during their season. The teams they recognized were our Men’s Soccer team and our Football team. Men’s soccer was recognized for being named the Northwestern Conference Champions for the second year in a row, and football was recognized for their undefeated 15-0 season that led them to being the NCHSAA 6A State Champions. Several members of these teams were recognized for their own personal achievements during the season as well.

These teams have worked extremely hard all season, and the School Board and Community are immensely proud of them. 

After recognizing all of these sports teams at Watauga High School, Tracy Markland Tamara Stamey's niece and Ms. Miller presented the NBPTS Tamara Stamey Memorial Fund Scholarship to four deserving teachers in the County. Tamara Stamey was a lifelong employee of Watauga Highschool and in her honor, her family created this scholarship to help fund teachers working towards their National Board Certification. The recipients of this scholarship were Jackie Blow, Carrie Boone, Courtney Hicks, and Sunnee Freed. 

A multitude of teachers were also recognized for receiving their National Board Certification for the first time and for maintaining their National Board Certification. All initial candidates were fully funded this year when working towards their National Board Certification, where they complete three major portfolios and multiple tests. Our teachers who continue to maintain their certificates also act as mentors for initial candidates to aid them throughout the process. 

Teachers recognized for the first time receiving their certification:

Haylee Bare

Libby Diehl

Terry Gunnell-Beck- Tamara Stamey Recipient 

Shelby Hatten - Tamara Stamey Recipient 

Nick Lavender

Kirsten Hodges- Tamara Stamey Recipient 

Natasha Lyons

Meredith Madison

Maura Miller

Sierra Owens 

Kelly Rush

Danielle Thompson

Sam Vining - Tamara Stamey Recipient 

Teachers recognized for maintenance of their certification

Angela Bland 

Toni Berke

Corrie Freeman

Carla Greene

Amanda Stamper

Kathryn Yansick

Claire Jenson

Sarah Miller

Erin Patterson

Robin Smith

Lara Whiteside

After these recognitions, the Board also recognized the NC Northwest Region Teacher of the Year Gina Holste. Gina Holste is a reading specialist at Valle Crucis School and has dedicated year after year to her students and this county. 

Since no one signed up for public comment, the Board moved right into the consent agenda. The consent agenda was moved by Board member Dr. Jay Fenwick and then seconded by Board member  Charlotte Mizelle Lloyd. After the consent agenda was passed, the board moved into its WCS Technology Update. 

Dr. Schleede began the technology update by discussing the technology we have in our classroom and what they are looking to update and improve in future years. Currently, in the County, we have 5,857 Chromebooks in circulation, which is more than last year due to the loss of our ITF positions. They are also looking at getting every teacher in every school a flat panel in the next couple of years, with Valle Crucis’s new school being completely equipped with them. The goal for the technology team in Watauga County is to provide teachers with technology that meets instructional needs. Hence, the demand for flat panels. 

This year, Go Guardian was incorporated into our County, and so far this year, 193 Smart alerts have occurred. These Smart Alerts are sent directly to the Principals so they can review them. This was incorporated to protect students and make sure they are not on dangerous sites. Most of the cameras in the county are updated and new, with the high school having 98 cameras in the school, the most in the county. 

This year, there has also been an increase in Help Desk tickets at the high school, meaning our Help Desk workers have a larger workload. After the WCS technology update, Dr. Eberle moved into one of his last policy readings before retirement with the 2nd read of our policies from the last meeting. 

The batch of policies up for a second read was the last of the 2025 summer special updates. When policies go up for second reading, the Board is required to take action on them. All of these policies were passed pretty quickly and altogether with Board member Alison Idol motioning and Board member Adam Hege seconding. The policies passed included:

3210: Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials

3510: Religious-Based Exemptions from School Programs

4120: Domicile or Residence Requirements 

4318: Use of Wireless Communication Devices

5024/6127/7266: Emergency Epinephrine Delivery Systems

5070/7350: Public Records - Retention, Release, and Disposition

6125: Administering Medicines to Students 

6340: Transportation Service/Vehicle Contracts

7100: Recruitment and Selection of Personnel

7820: Personnel Files

4400-R(1): Attendance - High School

There were no changes to these policies, but policy 4318 will be reported back to the State Board of Education every year at the end of the calendar year. The fall batch of policies was also substantive for first reading. These policies included:

3400: Evaluation of Student Progress

3460: Graduation Requirements

3101: Dual Enrollment

4050: Children of Military Families

4120: Domicile or Residence Requirements

4240/7312: Child Abuse and Related Threats to Child Safety

5150/7313: Reporting to External Agencies

4010: Student and Parent Grievance Procedure

7210: Grievance Procedure for Employees

1325/7215: Confidential Information

All of these policies had language and legal changes to them, with very little new information.  On the topic of changes, the Board announced that they just passed the calendar for next year, which included the change to have semester one exams before winter break, meaning that school will start earlier in August and end earlier in May. 

After this announcement, basic Board operations and comments, the January school board meeting was adjourned.