School Board Meeting Summary - March 9, 2026

A photo of Charlotte Rosenbalm, a sophomore at Watauga High School being recognized for her success at the state wrestling competition. Charlotte is joined by her parents, Andy and Betsy, along with her sisters, Cora and Caroline. Dr. Strickler, Dr. Alexander, and Charlotte's coaches are also pictured here. 

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

The monthly school board meeting was this Monday, March 9. 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 on the multitude of awards Bailey Little, Director of Communications and Community Relations, received for her work throughout the county. Like Athena and I, Dr. Alexander also presented about the high school schedule along with the work administrators, the curriculum committee, and so many others have completed together to try to solve the puzzle of the master schedule. After her report, it was time for the students to report. 

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 our work with students and administration to try and solve some of the scheduling issues. We specifically covered the A/B pairings and AP Bio needing to be an every day class instead of an A/B class. We also covered the success of our DECA chapter, NSTEM (National Stem Honors Society) students, and MUN (Model UN) students at their competitions and conferences this past month. This month the annual Elyane Bishop “Love Run” was a huge success and raised $1500, which was also covered in our report. Watauga High School students and staff have been working so hard, and that work was presented and recognized by us at this board meeting. 

The Special Recognition section of this meeting began with Coach McDonough being recognized for being placed in the NCTFCC Hall of Fame. Coach McDonough has been serving our community for years as a track and cross country coach. Charlotte Rosenbalm, a sophomore, was recognized by Dustin Kerley, Watauga High Schools AD and Mr. Terreyl Williams, the wrestling coach for her achievements throughout the wrestling season. Charlotte Rosenbalm was the first person from Watauga to place at the state level for wrestling since 2014.  Dr. Alexander, Dr. Childers, and County Commissioner Braxton Eggers then recognized several Watauga sports teams that had great accomplishments during their season and at their state meets. These teams included Watauga’s Women's and Men's Swim teams and the Women's Indoor Track and Field team. These teams also had a number of individuals who placed at the state level. 

After recognizing all of these sports teams at Watauga High School, the Public Comment section of the meeting was introduced. Public comment allows community members to speak directly to the board and express any concerns they may have. The following people signed up for public comment:

Piper Corey

Angela Spellman 

Clayton Thorton

Seth Norris

Anasofia Salinas and Lilla Heath 

Rebecca Billette and Ariail Lewis

Piper Corey spoke about the major cuts to the cosmetology classes. As a cosmetology student, Corey has had the opportunity to work towards her certification and join the workforce after graduation. Next year, only 7 students will be allowed to move on to Cosmetology 2 from a Cosmetology 1 class of 22. Corey explained how detrimental this decision was for the students in these classes and expressed how these cosmetology classes have set her up for success. Angela Spellan and Seth Norris used their time to reiterate Piper's message and represent their children and the entirety of the cosmetology department. 

Clayton Thorton used his time during public comment to discuss policy 4004/5021. This policy restricts ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapists from providing services at the school during the school day. They can attend IEP meetings, meetings related to students, and can provide recommendations with parent consent but cannot be physically in the classroom. Mr. Thorton has a child with special needs at Hardin Park who has benefitted from having an ABA therapist in the classroom. Mr. Thornton expressed his concern with this policy and the possible effects it could have on his child's growth. 

A group of seniors including Anasofia Salinas, Lilla Heath, Rebecca Billette, and Arial Lewis presented to the Board their belief that Caldwell classes and AP classes should be weighted differently. These students brought up how most out of state schools, as well as the majority of private colleges, do not accept Caldwell classes. They also mentioned the differences in rigor between AP and Caldwell classes. These students presented two solutions of either lowering Caldwell classes weight from a 5.0 to a 4.5, the same as honors classes, or increasing the quality points of AP classes to be a 5.5. 

After this eventful open comment section the board moved to pass the consent agenda. This motion was moved by Alison Idol and seconded by Adam Hege. Though this passed quickly Dr. Alexander stopped to recognize the two new positions that were passed through the consent agenda. One of which being Ms. Jennifer Wandler as the new Director of Student Services and the other being Dr. Brian Bettis as the new Chief Academic Officer. Through the passing of the consent agenda, policy 4004/5021 was also rescinded in favor of the development of an administrative procedure. This was the same policy about which Mr. Clayton Thorton spoke during public comment earlier in the meeting. 

With a longer than normal consent agenda, the Board moved right into item 10 on the agenda: adoption of a multi-year instructional contract with I-Ready for 4 more years. Mr. Phil Norman presents that the elementary schools across the county have expressed their positive experiences using this program to measure students’ progress and to assign them work to improve.  

Dr. Alexander then updated the board on her work to push for an extended instructional day for next year. She described how staff in the county have been surveyed and that they are working through the data to see the major concerns of staff across the board. They are then using this to try to find a way to help ease these concerns and have every staff member ready and prepared for an extended schedule next year. 

The Board then moved into the Policy Section of the meeting by going over the policies from the last meeting that are now up for second reading. The following policies are:

3220: Technology in the Educational Program

3225/4312/7320: Technology Responsible Use

3226/4205: Internet Safety

3227/7322: Web Page Development

4270/6145: Concussion and Head Injury

6310: Organization of Student Transportation Services

7910: Retirement

There were two small grammatical changes to these policies from first to second reading so the Board passed them quickly with Idol moving the motion and Hege seconding it. There was one policy up for first reading, which normally requires no action, but was passed quickly by the board. This policy was: 6301: Classified Staff Bus Driving Requirements

This policy states that every classified staff member must have a CDL( a bus drivers license) and drive a bus. Staff can temporarily have an exemption from this policy with proper documentation and approval. 

The Board then moved into board operations where Dr. Childers nominated Alison Idol to submit to the NCSBA Legislative Committee to represent Watauga County. After these operations, and Board comments the March school board meeting was adjourned.