Down County is adding Pamlico County School Board meetings to our regular coverage. School board meetings occur on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:00pm in the Pamlico County Central Office Board Room, located at 507 Anderson Drive, Bayboro, NC, unless otherwise specified.

They are open to the public.

You can also watch these meetings livestreamed on the Pamlico County Board of Education’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeKCcru6xvhhaIX_OH6e7IQ

Meeting agendas and supporting documents can be seen online here: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=36031507

Each meeting includes a segment celebrating good news.

Henry Rice, Executive Director of Administrative Services and Operations, announced the Rotary Club Students of the Month from both the middle and high schools.

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The first was Levi McCullough, a sixth grader at Pamlico County Middle School. Levi is one of two sixth graders to land a spot on the school’s basketball team. He was praised for his kindness, generosity, and willingness to lend a hand.

Emonii Curtis is a freshman at Pamlico County High School and this month’s high school Rotary Student of the Month. Emonii is described as a kind and calm presence in the classroom and praised for her hard work, organization, and the care and effort she puts into everything she does.

The school board also honored Coralene Ellis, who won a QuestBridge scholarship, one of 400 worldwide. She plans to attend Princeton.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction sent awards to Pamlico County Primary School and Pamlico County High School in recognition of the schools’ academic growth in the ‘24-’25 school year.

Dr. Jeremy Johnson announced the release of the 2025–2030 Strategic Plan. The plan reflects the input of educators, families, students and community partners to define priorities for the next five years. The plan covers future efforts to raise teacher pay, test scores and other metrics.

Included is a rendering of a planned Pamlico County Schools Campus. Administrators hope to secure funds from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund. If funding is received, the district will be able to retire and demolish Fred A. Anderson Elementary, build an addition to Pamlico County Primary School, and add new baseball and softball fields for the middle school.

“Our vision is to be the best school system in eastern North Carolina, and there’s no reason why we can’t do that,” said Johnson.

Johnson also reported negative behaviors were down and test scores were up at the high school. The middle school has reduced major referrals and is working on behavior expectations. 

Educators in the district are continuing to add credentials. Two pre-K TAs, Marcee Lovick and Ingrid Beasley, have earned their Child Development Associate Credentials. 

Two teachers have returned to the district: Susan Howard has returned to teach fourth grade and Kelly Jones has returned to teach sixth grade language arts. Jennifer Hacker has returned to teach Natural Language Acquisition.

Ten individuals have participated in the substitute teacher training program. It is hoped this will address the substitute teacher shortage. 

Public Information Office Elizabeth Harwick announced “Find Your Fit, Build Your Future,” a six-week program from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) highlighting the pathways and opportunities offered through North Carolina schools. Pamlico County will be working with media partners to spotlight students, staff and programs.

“Each week focuses on a different aspect of public education, college readiness, student sports, global learning, arts and innovation,” said Harwick. The goal of the whole initiative is to consistently tell the story of public schools and the incredible work that's already being done in public schools.”

NCDPI says the program will help people familiarize themselves with public school options that include early college, magnet schools, and career and technical education courses. 

Henry Rice presented new information about the construction of the consolidated middle and high school. Rice says construction is on schedule and the new building will be ready for students when the 2026 school year starts in August. 

“The building will be complete by May 31,” he said. “It’s only 135 days from now. Four and a half months. Then, we’ll have demolition of the high school next summer.”

Milestones accomplished include the installation of a transformer to carry power to the new building and sidewalks on the eastern side of the building. They’ve also replaced sidewalk in the long jump area to be ready for the upcoming track season.

The rest of the geowells should be complete within two to three weeks. Paint and drywall are complete or nearing completion. The scoreboard and baseball field area should be done soon.

Once the new school is completed and Pamlico County Middle School is fully vacated, state law outlines the process for disposing of the property. First, the Board of Education must adopt a resolution stating that the property is surplus and unnecessary for public school use. Then, the property must be offered to Pamlico County to purchase. If the Board of Commissioners opts to purchase the property, a mutually agreed upon price will be reached. If the commissioners decline to purchase the property, the Board of Education must dispose of the property. It could be exchanged for other real estate or sold at public auction, through a sealed bid process, or through a negotiated offer with advertisement and an upset bid. The school district’s attorney recommends the negotiated offer with advertisement and upset bid option.

Lottery Repair and Renovation Funds were used for painting projects at Fred Anderson Elementary. The total cost was $18,300.

The school district recovered $3,000 in payments from parents for damaged student technology devices. The payments will be used to offset the cost of repairs.

An HVAC unit at the central office broke. The Repair and Renovation Fund specifically prohibits spending on buildings besides school buildings. The $8,573 cost was covered by the capital fund.

Budget reports are given quarterly. This quarter’s report shows spending in most areas is on target, with around 48% of annual funds spent. Spending is higher than anticipated in two areas of the budget: legal and charter school costs.

The state provides supplemental funds to increase pay for instructional staff. This fund is limited by the state to staff that meet specific criteria, and can only be paid to teachers, nurses, guidance counselors, librarians or school psychologists. TAs are not eligible for the funds.

The funds are allocated based on years of service. The teachers that have been with Pamlico County for 0-5 years receive $3,150; teachers in the 6-10 year bracket, $3,550; 11-14, $3,700, and 15 years plus receive $3,750.

If teachers come in after the start of the school year, they are still eligible for the fund. However, teachers who leave before the funds are allocated are not eligible even if they worked part of the school year.

School Board member Helen Gibbs raised the question of a teacher who left in December and expressed concerns about this individual not getting the funds. The board voted on whether to keep the fund as is or whether to revisit the allocation and prorate for teachers who have left the district. They voted 3 to 1 to keep the funding as is, with Gibbs dissenting.