The Pender County Board of Education met June 9 for its regular monthly meeting. After closed session, the board approved the personnel report and moved into the public portion of the agenda. The meeting included recognition of the district’s Operations Employees of the Quarter, public comments related to SEATECH enrollment, and a superintendent’s report that highlighted the end of the school year, summer camps, summer feeding, and upcoming district planning dates.
During the information agenda, board members reviewed a first reading of proposed updates to multiple policies in the 4000 and 1000 series. These updates covered a wide range of student, family, and school operations topics, including equal educational opportunities, translation and interpretation supports for families, protections for pregnant and parenting students and employees, staff-student boundaries, support for military-connected students, enrollment and residency requirements, homeless student protections, school safety, service animals, concussion procedures, communicable diseases, parent involvement, grievance procedures, staff development, and nondiscrimination requirements. In general, the proposed changes were described as updates needed to align local policy with current state law, federal law, and State Board of Education guidance.
The board also approved the accountability model for Pender Innovative Learning Academy. This action determines how the school will be measured under the state’s alternative accountability system rather than the standard school performance model used for traditional schools. The board selected Option B for PILA, along with the three-year insufficient data option, which helps establish how student outcomes and school performance will be evaluated and reported within that alternative setting.
Action items also included the board’s approval to direct the superintendent and staff to prepare a school construction bond request (2028) for county commissioners. Board members said the request is intended to formally communicate the district’s need for additional school capacity and future planning as growth continues across the county. They also noted that a bond process takes time and involves multiple steps, including review by county commissioners, the Local Government Commission, and ultimately voters.
The board also took action on several items connected to the J.H. Lea Elementary and Middle School project. Members approved Bordeaux Pay Application #23 and MBP Pay App #9. In simple terms, those pay applications are the district’s regular monthly approvals for construction and project management work that has already been completed and billed as part of the new school project. The board also approved a set of change orders for J.H. Lea. Change orders are adjustments to project work during construction and can include added features, code-required fixes, utility work, design revisions, or reconciliations of allowances and contingency funds. This month’s list included road widening work tied to NCDOT, added protective covers at drop-off areas, revisions to Family and Consumer Sciences and Exceptional Children spaces, drainage updates, electrical additions, and several other project items. According to the meeting materials, these items were covered through existing contingencies or allowances rather than adding cost beyond the established contract structure.
Another action item was the approval of the district’s summer Chromebook purchase. Technology Services recommended buying 1,000 student Chromebooks, along with Google Chrome OS education licenses and related deployment services, as part of the district’s seven-year student device refresh cycle. Staff noted that the district manages a large student device fleet and completes thousands of repairs in-house each year. The purchase is intended to help maintain dependable student access to devices across the school system.
The board also approved a small adjustment to the three-tier transportation schedule in the Topsail feeder pattern. Under the approved option, high school and elementary school times will stay the same, while middle school start and dismissal times will move five minutes later. District staff said the change is meant to help with traffic flow and routing challenges while avoiding a broader shift to earlier start times.
Other action items approved during the meeting included facility use for Renovation Church at Topsail High School, the continuing budget resolution for 2026-2027, and the surplus vehicle update. Board members closed the meeting by congratulating the district’s recent graduates and recognizing Superintendent Dr. Brad Breedlove for recently being named Regional Superintendent of the Year.