[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6566188,"mediaKeyId","3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6","parentId",3206807,"title","Parents press board on volunteer recognition and ACT test administration during public comment","audioSeconds",699,"startMs",5580000,"endMs",6279000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6&start=5580&end=6279","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6/thumbnail_5580000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6566188/North-Carolina/Parents-press-board-on-volunteer-recognition-and-ACT-test-administration-during-public-comment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566188-a62484ac963059efb5bdb6035103e91a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771105690&Signature=Dn6oTW~zVkxyNvaWiXdWJf3-Bw9xgpJT2mDIg41P28dS2kDlE79w0vAwTrzMa1wyo5CxAKry~wFImzaGzoOesDmxTr16IpzIc0A3FgaiscRjMm5M9s6gCiAmfSCYaObMNLqLe1H8GWdL-89UbMi4U7iCK6osAU3rSasYbCPpq1e-v1byXUXPFP9VYSnZJynnuFVs8XJHWBJIWBsJvAlUjFHyg7AJpCOw4jylLO0Gj8tkXAnFKMTGyBuqXcXz3Od-u5s2ymZNTUSKz~Vlj5nFyvvAfT0pHtL-CgIt-NA-6FSGvGHhohaRSWqHE3S-UUt6~mtcXb3nEXUXhx-oi7H96A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lexington City Schools","date","2025-05-07T01:58:26.677Z","article","Two community members told the Lexington City Schools Board of Education during public comment that the district should do more to recognize volunteers and that a recent ACT administration at Lexington Senior High School had problems that may have affected students’ scores.

Jennifer Leahy, a long-time volunteer who listed multiple volunteer roles across district schools, asked the board to create a Volunteer of the Year award and to recognize volunteers more visibly. \"I ask you to please make a Volunteer of the Year award and give it to Jim Fuller Allen,\" Leahy said, recounting years of work on school projects and events.

Margaret Loda, a parent, described her concern about this spring's ACT administration. Loda said her daughter and other students experienced disruptions during the test — including a proctor who had not previously administered the exam, people entering and exiting during the first 15 minutes, and talking in the room. Loda said she emailed Principal and Mr. Houlihan to request the district void her daughter's test because of the conditions and that Mr. Houlihan told the family the situation would not be considered a misadministration and that the student could retake the test but would need to do so on her own. \"My main complaint is that she could retake the test… My main complaint is that she felt he blew her off when I spoke to him later asking to have her test voided due to bad testing circumstances,\" Loda said.

The board did not take immediate action during the meeting; Loda said she had already contacted school officials. The transcript records the parent exchanges and the district staff response recounted by the parent, but no formal remedy or follow-up motion was made in open session during the meeting.

Ending: The public comment period concluded without board response on either request; the board's public comment rules noted that board members would not respond to public comment speakers during the meeting but that district procedures exist for personnel or program complaints.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING - May 06 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Two community members told the Lexington City Schools Board of Education during public comment that the district should do more to recognize volunteers and that a recent ACT administration at Lexington Senior High School had problems that may have affected students’ scores.","taxTitle","Lexington City Schools, School Districts, North Carolina","taxId",60572,"location","North Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566192,"District survey: roughly half of staff responded; certified and classified staff report schools are good places to work",383,10209000,10592000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6&start=10209&end=10592","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6/thumbnail_10209000.jpg","/articles/6566192/North-Carolina/District-survey-roughly-half-of-staff-responded-certified-and-classified-staff-report-schools-are-good-places-to-work","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566192-583e9e11cfca9126b6b6ab7a95efaaeb/orig.mp4?Expires=1771105690&Signature=UD1XTCZDtIRjGLxO04EMQvlOAgw8XmRiEcn7gKoJYf6PMCN7jY7lbfBlpSEAAVv7ekxkWJFxc1Dz~fbFKT5M3glazabRAd32GE7XoaFRN5UJTtX7sEJXl63chHZE0pWGo5EhcU5YwZYCasCAbnnffTd92AzMPEaycxr1-FLwnIlIzPDH-SCLLhMm2sP~M2vxR33xIKrALzCzkUEa2xWmzRQJh9QnbC7lZfJ5MmvlxARkH9xzo~2K0kfXrAzj6gyj-93uP267YB-SSsZLO89dl~nIdehU-PfEOxa-CMS4eUXU9nWMpMf-gGLso1IgrjIsOIN~dg8yS1KLhz-8abukXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","District staff presented results of an internally administered employee working conditions survey and outlined next steps to improve participation and alignment with the state teacher working conditions survey.

Dr. Carroll, who presented the survey results to the board, said the district received 230 responses out of an estimated 500 staff members — roughly a 40–50% response rate. \"We had 230 responses from staff. That represents approximately half of our staff members,\" Dr. Carroll said.

The survey mirrored many questions from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey and included separate tracks for certified, classified, and central-office staff so officials could disaggregate results. When school-level responses were combined as \"agree,\" \"strongly agree\" and neutral grouped as positive, 92.2% of certified staff indicated their school is a good place to work and learn. For classified staff — which had not previously had a district baseline — 94.5% rated their school or department positively.

Dr. Carroll told the board the district will refine the instrument to better match the state survey and will remove a neutral option in favor of a not-applicable choice to elicit clearer agreement/disagreement. The district plans to distribute the full classified survey in February of 2026 to create a consistent baseline; certified staff will take the state teacher working conditions survey with a shorter central-office survey to capture district support feedback.

Board members asked about response rates and ways to increase participation. Dr. Carroll said improving participation is a priority and staff will report back on outreach measures to boost response rates.

Ending: The board will review refined survey materials and additional response-rate strategies before the next annual administration.","A staff survey of working conditions drew 230 responses (about half of district staff). Certified staff responses were higher than the district’s goal when including neutral responses; classified staff results will serve as a baseline for future goals. The district plans refinements and a push to increase participation.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6566197,"Board approves reading licenses and five-year Toshiba copier contract after discussion on Title I spending",1657,10689000,12346000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6&start=10689&end=12346","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3206807-ca49d080d557d6bd896e4e8b7f8db5a6/thumbnail_10689000.jpg","/articles/6566197/North-Carolina/Board-approves-reading-licenses-and-five-year-Toshiba-copier-contract-after-discussion-on-Title-I-spending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566197-fa39a26c1dc15d5492d0d77cd7081998/orig.mp4?Expires=1771105690&Signature=BbKG4EaUIYh3lR2KbBmZMb-28dcpwCo5tKooFYBcQcWpAfJ4VJC7bQGpjBrtVlX7XiCiPPd0oEYrcDDJ6Jf16oA9Hn6ucUuFk65ZxfNDsuu70m75N19~AiNxotCDG7IKRrsstu9OYNJcSYXzXcwafZawwxS259GWzdTWdsIHTkf9bnq4hs8bzOKBTVW-IjTa8gTEgzJJjDQ2mOTtI2DQcXhoAU4i5s4bwKw0T7JLvqd91SzBvMuZr7sYeLlapcbmT9EFWx2uVfDL934tji6vfSFAUcn~NiVyzAl-r1WfR-hIJzELxFvfrWklIh1ezdqOTi-rfVsvMvWpO-cuM04ywQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Lexington City Schools Board of Education approved requests to expand digital reading licenses and district instructional subscriptions and voted to enter a five-year copier contract with Toshiba after members pressed staff for cost and impact details.

Board members voted to authorize three instructional items — expansions or renewals for American Reading Company (ARC), Beable and Renaissance — and separately approved a five-year contract with Toshiba for district copiers. The instructional items were described in board documents as purchases and license renewals for the 2025–26 school year; staff said some funds come from Title I allocations with carryover limits.

The purchase most discussed was described by staff as $35,200 for additional digital licenses tied to the American Reading Company platform. Lee Jones, a district staff member presenting the items, told the board the purchase is timed to ensure materials and professional development are in place for the Aug. 7 start of the 2025–26 school year. \"We were a little bit behind this request for instructional materials,\" Jones said, explaining the district wanted subscriptions in hand before summer training.

Board member Miss McDuffie pressed staff for more transparency about the scale and effectiveness of multiple reading-related programs, saying the district had recently approved large sums and the board needed clearer outcome data. \"It's a lot of money, hun,\" Miss McDuffie said when referencing prior ARC-related spending, noting a previous ARC-related purchase in the meeting record of about $67,000.

Superintendent Dr. Hardy and other staff replied that the ARC expansion followed an incubation at Charles England Elementary School and that early local assessments showed reading gains. Dr. Hardy said the incubation showed a Lexile increase for participating students and that staff had seen improvements on the district assessment (IRLA) for students participating in the 100-book challenge. \"We have seen students on their reading assessments … 23 percent of those students have actually shown an increase in their ability to read,\" Dr. Hardy said, adding the expansion was recommended by Principal Gaylord and classroom teachers.

Staff also told the board that Title I carryover rules and deadlines influenced the timing of purchases: unused Title I allocations risk being lost if not obligated by end-of-year deadlines. The board asked staff to provide clearer, itemized cost and outcome data going forward so members could evaluate whether to scale particular interventions across more schools.

On the copier contract, staff said the district issued an RFP, received multiple vendor responses, narrowed to three finalists and recommended Toshiba based on cost and service references. The board approved entering a five-year agreement to replace expiring equipment before the next school year.

Votes at a glance
- Instructional resources (ARC, Beable, Renaissance): Motion to approve instructional recommendations carried (mover/second: not specified in public record). Outcome: approved.
- District copier contract (Toshiba, five-year term): Motion carried (mover/second: not specified in public record). Outcome: approved.

Both approvals appeared in open session; the board took those actions before adjourning into closed session later in the meeting.

Ending: Board members said staff will return with additional, more detailed cost breakdowns and outcome data in future board materials so members can track whether district investments produce measurable reading gains.","The Lexington City Schools Board approved $35,200 in digital reading licenses and districtwide subscriptions as well as a five-year copier contract with Toshiba after discussion about Title I carryover rules, program results at Charles England Elementary and transparency on prior purchases.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Parents press board on volunteer recognition and ACT test administration during public comment

District survey: roughly half of staff responded; certified and classified staff report schools are good places to work

Board approves reading licenses and five-year Toshiba copier contract after discussion on Title I spending