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This school year’s first Dare County Board of Education meeting was held Monday, August 14, 2024 at the Dare County Administration Building Board Room.

During the afternoon open session, Dare County Schools Superintendent Stephen Basnight advised that two Dare County schools, Manteo Middle School and First Flight High School, have been randomly selected to participate in this year’s North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey.

The online survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, looks at the prevalence of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, access, knowledge and attitudes, media and advertising, as well as peer influence associated with tobacco use. All of the collected information play key roles in understanding the scope of youth tobacco use and vaping among North Carolina youth and can be used to develop teen-focused tobacco prevention and control programs.

Since 1999 students are selected every two years to participate with no more than 75 students from any selected school asked to participate. In 2022, 2,043 middle school and 1,849 high school students responded to the survey.

According to the state’s most recent numbers, traditional public schools had 1,358,003 students in 2023-24. The North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey fact sheet estimates there are 18,600 middle school and 57,300 high school current tobacco users in North Carolina.

The survey, which is exempted from the Parents Bill of Rights law, does not require active parent permission and is being conducted with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each participating school that successfully completes the survey will receive a $300 direct payment.

Basnight also commended the county school bus maintenance department with scoring an overall low of 12.25 in a recent North Carolina Department of Public Instruction school bus safety inspection. The lower the score the fewer defects found during the inspection. The average score for school bus maintenance programs in the eastern region last year was 33.94.

Among the other afternoon’s reports, presentations and routine business was a brief After-School Enrichment Program history with a review of past charges for the service and the justification for a recent rate increase, an overview of a teaching and learning facilitator program currently each elementary and middle school, a vote to release previously approved Dare Early College funds, approval of an agreement with Oakley Collier Architects selecting that firm for future facility design services, and a vote to accept a Dare County ABC Board donation of 10 large screen monitors to be used for information display at schools.

Under unfinished business the second reading for proposed policy manual updates passed with revisions to meet legal requirements and/or cross-references. Among them were:
● Policy 3420: Student Promotion and Accountability with recommended updates from the N.C. School Boards Association and new section to address students receiving high school credit for courses taken while studying abroad, reference to three-year high school graduation, updates to legal references, an appeal process for the decision to promote or retain a student, promotion standards for students with disabilities.
● Policy 3460: Graduation Requirements with required N.C. School Boards Association updates based on G.S. 115C-83.31(c) and SBE.
● Policy GRAD-001.
● Policy 3620: Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations with N.C. School Boards Association recommended updates.
● Policy 7130: Licensure with a new Section F regarding mandatory reporting of misconduct.

Under new business, there were five policy manual updates presented to the full board for a first reading review which have undergone revisions based on changes to legal requirements and/or cross-references. They include:
● Policy 3220: Technology in the Educational Program with Artificial Intelligence language updates.
● Policy 3225/4312/7320: Technology Responsible Use covering general student and employee behavior standards, privacy guidelines, prohibits unauthorized or unlawful activities, prohibits unauthorized use of private wifi hotspots, and prohibits staff and student communication through personal websites.
● Policy 5015: School Volunteers with volunteer guidelines.
● Policy 5020: School Visitor guidelines and procedures for disruptive or dangerous behavior on school grounds.
● Policy 3320: School Trips with recommended updates from the N.C. School Boards Association provides for private trips outside of the United States and clarifies that such trips are not school-sponsored

At the end of business the board adjourned until its September 16 meeting at 5 p.m. in the Dare County Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on Marshall C Collins Drive in Manteo.

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