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By Charlotte Smith

The Bladen County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 9, 2020. The Board members recognized spotlights and awards at the beginning of the meeting.

West Bladen High School Senior Beta Club members and Clarkton School of Discovery Junior Beta Club members; were recognized by the Bladen County Board of Education members.

West Bladen Junior, Cara Beth Lewis, was elected the 20-21 North Carolina State Senior Beta Club Secretary in February at the State Convention held in Greensboro. The West Bladen High School Beta Club members won awards in the following categories: Group Talent, Group Skit, Show Choir, Science, Digital Art, Language Arts, and Onsite Drawing. West Bladen students also received 10 Golden Tickets, and a Golden Key.

Students pictured with Mr. Glen McKoy are: Cara Beth Lewis, Hannah Kriner, Joshua Benson, Walter Baxley and Dylan Dove

Clarkton School of Discovery had about 57 students attend the Junior Beta Convention in February. Garrett Dunham, a 7th grader at CSD, was elected as the North Carolina Junior Beta Club Vice President at the State Convention in Greensboro in February. Garrett, and his fellow Betas brought home awards for his campaign skit. CSD students also won awards at the State Convention for Songfest, Group Talent, Solo/Duo/Trio, and received several Golden Tickets to perform at Nationals.

Some Bladen County Beta Club students are planning to attend the National Beta Club Convention in June in Fort Worth, Texas. The board has approved fundraising efforts for the trip.

Ms. Patricia Beasly, a Counselor at West Bladen High School, was recognized for receiving the 2019-2020 National College Board Counselor Program Recipient. The College Board Counselor Recognition Program honors the innovative middle and high school counselors who go the extra mile to expand opportunity for students—and who are seeing results.

Dr. Robert Taylor, Bladen County Schools’ Superintendant, recognized school board members for achievements and training they obtained with the North Carolina School Board Association.

School Board members Mr. Dennis Edwards and Mr. Gary Rhoda received a Certificate of Recognition for their School Board training for the 2018-2019 academic year. Mr. Vinston Rozier received the Diploma of Honor. Mr. Glenn McKoy, Board Vice-chair, received the Certificate of Merit. Mr. Roger Carroll, Board Chair, received the Award of Excellence.

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Last but not least, Dr. Taylor recognized the top three schools for attendance. Plainview Primary, Clarkton School of Discovery, and Bladen Early College High School were all recognized for their attendance records.

Other items and topics addressed at the meeting:

Mr. Berry Lewis, the Bladen County Board of Education representative from Bladenboro, was not in attendance at the meeting.

Three citizens addressed the board members. Mr. Otis Evans asked the board to consider naming the Bladenboro Middle School Gym after Coach Willis Nance, Jr. More information about this topic will be published in another article soon.

Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins addressed the board about repairing the roof at the school located in East Arcadia. She explained the gym roof was in desperate need of repair. More information about this topic will be published in another article shortly.

Mrs. Angie Wilkins Parnell addressed the board about needs for policies and procedures for bus drivers as well as all school officials. She also claimed the school misrepresented facts in a criminal investigation involving her child and another Bladen County Student. Read more about the incident in our article: Students Fighting Bypass Bladen County Schools’ Code of Conduct.

In a split vote, the board voted to approve the Safety Request for Proposal contingent upon the Bladen County Board of Commissioners’ approval for funding. Mr. McKoy made the motion for the support of the RFP with the stipulation, and Mr. Rouzer made the second. Board members, Mr. Chris Clark, Mr. Alan West, and Mr. Carroll all voted in favor of the motion made by Mr. McKoy. Mr. Corey Sinlgetary, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Rhoda voted against the proposal. More information about this topic will be published in another article in the near future.

Board members voted unanimously on the items of Staff Dress Code, Summer School Program, and Budget Amendments.

Other highly discussed topics to be addressed in future articles were student services and school maintenance issues.