BY KARISSA MILLER

The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education voted Monday night to tweak its meeting schedule for the 2021-2022 school year.

In the past, the board has held one committee of the whole meeting and one full board meeting each first and second Monday of the month at 6 p.m. On months where there are holidays, the meetings have been combined and started at 3 p.m.

Under the new plan, which the board unanimously adopted, the board will eliminate the combined meetings altogether. This means that in months where there are out-of-school holidays there will only be one board meeting.

In the past, some of the combined meetings can run long into the night, with lengthy discussions about small items. The move to eliminate the combined meeting will ease the workload of school officials and administrators, who often prepare presentations in advance for the meetings.

Superintendent Jeff James also mentioned that it would be a good idea to hold two meeting in September and March. Those were listed as one-meeting months on Option B.

Following this recommendation, the board voted to approve holding committee of the whole meetings on September 7, 2021 and March 1, 2022, at 6 p.m. These will be the only months where the meeting takes place on a Tuesday.

There was some discussion about whether or not there would be a conflict since the county commissioners also have their meetings on Tuesday. However, Vice Chairman Todd Carver explained that it was only a conflict when the school board needed to use the commissioners’ meeting space.

All meeting will take place at Career Academy and Technical School, 350 Old Murdock Road in Troutman, in the board’s meeting room.

Also, during the meeting, the superintendent asked the board to approve a temporary access easement with some stipulations for property that is adjacent to the property on East Monbo Road that is part of the South Iredell High School campus.

“It behooves us to be protected,” James said, explaining that right now they are locked into a three-year agreement.

Prom Plan

The board also listened to a plan to have a senior formal event in lieu of a prom.

“Graduation and prom are two life events that you can’t just go back and do,” James told the board.

He mentioned that many parents and students have asked the district for some kind of prom event this school year.

The senior formals will follow safety protocols and guidelines outlined by the CDC and no food will be served buffet style.

According to Executive Director of Secondary Education Kelly Cooper, the senior formal events that were scheduled for April 16 for all three of the early college high schools were cancelled due to lack of participation.

Cooper said that early college students who are interested in attending a formal event still can. The district is working with the high schools to allow them to participate there.

The high school formal events are as follows:

♦ North Iredell – Carrigan Farms, April 30
♦ West Iredell – Carrigan Farms, May 7
♦ Lake Norman – LNHS School Commons, May 1
♦ Statesville High – Crawford Farms, May 14
♦ South Iredell – Carrigan Farms, May 21