BY KARISSA MILLER
The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education is expected to select a new chairperson when it meets on Monday afternoon.
Superintendent Jeff James will preside over the board until a new chair is elected to succeed former chair Kevin Angell, who resigned his seat following an altercation with board member Mike Kubiniec.
Following the selection of a new chairperson, the board will then vote to approve the agenda before moving into a closed session. The board will return into an open session at 6 p.m.
REGULAR AGENDA
Academic Calendars
During the 6 p.m. meeting, the board is expected to revisit and adopt an academic calendar for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years.
2026-2027 OPTIONS
Traditional Schools
♦ Option 1 (A): Traditional schools begin on August 12, 2026, and the last day of school is May 27, 2027. Option 1 allows high school students to take their final exams for their first semester courses before winter break. Students would attend school for 179 days.
♦ Option 2: Traditional schools begin on Aug. 24, 2026, and the last day of school is June 10, 2027. Students would attend school for 178 student days. The first semester would end after the winter break January 15.
Early Colleges
♦ Early colleges would begin on August 12, 2026, and end on May 27, 2027 for a total of 179 student days.
NB Mills Elementary
♦ N.B. Mills Elementary follows a year-round calendar. The school year begins August 3, 2026, and ends on June 18, 2027, for a total of 177 student days.
2027-2028 OPTIONS
Traditional Schools
♦ Option 1: Traditional Schools begin on August 11, 2027, and the last day of school is May 25, 2028. Option 1 allows high school students to take their final exams for their first semester courses before winter break. Students would attend school for 177 days.
♦ Option 2: Traditional Schools will begin on August 23, 2027, and the last day of school is June 8, 2028. Semester 1 would end after the Winter Break on January 14. Students would attend school for 176 student days.
Early Colleges
♦ Early Colleges will begin on August 11, 2027 and end on May 25, 2028 for a total of 177 student days. If Option 1 is chosen, the Traditional and Early College would be aligned for all days.
N.B. Mills Elementary
♦ N.B. Mills Elementary follows a Year-Round Calendar. The school year will begin August 2, 2027 and end on June 16, 2028 for a total of 177 student days.
The N.C. school calendar law requires public schools to start “no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26 and end by the Friday closest to June 11.”
School officials argue that the law forces students to take their final exams after winter break and causes misalignment for early college high school students.
As a result, many school districts have opted to ignore the school calendar in this past school years.
Tech Refresh
The other big item for the board to approve is the device refresh for the district. School officials said that traditional textbooks have been discontinued and that devices are used in their place.
The staff recommendation is for the district to use capital funds to lease 11,822 Chromebooks from Trafera for middle and high school students.
The lease term is 59 months (4 years and 11 months) with four annual payments of $1,337,577.50.
As part of this plan, 9th generation iPads currently used in middle schools will be repurposed for elementary schools, and approximately 4,000 8th-generation iPads as well as expired high school Dell laptops will be sold while they retain value.
The estimated resale value for these devices is $465,000.
OTHER BUSINESS
Also, during the meeting, the board will:
• Recognize student accomplishments, including: “I Voted” Sticker contest winners, Career Technical Education district winners, FBLA regional winners and winners of N.C. Cattleman’s Cattle Working Contest;
• Vote to accept Kevin Angell’s resignation;
• Vote to accept Prime Time Summer Camp Tuition costs;
• Vote to accept 2024-2025 audited financial statements;
• Vote to accept budget amendments;
• Vote to accept NCSBA Legislative Committee Applications; and
• Hear a report from board attorney regarding an I-SS school settlement.