BY KARISSA MILLER
The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education has a new chairman and vice chairman.
During Monday’s meeting, board members elected Kevin Angell, who represents District 2, as chair and Doug Knight, who represents District 6, as vice chair.
In a pair of 4 to 3 votes, Knight, Angell, Ronda Hoke and Cindy Haynes voted in support of the appointments. Brian Sloan, Anita Kurn and Mike Kubiniec were in favor of Sloan as chair and then vice as the vice chair.
Angell thanked Knight, the previous chair, and Haynes, the previous vice chair, for their leadership during the past year.
Angell currently serves as the executive director of the Children’s Homes of Iredell County, a nonprofit that focuses on providing children in foster care with a safe and nurturing environment.
“For 14 years of my career, I have worked for a board. I understand governance and have procedural knowledge of board operations, which I feel can bring structure, add value and help the board,” Angell said in an interview.
Angell, who describes himself as a “fair-minded person,” said the school system will continue on a positive path during his tenure as board chair.
“Our focus is to ensure I-SS’ strategic plan and goals, including things such as school performance, recruitment of highly qualified staff and all capital projects” are met, he said.
Angell said he was thankful for the confidence the majority of the board placed in his abilities to lead.
“I was the first person in my family to go to college. My parents dropped out of school. I haven’t really talked about my background a lot, but I pursued education in my own personal life and now have the opportunity to serve my community and be in a leadership role,” he said. “It’s an honor to bear witness to the work that it does. Not everyone is given this opportunity.”
Nine district schools closed to out-of-district students
The board unanimously approved a staff recommendation to close nine schools to out-of-district students for the 2026-2027 school year.
The recommendation is to restrict attendance to Troutman Elementary, Shepherd Elementary, South Iredell High School, Central Elementary, Lake Norman High School, Lakeshore Elementary, East Iredell Elementary, Troutman Middle School and Cool Spring Elementary. Only students who live in those schools’ districts will be allowed to attend.
Mark Shinkaruk, I-SS chief of technology, facility and maintenance, said the request was based on current enrollment trends and facility capacity to “ensure that our schools are able to effectively manage student populations and maintain a balanced, efficient distribution of resources.”
“We generally close a school when enrollment reaches 90 percent of building capacity,” Shinkaruk explained.
Lake Norman Elementary has been removed from the list because it has available capacity, he said. Opening this school to out-of-district students could help alleviate overcrowding at surrounding elementary schools.