Moore Schools remove Davis Center restrictions, tighten athletic eligibility

Moore County Schools approved changes to property and athletics and heard updates on buses and construction on Sept. 14, amid discussions over the Davis Community Center, the lack of municipal school funding, and teacher housing.

The board heard Member David Hensley’s exciting news about an earlier than expected launch of a foundation to create affordable housing for school staff. Hensley will present details on the affordable housing foundation at the Oct. 12 meeting.

Read Moore County Schools propose affordable teacher housing foundation.

The board agreed to sign over the deed for the historic Davis School, known as the Davis Community Center, for $10 to the county for the public sale of the property. The seven acres and the building had restrictions declaring that its use must benefit citizens and children. The board removed those restrictions.

Superintendent Jennifer Purvis said the Davis School’s limited acreage does not meet state requirements for building a school and selling the property would not adequately benefit the district, considering the manpower needed to sell the property. It was deeded to the school district in 1978. There was no discussion of listing the property with a realtor.

The board approved updating middle school athletic requirements to meet state law. All five middle school principals unanimously backed changing academic eligibility during the spring Athletic Director meeting. Effective Jan. 1, 2027, eligibility requires passing five of six classes, up from the current three of four core classes. The update complies with Lee County and NCDPI standards for the Lee and Moore middle school conference. State law allows local school boards to adopt stricter athletic eligibility.

Students will not be allowed to leave early and participate if their grades are not up to par.

In private schools, failing students participate in sports because they are not required to abide by state laws.

The board approved the purchase of two mini activity buses from Carolina Thomas for $182,197.66 using PRC 802 funds. The buses do not require CDLs.

Three informal bids were received by the district for two mini activity buses, one being White’s IC Bus for $181,000. Although White’s bid was lowest, staff favored Carolina Thomas since both buses are available now. The $1,197.66 price difference enables earlier delivery.

By the end of September, buses will arrive to support athletic teams and small groups at North Moore and Union Pines high schools.

Andy McCormick, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, reviewed 77 policies written by the district to be replaced with state-recommended policies. This was the first reading, and they will be read again at the Oct. meeting, and if needed, at the Nov. meeting before approval.

The members will review the policies and make suggestions to the policy committee. Purvis said because the district is adopting state policies, the board members needed to add their suggestions before approval.

View all the policies being updated here.

Conversation around Policy 3430 Duty Free Lunch Period expressed concern that all teachers benefit from a duty-free lunch, but Purvis said some schools did not have sufficient staff during student lunch periods, so teachers would be allowed a time other than the lunch period.

Concerning Policy 3200-R Media and Technology Selection and Reconsideration Procedures Member Stephen Johnson said he would like to have public input for book challenges for instructional and supplemental books and library books, but Purvis said it would take a lot of man-hours and the state provided recommendations.

Purvis said media specialists now had a protocol system for entering new books into the libraries, and they no longer accepted books shipped in a group.

Hensley said Policy 3450 Class Rankings needed to change wording that principals “may” to principals “will” select a valedictorian and salutatorian.

Concerning Policy 3400-R Evaluation of Student Progress, Member Pauline Bruno said she was against teachers awarding 50 points when a student actually made a zero.

“While students may receive a grade as low as 0 on any given assignment during a grading period, the lowest grade that may be awarded on the report card for a marking period is 50, except for the final nine (9) weeks of each term, in which the students’ earned grade will be posted,” the policy on student progress reads on Sept. 15, 2026.

McCormick said it was a longstanding practice and was put in place before he arrived to help freshmen integrate into high school. The 50-point award is supposed to be used only for the first nine weeks.

Purvis said the 50-point award for a low grade helped students pass because it was hard for students to catch up.

Bruno exemplified herself as a new hire, being terrible in the first nine weeks and being awarded another nine weeks of employment. She said in the real world, people were not rewarded for poor performance.

Member Kenneth Benway said the awarded points were a good reset idea.

Vice Chairperson Shannon Davis said the board needed to further discuss the awarded points for no work and poor work.

NCDPI Policy 7325 Video and Audio Recordings by Employees being adopted as recommended by the state, caught Hensley’s attention. “You guys should be prepared…this whole taking away the employee’s right to record conversations in a single consent state. [NC allows recording conversations when one person knows it is recorded.] How do you know when you need to protect yourself? It seems it could be used by an administrator in a nefarious manner.”

Bus Drivers

Since the notice of the increased bus driver pay, the district had 29 applications, 15 are in onboarding, 11 are registered for driving classes, only one was licensed and ready.

On Aug. 3, the transportation department sought approval to increase bus driver pay starting at $20 per hour, adjusting the entire scale to reflect driver responsibilities and ensure competitive wages.

The district has seven vacant routes. There are no substitute bus drivers.

Hensley suggested that they provide free or low-cost daycare for bus drivers’ children as a recruiting tool.

Carthage Elementary School

When school ends for summer break in 2027, construction will begin on the new Carthage Elementary School (CES). The delay is due to rerouting infrastructure interrupting services and safety concerns. Some students will be accommodated in modular classrooms in fall 2027.

Johnson said he was worried about Cameron and West End elementary schools because he believes the same thing that happened with Carthage will happen with these in eight to ten years.

Sports Realignment

Dr. Chad Hill, Assistant Director for Student Support Services, explained that the NCHSAA realignment is based on student enrollment for four-year cycles. Starting in 2025-26, North Carolina shifted from four to eight classifications by removing enrollment multipliers and basing classification on raw ninth through 12th-grade enrollment.

Changes assign Pinecrest to 8A, Union Pines to 6A, and North Moore to 3A for Moore County students. North Moore’s enrollment dropped from 606 to 553, ranking it among the smallest 3A schools and prompting a shift to 2A.

These shifts change their competition schools, travel distances, conference opponents, and competition levels. North Moore’s shift to 2A groups with smaller schools, while Pinecrest and Union Pines stay in larger classes.

During public comments, John Pederson said the improved proficient grades and the 92% graduation rate didn’t mean a hill of beans with the proficiency grades. “Every dollar we spend should go toward proficiency.”

John Misiaszek said the CES replacement on the school’s site should not go forward but should revert to the original plan to build on Vass Carthage Road. He said that last week, the Town of Carthage denied a 185-housing development proposal in Needmore because it would cause overcrowding at CES.

Purvis said CES has 325-330 students, with a capacity of 400, and the new school will be 450.

Hensley said their elementary schools had plenty of capacity, but there was a flaw in the school funding system. Municipalities do not contribute to building schools. He said the Town of Carthage did not consult the district before it allowed the remote annexation off Route 22, north of the airport or the high-density homes near the sheriff’s office, but now that they have a water shortage, they consulted the county commissioners, saying they do not have school capacity. He said all municipalities should pay for school expansion because they collect property taxes.

The next meeting is Oct. 12 at 10 a.m.

Read Moore County votes to seek Davis Center repair bids despite $500k grant redirection and Moore County approves $147 taser contracts, advances UDO & rezoning, hears Davis Center and Flock concerns to learn the controversies around removing the restrictions and selling the historic property to the highest bidder when an interested person from Robbins, “Jim” with deep pockets, impressed county commissioners. A petition to stop the bid process is circulating: the Davis Center Petition.

Sept. 14, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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