The Moore County Board of Education has named Tonya Wagner, the current principal of Southern Pines Primary, as principal of the new Southern Pines Elementary School set to open in fall of 2020.
The new Southern Pines Elementary School will consolidate Southern Pines Primary and Southern Pines Elementary into one K-5 school with a capacity for 800 students in the Morganton Park area. The new school is currently under construction and financed through a $103 million general obligation bond approved by nearly 80 percent of voters in May 2018.
In preparation for her tenure at the new school, Wagner will take over as principal of the current Southern Pines Elementary for the 2019-2020 school year. New Century Middle School’s assistant principal, Andrea Burton, will become interim principal of Southern Pines Primary. Current Southern Pines Elementary School Principal Dr. Dale Buie will transition to the district level in the role of Senior Director for Operations, managing the district’s transportation, maintenance and child nutrition services.
“The new Southern Pines Elementary School will allow us to consolidate two aging and outdated schools, and offer our students a state-of-the art facility with the latest in technology, security and architectural design elements that promote learning,” said Moore County Schools Chief Officer for Academics and Student Support Services Tim Locklair. “It also affords the opportunity for some of our most talented staff to continue to develop in positions of leadership to advance the district goal of providing supportive, engaging and safe learning environments for the future success of our students.”
Wagner has a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Relations from Eastern Carolina University and Master of Arts in Executive Leadership from Gardner-Webb University. She began with Moore County Schools as a math teacher at Pinecrest High School before becoming assistant principal at Aberdeen Primary and then principal at Southern Pines Primary in 2016.
Burton has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Methodist University and a Master of School Administration from UNC-Pembroke. She began with Moore County Schools as a social studies teacher at Southern Middle, and as served as an assistant principal at Pinecrest High before moving to New Century Middle in 2017.
Buie has a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from East Carolina University, a Master of School Administration from UNC-Pembroke and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University. He has served in various capacities at West End Middle and West Pine Middle, New Century Middle, Union Pines High, Academy Heights Elementary, Cameron Elementary and has been with Southern Pines Elementary since 2014.
