By MATT LAMB
Insider Staff Writer
After a contentious election season, the newly constituted Moore County Board of Education met for its inaugural organizational meeting and work session on Monday night, choosing newly elected Robin Calcutt as chair and re-appointing Shannon Davis as vice chair.
Family, friends and supporters of the new members filled the Central Office in Carthage for the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected board members Amy Dahl, Steve Johnson and Calcutt, alongside the lone re-elected incumbent David Hensley.
With Moore County Clerk of Superior Court Todd Maness administering oaths of office, each board member placed their hand on a Bible and took an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and swore to execute their duties as newly elected members of the school board.
Dahl, Calcutt, Johnson and Hensley join board members Pauline Bruno, Ken Benway and Davis, who are all halfway through their four-year terms.
The selection of a chair serves as an integral part of the school board. The board chooses a leader to work closely with Superintendent Tim Locklair and his staff, lead business meetings and ultimately establish the institutional tenor of the board as a whole.
With Locklair serving as interim chair, he opened the floor for nominations. Benway quickly nominated Davis. Dahl nominated Calcutt.
With two nominees, the vote went to a written ballot, where each board member wrote their choice for chair. Board attorney Alex Grosskurth of the Schwartz Law Firm read the paper slips, identifying each board member and their vote.
In a split between former and newly elected board members, Dahl, Calcutt and Johnson all voted for Calcutt, while Benway, Bruno and Davis voted for Davis. With the vote split, Grosskurth read Hensley’s tie-breaking vote, announcing that Calcutt would serve as the board’s new chair.
Until the past year, Hensley had been allied with Davis, Bruno and Benway. In 2022, he campaigned on their behalf.
“I want to thank current and newly elected Moore County Board of Education members for their dedicated years of service,” said Calcutt in her first statement to the board. “Dr. Locklair and the entire Moore County Schools community of students, teachers, staff and families for their unwavering commitment to education and excellence.
“I am profoundly grateful to the people of Moore County for placing your trust in me to serve as a member of the Board of Education. It’s a true privilege to contribute to the growth and success of our schools and to support our children, families, educators and staff who make our community exceptional.”
After a quick shuffling of chairs, Calcutt assumed her position and took the gavel to preside over the vice chair selection. Bruno nominated Davis and Hensley nominated Johnson.
By a 5-2 margin, with only Hensley and Davis voting for Johnson, Davis was selected to retain her role as the board’s vice chair.
Echoing a frequent saying of Locklair, Davis said, “I am fired up,” with a smile. “I really am ready to go. I’m thankful that you guys are here. I’m excited for what we’re going to be able to do in the future.”
During board comments, new members were given their first opportunity to address the board and those in attendance.
“Just gratitude for all of you; (I’m) just really glad to serve with you,” said Johnson. “Just on the record saying thank you to all of the folks that supported me throughout this to get here, my wife in particular.”
He added, “I really feel a lot of energy in the room. I feel like this is going to be a great reset. I’m very excited.”
Dahl, too, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve her community.
“Moore County Schools truly is a wonderful place, and I cannot express enough how honored I am to be serving the schools in this capacity and be serving with all of you up here. So, like some other people here, I’m fired up and ready to go.”
The new board will hold its first regular business meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m., at the Central Office, 5227 U.S. 15-501 S. in Carthage.
Contact Matt Lamb at (910) 693-2479 or mlamb@thepilot.com.
