The Board Table

On this episode of the Board Table, Executive Director, Leanne Winner, sits down with Ron Pringle, President and CEO of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, to discuss how they partner with schools to help ensure food stability for kids in our communities across the state of North Carolina.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the frequency of Active Shooter events in schools and other similar settings. In this episode of The Board Table, Donna Lynch, NCSBA's Litigation Counsel and manager of the North Carolina School Boards Trust, leads a discussion on prevention planning and response to school shooting events. Donna is joined by Paul Marshall, the creator of the Active Shooter Crisis Risk program at McGowan Program Administrators and Mike McClanahan from Victor Insurance who serves as the longtime broker for the NCSBT programs.

The words COVID-19 and learning loss have become standard language in education and have generated conversations about how schools in North Carolina should respond.  In this episode of The Board Table, NCSBA Assistant Director of Board Development Amber Horton talks with Executive Director John-Paul Smith of the North Carolina Education Corps about how their program was founded to help recover learning loss and what local school boards can do to partner with them. 

Esports is a multi-million dollar industry where teams compete in online competitions against each other. In this episode of The Board Table, NCSBA Director of Board Development & Technology Ramona Powers talks with Dr. Christine Fitch, school board member in Wilson County and esports advocate, Isiah Reese, CEO at Aperion Global Institute and Blaze Fire Games and Wesley Alvarez, Director of Academics, EC-Council about esports learning and gaming possibilities for North Carolina students. 

The school board governs and the superintendent administers the school district. While this may sound simple it is often the most difficult area for the board and superintendent to clarify. Not having a clear understanding of the board and superintendent's proper role can lead to poor communication, mistrust and, in the end, conflict and educational failure. In order for boards and superintendents to begin clarifying their roles agreement must be reached on a few common elements. In this episode of The Board Table, the NC School Superintendents Association's Executive Director Jack Hoke and I have a discussion about the board/superintendent relationship. 

NCSBA executive assistant and communications specialist, Christina Davoile, talks with the leadership of the Superintendent and Board Assistants of NC Public Schools about the role of the board assistant and the support available through their association. 

Executive Director Leanne Winner and Legal Counsel/Director of Policy Christine Scheef discuss recent developments in the Leandro case, a lawsuit brought in 1994 alleging that students in low-wealth counties were denied their right to a sound basic education under the North Carolina constitution. 

In the current environment, public and private entities alike face many challenges and emerging issues in planning and preparing for today and the future. The last couple of years have been dominated by the pandemic, but as you begin to move forward, what issues might be emerging and ripe consideration as you plan within your school district? During this podcast, NCSBA staff members discuss and pose questions for our listeners about a number of emerging issues to consider in your risk management planning.

Schools have been one of the most disrupted spaces in North Carolina and nationwide since March 2020.  After 24 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, local school boards are required to hold monthly votes on their district masking policy.  NCSBA's Director of Governmental Relations, Bruce Mildwurf, discusses the latest COVID data in schools with Dr. Danny Benjamin and why it may potentially point to more local districts deciding to move toward optional masking before the end of this school year.

North Carolina has a budget! NCSBA Director of Governmental Relations Bruce Mildwurf and NCASA Legal Affairs and Policy Manager Elizabeth Yelverton discuss how the budget impacts education.

In this episode, Staff attorneys McKenna Osborn and Justice Warren talk about the policy update process, including how NCSBA stays up to date on policy issues and crafts each update. McKenna and Justice also discuss the recently released Fall 2021 updates, focusing on a few specific policies. Enjoy this peek “behind the curtain,” so to speak.

In our current climate, cyberthreats and ransomware attacks continue to escalate against school districts. In this episode of The Board Table, we take a look at cybersecurity. Donna Lynch, NCSBA litigation counsel, oversees the North Carolina School Boards Trust, the association's risk management programs and services for our members. Joining Donna are one of the brokers for the Trust, Mike McClanahan with Victor Insurance, and cyber industry expert Amanda Mirabile from Corvus Insurance. 

NCSBA Legal Counsel/Director of Policy Christine Scheef gives an update on the Snapchat case after the US Supreme Court's decision.

NCSBA's governmental relations team takes a closer look at the education budget proposals of the NC House and Senate.

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on school systems and school employees.  Most of the focus has been on exposure to the virus itself and protecting against exposure.  During this podcast, NCSBA staff members discuss some unusual workers' compensation issues and injuries arising from the pandemic which go beyond exposure to the virus.  These issues and trends could have a lasting impact on school districts as you respond to workers' compensation risks in these challenging times.  

UNC Charlotte professors, Dr. Walter Hart and Dr. Jim Watson, discuss their recently completed study of the first ten years of the education lottery and its effects on education funding in our state. Their work, An Analysis of the North Carolina Education Lottery, 2007-2017, was recently published in the Journal of Education Finance. Drs. Hart and Watson discuss their findings with NCSBA Director of Board Development Ramona Powers.

In this episode, Leanne Winner invites NCSBA Director of Governmental Relations Bruce Mildwurf and Tharrington Smith Attorney Lindsay Smith to discuss pension spiking. Listen as they discuss what it is and layout what you need to know!

This episode of The Board Table has all the makings of a tv movie — a court case, a cheerleader, and the wildly popular social media platform, Snapchat. Do you have your popcorn yet?As fascinating as it sounds, this court case could have significant implications for school districts across the country and will likely become a landmark case for student free speech. NCSBA's new Legal Counsel and Director of Policy Christine Scheef and Assistant Legal Counsel Janine Murphy unpack the details and discuss why this case is important for public schools.

In this  episode of The Board Table, NCSBA Director of Governmental Relations Bruce Mildwurf talks with Governor Cooper's Education Advisor, Geoff Coltrane, about the education proposals in the budget. Leanne Winner shares a heartwarming story about Buncombe County Schools' efforts to meet the nutritional needs of students during the pandemic.