The Corbin Board of Education met on Jan. 8 to review the 2024-2025 audit report, receive an update on the Portrait of a Learner initiative, and recognize School Board Recognition Month.
At the start of the meeting, the board voted to retain Carcille Burchette as board chair and Paul Taylor as vice chair.
Although the intention last January was to approve a two-year term for the chair and vice chair, this was not reflected in the official minutes.
Each board member received a certificate in honor of School Board Recognition Month, with gifts presented at the conclusion of the meeting.
The board members recognized were Board Chairperson Carcille Burchette, Board Vice-Chairperson Paul Taylor, and members Ben Childers, Kim Croley, and David Hannah.
“We just wanted to say thank you to the board members for all their service,” said Superintendent Travis Wilder.
Beth Francis, CPA and partner at Patrick & Associates, presented the 2024-2025 audit for the school board.
“Records here are just impeccable,” said Francis. “It’s always a smooth process.”
Francis explained that the audit is a lengthy process because there are many factors to consider, including individual school activity funds, food service, construction, and more.
“Everything was in very good order,” said Francis. “We didn’t find any issues.”
The district received an unmodified opinion and had no audit comments.
According to Francis, the overall net position increased about $2 million, and the fund balance increased about $2.8 million, which was described as a healthy sign.
Board members thanked Francis for the update.
Chief Financial Officer Rhonda Moore presented a review of the 2026-2027 draft budget to the board.
Moore noted that it was premature to make firm projections due to inflation, but assured the board that they are closely monitoring the state budget and expect more clarity by late April.
The draft budget will include payroll, utilities, instructional resources, school resource officers, transportation, and technology, among others.
Deputy Superintendent Cynthia Davis reported on homeschool enrollment data.
“We have received back 126 letters of students who live within our school district who are being homeschooled for this year,” said Davis.
When asked by board member Paul Taylor how that data compares to previous years, Davis explained there was a slight increase of about 10-15 students.
Davis shared an instructional update on student well-being. The District Counseling Cadre met recently to review crisis response and support services for students returning from prolonged absences, alternative placements, or behavioral health concerns. The district introduced Corbin Counselor Connect, which is a peer-observation initiative to promote collaboration and alignment of counseling practices across the district.
Chief Academic Officer Sarah Watkins gave an update on the Portrait of a Learner initiative.
The Portrait of a Learner initiative seeks to gather community input to define student success and better prepare learners for life beyond school.
The district has hosted several community meetings to collect feedback.
Community members were invited to take a survey, and the district aimed to collect 2,500 responses.
The survey has officially closed, and the district received 2,435 community member responses.
“We had the most people respond to our survey,” said Watkins. “We didn’t quite hit the 2,500 goal, but it was more than any other school district has.”
The community response was that they want to see a strong work ethic and effective communication in students.
A final community meeting will be held on Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Corbin Elementary School to finalize the initiative.
During board comments, member David Hannah expressed concerns about safety during after-school activities and events with limited adult supervision. Other members agreed on the need for further discussion regarding risk minimization and the potential addition of school resource officers.
The board approved a number of agenda items, including fundraiser requests like the Corbin Primary School BOGO bookfair in April of 2026 and the Corbin Elementary School strawberry fundraiser at the end of Jan.
The board approved the following field trips: Corbin Middle School cheer trip to Orlando, Florida, for the NHSCC Competition at Disney World from Jan. 29 – Feb. 2, the Corbin Middle School Dance Team trip to Orlando, Florida, for the NDA competition from Feb. 13-17, and two honor band trips for Corbin High School this month.
The board approved change orders for football stadium renovations, Corbin High School renovations, and the Career Center.
Other actions included establishing a Special Education Instructional Monitor position, approving early high school graduation for students pending completion of 22 state-required credits, and approving the 2025-2026 school calendar.
