Know your vote. Take a look at your sample ballot now!

Caldwell County Schools, North Carolina, elections

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Caldwell County Schools
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 10,665 (2023-2024)
Schools: 25 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Caldwell County Schools is a school district in North Carolina (Caldwell County). During the 2024 school year, 10,665 students attended one of the district's 25 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

Do you know of an individual or group that endorsed a candidate for a position on this board? Click here to let us know.

Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large (3 seats)

Chris Becker, Ann B. Edwards, Darrell Clayton Pennell, and Michael Barrick ran in the general election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chris Becker (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Ann B. Edwards (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Darrell Clayton Pennell (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Michael Barrick (L)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large (4 seats)

Elaine Setzer-Maxwell, Teresa Branch, William Fore, Mark Gerson, and Joe Sims ran in the general election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Elaine Setzer-Maxwell (D)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Teresa Branch (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
William Fore (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mark Gerson (R)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Sims (R)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

Incumbent Tim Hawkins and incumbent Darrell Pennell won election in the general election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Tim Hawkins (Nonpartisan)
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Darrell Pennell (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

General election

General election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large

Incumbent Teresa Branch, incumbent Dottie Darsie, incumbent Duane Knight, and incumbent Joe Sims won election in the general election for Caldwell County Schools school board At-large on November 4, 2014.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Teresa Branch (Nonpartisan)
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Dottie Darsie (Nonpartisan)
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Duane Knight (Nonpartisan)
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Sims (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.


About the district

School board

Caldwell County Schools consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Chris Becker2028
Ann Edwards2028
Darrell Pennell2028
Teresa Branch2026
BJ Fore2026
Mark Gerson2026
Joe Sims2026

Join the conversation about school board politics

Ballotpedia's Hall Pass

Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics



  • Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
    Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
    Read more


District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Caldwell County Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
North Carolina House of Representatives District 87Destin HallRepublican Party 100% 94%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $40,210,000 $3,687 26%
Local: $25,316,000 $2,321 16%
State: $88,370,000 $8,103 57%
Total: $153,896,000 $14,111
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $134,295,000 $12,313
Total Current Expenditures: $126,994,000 $11,644
Instructional Expenditures: $82,531,000 $7,567 61%
Student and Staff Support: $12,486,000 $1,144 9%
Administration: $13,349,000 $1,224 10%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $18,628,000 $1,708 14%
Total Capital Outlay: $3,580,000 $328
Construction: $2,410,000 $220
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $1,188,000 $108
Interest on Debt: $1,003,000 $91

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 38 50-59 18 30 PS 37 41
2018-2019 37 50-59 16 29 PS 28 41
2017-2018 39 50-59 20 32 PS 35 42
2016-2017 45 60-69 24 36 <50 37 48
2015-2016 43 70-79 23 32 <50 31 46
2014-2015 41 60-69 18 29 PS 35-39 45
2013-2014 40 70-79 18 29 PS 30-34 43
2012-2013 37 70-79 16 24 <50 30-34 40
2011-2012 87 >=90 79 81 >=50 80-84 89
2010-2011 87 >=90 76 82 >=50 80-84 88

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 46 40-49 26 38 PS 49 49
2018-2019 47 50-59 24 39 PS 44 50
2017-2018 49 60-69 30 36 PS 45 52
2016-2017 47 50-59 30 34 <50 41 51
2015-2016 48 60-69 31 37 <50 45 51
2014-2015 47 60-69 26 33 PS 40-44 50
2013-2014 48 70-79 27 35 PS 35-39 51
2012-2013 45 60-69 23 32 <50 30-34 48
2011-2012 79 80-89 66 68 >=50 70-74 81
2010-2011 76 80-89 58 63 >=50 70-74 79

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 89 PS >=90 85-89 >=80 89
2018-2019 88 >=50 >=90 85-89 PS 80-89 88
2017-2018 89 >=50 >=95 85-89 PS 70-79 89
2016-2017 89 >=50 90-94 85-89 PS 80-89 90
2015-2016 91 >=50 >=90 90-94 PS 70-79 91
2014-2015 91 >=50 90-94 90-94 >=90 91
2013-2014 91 >=50 80-89 90-94 PS >=80 91
2012-2013 89 >=50 90-94 >=90 PS 80-89 88
2011-2012 85 >=50 75-79 >=90 PS 80-89 85
2010-2011 81 >=50 85-89 80-89 PS 80-89 81

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 10,665 -0.9
2022-2023 10,758 -1.4
2021-2022 10,906 0.7
2020-2021 10,829 -5.7
2019-2020 11,444 -1.5
2018-2019 11,621 -1.2
2017-2018 11,762 -1.9
2016-2017 11,990 -1.6
2015-2016 12,187 0.5
2014-2015 12,129 0.2
2013-2014 12,103 -2.3
2012-2013 12,386 -1.5
2011-2012 12,570 -1.9
2010-2011 12,811 -1.9
2009-2010 13,055 -0.3
2008-2009 13,092 1.0
2007-2008 12,962 -1.1
2006-2007 13,099 0.6
2005-2006 13,015 -0.2
2004-2005 13,041 1.1
2003-2004 12,903 1.2
2002-2003 12,744 -0.2
2001-2002 12,771 0.8
2000-2001 12,663 0.8
1999-2000 12,568 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Caldwell County Schools (%) North Carolina K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 1.0
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.9 4.2
Black 5.2 24.5
Hispanic 14.2 21.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 6.5 6.0
White 73.0 43.0

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Caldwell County Schools had 740.82 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.4.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 24.86
Kindergarten: 47.42
Elementary: 432.04
Secondary: 233.63
Total: 740.82

Caldwell County Schools employed 12.00 district administrators and 42.86 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 12.00
District Administrative Support: 37.82
School Administrators: 42.86
School Administrative Support: 57.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 193.27
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 9.50
Total Guidance Counselors: 30.78
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 14.33
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 13.84
Librarians/Media Specialists: 15.47
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 112.80
Other Support Services: 224.47

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Caldwell County Schools operates 25 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Baton Elementary347PK-5
Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy2159-12
Caldwell Early College398
Caldwell Online Academy1514-12
Collettsville School339PK-8
Davenport A+ School446PK-5
Dudley Shoals Elementary432PK-5
Gamewell Elementary519PK-5
Gamewell Middle4866-8
Gateway School626-12
Granite Falls Elementary593PK-5
Granite Falls Middle5256-8
Happy Valley Elementary223PK-8
Hibriten High8119-12
Horizons Elementary29KG-5
Hudson Elementary633PK-5
Hudson Middle5476-8
Kings Creek Elementary148PK-8
Lower Creek Elementary383PK-5
Sawmills Elementary336PK-5
South Caldwell High1,2999-12
Valmead Elementary275PK-5
West Caldwell High6879-12
Whitnel Elementary267PK-5
William Lenoir Middle5146-8


About school boards

Education legislation in North Carolina

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics North Carolina
School Board badge.png
Education Policy Icon.png
Local Politics Image.jpg
Seal of North Carolina.png

External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic

    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    v • e
    North Carolina school districts
    Flag of North Carolina
    v • e
    State of North Carolina
    Raleigh (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Caldwell_County_Schools,_North_Carolina,_elections&oldid=10230907"