Board plans vote on Hallyburton relocation for next session

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Board members say they should have a voice in all school closure, program relocation decisions.

• After weeks of public debate, board members say it’s time to make a final call.

• Of 92 law enforcement calls tied to Hallyburton, most were not school-related.

Where Hallyburton students attend school in the fall is set to be decided when the Burke County Board of Education meets on Monday, April 27.

The topic of Hallyburton Academy relocating to an independent wing of Draughn High School has been in public discussion for several weeks, with support and opposition from parents and staff prompting extensive board discourse and a public question-and-answer session on April 14.

Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan began Monday’s board meeting by addressing a question raised by Valdese Council Member Shannon Radabaugh at the Q&A.

Radabaugh cited about 200 police calls to Hallyburton over the past two years and asked how the district would respond if the alternative school relocates to Draughn in Valdese.

While Swan and other district officials said many of those calls involved traffic stops and unrelated matters, Swan presented specific data at the Board of Education meeting.

Of the 92 total law enforcement calls between April 2025 and April 2026, 74 were attributed to non-school law enforcement activity and emergency responses.

The remaining 18 school-related calls broke down into three day treatment interventions, two disorderly conduct calls, two student altercations, three medical incidents, two threat assessments, one marijuana vape-related, two weapons-related, one missing student, and two students leaving the building.

Of those 18 calls, the local police issued eight reports, or official filings, on the incidents.

District officials said the numbers are similar to those of other high schools. If Hallyburton relocates, it will have a dedicated school resource officer, as other schools do, to handle incidents rather than relying on local police.

HALLYBURTON DECISIONS

Board member Leslie Taylor used the Hallyburton safety discussion to pivot back to the board’s role, first broaching the topic by asking about vacant buildings, such as Chesterfield Elementary School, and whose responsibility it was to close and sell those buildings.

She emphasized that she believed relocating Hallyburton should be a board decision.

“When your community asks for a voice in the decision-making process, that should always be where we step up and say, ‘That’s our role.’ We’re the voice,” she continued, moving the board to make a final decision at the next regular session.

Board member Reid Beck weighed in, “I would like to see that as well, but I would like, if at all possible, that this be the last time that we talk about this. I feel like we have beat this dead horse over and over and over. … We’ve got too many people fighting in the community.”

If approved, the decision would meet the district maintenance team’s May 1 deadline to complete the move before the next school year.