Taylor to represent Burke school board on state association

Burke County has a new representative at the state level.

The Burke County board of education met Friday to elect a representative to serve on the North Carolina School Board Association (NCSBA) board of directors.

Following a brief opening for nominations, Leslie Taylor — the only nominee — earned a unanimous vote from all members physically present. Burke County Board of Education Chair Tiana Beachler, attending via phone call, abstained from the vote.

“I appreciate that nomination,” Taylor said before the vote was held. “I enjoyed attending school board association meetings for the last four years. There’s always something we learn every time.”

NCSBA meets quarterly with a three-day conference in Greensboro each year. Representatives are chosen in each of the 115 school districts in the state as well as from the Native American reserve and schools for the deaf and blind.

Beachler explained the reason for the nomination, “Being that we had a previous member serving on the NCSBA and that person is no longer serving on the board of [education], they asked us if we had a representative that we wanted to put in her place.”

The member Beachler referred to is Wendi Craven, who left the board of education in November 2024, after a loss at reelection.

Following her election, Taylor said, “Thank you, guys. I promise to communicate with everyone on what the agenda items are and get feedback from our group to take with us … I appreciate the opportunity to be our middle person for this.”

After a round of congratulations, the board adjourned the meeting.