By Tim Gardner
The Avery County Board of Education renewed the contract of Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Brigman during its regular monthly meeting on Monday night, February 12.
All Board members were present at the meeting–Chairman John Greene, Vice-Chairwoman Kathey Aldridge, Pat Edwards, and Randy Singleton. The contract renewal was approved by a 3 to 1 vote. Greene, Aldridge, and Edwards vote in favor of renewing the contract. Singleton voted against.
Dr. Brigman became Avery County’s superintendent during the 2019-2020 school year. His contract renewal will be for four additional years, and more precisely, approximately three years and five months since it is retroactive back to July 1, 2023.
In his current post as Avery Schools Superintendent, Dr. Brigman oversees all aspects of operations for the county’s public school system, which includes one high school (Avery High), two middle schools (Cranberry and Avery Middle), and five elementary schools (Riverside, Newland, Freedom Trail, Banner Elk, and Crossnore).
During his tenure as Superintendent, Dr. Brigman been responsible for the educations of 1,700-plus students enrolled in Avery County Schools each school year and supervising an average of more than 450 employees each school year, consisting of teachers, teacher’s aides, support staff, central office personnel, cafeteria and maintenance workers, bus drivers, and substitute workers.
Dr. Brigman was born and raised in Madison County, North Carolina and is a 1986 graduate of Madison High School.
He earned degrees from Asheville-Buncombe Technical College (A-B Tech), Mars Hill College, Tennessee Technological (Tech) University, and Trevecca Nazarene University.
He fulfilled an eight-year enlistment in the United States Navy, and was stationed at the old Charleston, South Carolina Naval Basein a combination of active duty (three years), and active (three years) and inactive reserves (two years). He was a quartermaster and served America during the Southeast Asia Campaign in the Persian Gulf in 1988 and 1989 where he earned a multitude of medals and commendations.
He began his educational career teaching school at Madison High and in Anderson County, Tennessee.
Dr. Brigman returned to North Carolina following his tenure in Anderson County, serving as assistant principal and then principal at Bethlehem Elementary School (1997-1998 school year) and principal at West Alexander Junior High School (1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years), both in the Taylorsville area of Alexander County.The latter cameduring the transition from a junior high school to the current middle high school structure. During this time span, Dr. Brigman also completed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Principal Executive Program (1997-1998).
He was the first principal of Rosman Middle School in Transylvania County (2000-2001 and 2001-2002 school years) where he led that new school from construction to grand opening. Additionally, during this interval, he completed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for School Leadership and Development Principals as Technology Leaders Program.
He next served as Director of the Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade (K-12) Gifted Education and Middle Schools Curriculum in Rowan County (2002-2003).
Dr. Brigman then returned to live and work in Tennessee, being hired for his first superintendent’s job of Coffee County Schools (2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 school years).
He then moved back to North Carolina, then to Alabama and Georgia, before returning to North Carolina—also all for Superintendent’s jobs.
Dr. Brigman was superintendent of Macon County Schools from 2006-2012 and then of Catawba County Schools (both in North Carolina) from 2012-2016. He then moved to Alabama, serving as superintendent of Decatur City Schools from 2016-2017. While there, Dr. Brigman successfully completed training in the Alabama School Superintendents Academy through the University of Alabama and the Alabama Department Education Superintendents’ Leadership Academy.
Dr. Brigman next served as Superintendent of Laurens County, Georgia Schools (2017-2019) before becoming Avery’s Superintendent.
Normally, the Avery Board of Education has five members. But a vacancy has remained on the Board since the resignation of Ruth Shirley in June 2022. The current Board members have since had discussions and also taken several votes about appointing Steve Smith or Linda Webb to fill the remainder of Shirley’s term. However, they have been deadlocked at 2-2 about either Smith or Webb filling the vacancy.
Smith is a former Board member and Webb was a candidate in the Board of Education election in 2022. Webb finished third in the election behind then-first-time candidate Singleton and incumbent Edwards for the then-two open seats.
Appointing Smith or Webb to fill the vacancy would have had to been by a 3-1 majority or a unanimous (4-0) vote. But the same 2-2 deadlock remained every time a vote has been taken, with Greene and Aldridge voting for Smith and Edwards and Singleton voting for Webb. The Board members could also have chosen to nominate and vote for one or more individuals besides Smith or Webb to fill Shirley’s vacant seat.
Webb is one of eight candidates running for three open Board seats in this year’s election. Smith did not file to run in the election. And neither Greene nor Aldridge filed for re-election. The remainder of Shirley’s term will also expire this year.
The Board members decided by a unanimous 4-0 vote at their December 12, 2023 regular monthly meeting to appoint the candidate who receives the most votes in the Primary Election on Tuesday, March 5 to fill the current Board vacancy beginning right after the election to add to his or her regular term, which will begin on July 1. That candidate and the other two elected to the Board of Education will be sworn in for their four-year terms on that latter date.
A Board of Education race in North Carolina is non-partisan, meaning that candidates do not run by any political party affiliation and those who win in a Primary Election are automatically elected and do not have to run in a General Election later the same year. There also are no run-off or second Primary Elections in a North Carolina Board of Education race, meaning that a candidate does not have to obtain a certain percentage of the vote to win. If a candidate only wins the election by one vote, he or she will serve on the Board.
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