Region 20 Board of Education
9/10/2026 7 p.m.
Present: Vice Chair Ashley Westfall; Secretary Ashley Hall Daddona; and Kara Cruoglio, Robert DeLayo, Margaret Hunt, Sharon Mahieu, Scott Pottbecker, Billie Jean Sideris, Josh Szwed, and Susan Wheeler. Absent: Chair Tiffany Parkhouse and Diane Barnes.
Westfall presided over the Region 20 Board of Education meeting. She began by congratulating the school community on the start of the new school year and announcing upcoming events.
The Board unanimously approved the Consent Agenda after a motion by Cruoglio and a second by Sideris. The agenda included the minutes of the August meeting, approval of an agreement with Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, and the approval of six new employees.
Superintendent Jeffrey Villar also reported on three recent meetings. He noted that the District’s Professional Development and Evaluation Committee (PDEC) had “for the first time” developed an outline of professional development for the school year. He also reported that the Superintendent’s Technology Advisory Committee was off to a good start. Finally, he described his participation in a State-facilitated emergency disaster drill.
Villar also noted the improvements made to the Lakeview High School campus. The new parking lot was “making progress very slowly,” and improvements were made to the entry at the west side of the school. He highlighted multiple upgrades to the Agricultural Sciences and Technology Education (ASTE) facilities, including an outdoor riding ring and new equipment.
Julie Haggard, Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Services and Special Education, then presented an overview of the District’s special education services, including program achievements, staffing, and the legal requirements governing support for students.
Haggard reported that 20% of Region 20 students had an Individualized Education Program (IEP), compared with a 17.9% statewide average for the 2024-25 school year. She also reported that an additional 11% of Region 20 students had a plan under Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Region 20’s out-of-district placement rate was 1.2%, compared with a statewide average of 6.3%, Haggard reported. In response to a question about how Region 20’s rates compared with those of the state, she suggested that the District’s rates were not significantly different from statewide figures. “I think the State as a whole is struggling with increasing rates of identification and there’s lots of reasons for that,” she said.
Haggard described several factors that may contribute to increased identification rates, including greater awareness of how to meet the individual needs of students.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m. after a motion by Sideris, second by Mahieu, and unanimous consent.
The Board is scheduled to meet starting at 7 p.m. Oct. 15.
