Board of Education Career Educators Vie for District 5
Board of Education Career Educators Vie for District
"Robin Calcutt
Calcutt, 63, is a Moore County native who grew up in Pinehurst. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a teacher. She has held teaching and administrative positions throughout the district. Calcutt was eventually tapped by Superintendent Dr. Robert Grimesey to be the district’s research, planning and accountability director, where she retired from Moore County Schools.
Having earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate while teaching, Calcutt worked as a student teacher supervisor at St. Andrews University, preparing student teachers for the classroom. She eventually became the department chair of the teaching education program at St. Andrews before wrapping up her long career last May.
Calcutt, who ran unsuccessfully for an at-large seat in 2022, said she was careful about entering an election again.
“I was very slow to agree to run again,” she said, “but people reached out to me, and they said, ‘Robin, we need you to run,’ and I said, ‘I want the best person to run. If I’m not the best person and there’s somebody else, then you need to let me know.’ They said, ‘No, you are the best person.’”
Calcutt told the community that she needed help this time around.
“I said, ‘If I do it this time, I need a lot of help.’ And people have stepped up with the meet and greets, opportunities and connections. That’s been really reassuring to have the support from the community this time.”
Calcutt feels like the current board is making teachers’ and principals’ jobs more difficult.
“Our teachers, our principals, our administrators are doing the very best they can,” she said. “That’s not the morale issue; the morale issue is the current board of education.
“I feel like the principals and the administration are doing everything they can to keep the morale high. But I feel like there is a definite impact of the conversations, of the board’s actions, and some of the policies that they have put in place have definitely affected the morale of the people working for Moore County Schools.”
Calcutt said she is concerned that the district is losing valuable teachers to nearby counties because of the current board’s actions.
“Teachers have to look at all their books on their shelves to make sure there’s nothing controversial, which is a good example. They’re afraid of what they might say or do that might cause controversy.”
Calcutt described what a supportive school board should look like.
“They are there side-by-side with the teachers, with the principals. They’re cheerleaders for the public schools. They advocate with the legislature. They advocate with the county commissioners and with the public. They tell the story of the public school. They value the work and the success, and they don’t bring political ideology into the public school.”
Calcutt has direct experience working to recruit teachers and said the school board must advocate for increased teacher pay.
“I have not seen them advocate for an increased income source for our local schools from the county commissioners,” she said. “We have the money in our state savings accounts to pay for public schools and give teachers (higher) salaries.”
“You don’t know how hard I would try to recruit teachers, and every time I would, they would say to me, ‘Dr. Calcutt, I can make more money working for UPS or FedEx; why would I want to be a teacher?”
She added, “It’s abysmal what teachers are making right now. This is ridiculous, and I’m really angry with our legislature. We’ve got to change it; we’ve got to vote for people who will support public schools.”
Calcutt is also an advocate for enhanced child care and pre-kindergarten programs. “I think we have got to get more involved in providing preschool programs, especially in Aberdeen and Robbins. Quality child care and preschool programs are incredibly important.”
Calcutt wants to sit down with stakeholders and develop funding sources for future capital development in the district.
“We’re just going to have to sit down with our county commissioners, and we’re going to have to think about funding sources, maybe even with the state, and we’ve got to get our priorities lined up,” she said. “I’ve been in Carthage Elementary, and it needs a lot of help, but I like the idea of listening to the community and finding out what they want.”
Calcutt said she hopes to unify the board into a collaborative body if elected. “My hope is really to build bridges and to use my voice to help people to learn how to collaborate and to see different viewpoints and really to follow the law, follow the guidelines, the policies and procedures that we have in place, and then really think about the impact of decisions.”"
The Pilot Newspaper