HAMLET — Rockingham Middle School’s fall conference champions, standout educators and several major school improvement projects were recognized Thursday during the February School Board meeting.
Student-athletes from the school’s football and volleyball teams were honored for their championship seasons. Football coach Zach Freeman thanked the board for recognizing the team’s hard work and dedication.
“Thank you for allowing us to come out this evening. Obviously this not the entire team, but there’s 45 of us this year,” said Coach Zach Freeman. “This is a good representation of all the hard work, dedication that these guys and the coaches have put in for this season.”
The board also presented Inspiring Excellence Awards to Kelli Parsons and Krista Herold of West Rockingham Elementary School and Mary Kate Duncan and Erin Jernigan of Fairview Heights Elementary School.
In addition to recognitions, board members approved bids for a partial roof replacement at Richmond Senior High School and seat replacement at Rockingham Middle School.
Steven King, director of construction, maintenance and planning, said five bids were opened at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, for the roof project. REI Engineers recommended awarding the contract to Weathergard Inc. for $557,900.
“I will mention that Weathergard, we have used them before in the past, and they’re a very reputable company,” said King. “Hadn’t had any problems with them, so that’s another reason we chose them.”
King said REI Engineers submitted the project specifications to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, where they were reviewed and approved.
“So our next step will be once we have a signed contract, we’ll submit the application to state to draw down some ADM [Average Daily Membership] money that we have,” King said. “I can’t remember the exact total, but we can get 75% of the project in ADM money, so we can actually get about $418,425 from the state for this project.”
The Rockingham Middle School auditorium is scheduled to receive new seats, which will be numbered and lettered by row and will include a plaque on the back for donor recognition.
“that we can sell. Like a donor plaque can be attached to each seat. So those funds would go to the school at some point/time after they’re installed,” King said.
Three bids were received from Davis Furniture Co., Learning Environments Inc. and Universal Equipment Co. Although Davis Furniture submitted the lowest bid, King said the Wisconsin-based company was disqualified because it does not have a general contractor’s license required for the project. Officials selected Liberty-based Learning Environments Inc. for the seat replacement for $207,860. Raleigh-based Universal Equipment Co. submitted a bid of $195,916.60.
Plans for the auditorium also include repainting, resurfacing the flooring and replacing aisle carpet. King said the project received a $100,000 grant from the Cole Foundation. The auditorium was built in 1956.
Board member Bobbie Sue Orsmby asked whether Amazon could assist with funding. Earlier in the week, Amazon awarded grants to 28 local recipients across the county, including Richmond Senior High School’s Raider Diamonds, Richmond County Schools, Richmond Community College and Mineral Springs Elementary School.
King said the chair replacement project is expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-27 school year.
King also provided updates on the former Ninth Grade Academy remodeling, construction of the new LJ Bell Elementary School building and multiple projects at Raider Field.
Board member Jerry Ethridge was nominated as an at-large member of the North Carolina School Boards Association’s Legislative Committee.
Chairman Cory Satterfield recognized Richmond Senior High School alum and Hall of Fame member Kathryn Ormsby, who recently passed away. Ormsby was valedictorian of her class and excelled in cross country and track, setting both school and state records. She earned a scholarship to run for NC State University, where she set additional school and NCAA records. An accident in 1986 left her paralyzed, but she went on to complete her degree at NC State and earn a graduate degree in occupational therapy from UNC-Chapel Hill. Kathy specialized in hand therapy and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she worked for various orthopedic practices, most recently Emerge Ortho.
“I just want to keep her and her family in our prayers. She was a talented young lady,” said Satterfield.