2026 North Carolina General Election

ALAN RUMMEL - Vice Chairman - Elected: November 2022

What inspired you to get involved with the school board, and what motivates you to continue serving?
My kids are what inspired me to get involved. There were things going on that I didn’t agree with, so I started going to school board meetings. After getting on the board and digging in and getting to work on improvements, it’s not just my kids that keep me motivated, but all the kids that attend our schools…making sure they all get the best opportunity to be successful.

School Board Appreciation Month | Get to know some of your Lee County Board of Education Members with a Q&A

Alan Rummel - Vice Chair

1001 Northview Drive

Sanford, NC 27330

910-391-7059 (cell)

Email Alan Rummel

Board of Education | Lee County Schools

Alan Rummel lives in Sanford and has children.

What was your best subject in school? What did you learn in that class that you still use today?
I was definitely a math and science person in school. I use all kinds of skills from both as a design engineer for Caterpillar. Physics, fluid dynamics, strength of materials and material properties, statistics…I use all that stuff constantly.

Alan works as a design engineer for Caterpillar.

#### ALAN RUMMEL - Vice Chairman - Elected: November 2022
#### 1) What inspired you to get involved with the school board, and what motivates you to continue serving?

Board Members
Sherry Lynn Womack - Chairperson

Alan Rummel - Vice Chair

1001 Northview Drive

Sanford, NC 27330

Alan currently serves on the Lee County Board of Education. He was elected in November 2022.

Regarding capital planning: The leadership team at LCS has compiled all the data from the facilities and enrollment studies to create an updated PM (Preventative Maintenance) schedule and to plan for and prioritize larger repairs as well as facilities use to ensure we’re not requesting things from the county that we don’t truly need. The amount of supporting detail provided with school system requests is unprecedented by all accounts that I’ve heard and I intend to keep that open sharing of information a top priority as long as I’m on the BOE.

Meet Lee County Board of Education Candidate Alan Rummel - SANDHILLS NEWS

Getting into funding directly from businesses for school system needs seems like it could invite its own conflicts of interest. We have a lot of local businesses that support school fundraisers and I’m sure several charities that support the local school system and I think that’s how a business is a good steward of their home town. Without additional discussion, I’d say I don’t support solicitation of local businesses to directly fund school system capital expenses.

Regarding funding: I’m not sure how I feel about the Board of Education directly soliciting funds from local businesses to support capital investment. The county has the statutory responsibility to fund school capital needs and provide “sufficient” funds for daily operations and that should include both tax policy as well as any up-front “impact” type costs when negotiating to bring in new businesses.

We commissioned a Pay and Classification study to quantify where we stand while correcting for local cost of living and presented a plan to be competitive and got no traction. We also identified a massive gap in classified staff pay that we presented to the BOC but haven’t got anywhere with that either. As noted in this interview, the BOE has also commissioned an enrollment and facilities study to advise a long-term facilities plan that has also been mostly ignored up to now. I intend to continue bringing facts and data to support the request for additional local funding.

Prioritizes open sharing of information supporting school system funding requests.

Opposes soliciting local businesses to directly fund school capital expenses and says the county should fund capital needs and daily operations.

Plans to continue using facts and data to seek additional local funding for school facilities.

- Prioritizes open sharing of information supporting school system funding requests.
- Opposes soliciting local businesses to directly fund school capital expenses and says the county should fund capital needs and daily operations.
- Plans to continue using facts and data to seek additional local funding for school facilities.

School Facilities & Resources

Some pieces that I had a hand in creating and support are:

Data analysis: LCS now has a data analysis package (Branching Minds) that allows the district to track attendance and progress (achievement and growth) of each individual student. The software can help flag when a student might require intervention (targeted assistance) and then track exactly what intervention steps were taken and how effective those actions were. This allows us to identify interventions that are most effective for the most students and utilize those tools for more students.

The BOE currently receives monthly accountability updates using this very data analysis.

Focus on growth: When a student is behind grade-level, focussing on achievement (passing the next required test) isn’t the best solution for the student. Focusing on maximizing student growth to help them catch up should be the focus. Explaining that fully would require an extensive piece of writing, but that’s the short story and the reason the district strategic plan focuses more heavily on growth. The goal is to become a top district in the state, but the path to that is to maximize growth.

Supports using student attendance and progress data to identify, track, and assess targeted interventions.

Prioritizes maximizing growth for students who are behind grade level to help them catch up.

- Supports using student attendance and progress data to identify, track, and assess targeted interventions.
- Prioritizes maximizing growth for students who are behind grade level to help them catch up.

Access to Education

Funding: LCS has really fallen behind in 2 key funding areas:

1. Local funding: The BOE has really pushed hard to get additional funding to support local supplement increases as Lee County falls further and further behind our neighbors.

We commissioned a Pay and Classification study to quantify where we stand while correcting for local cost of living and presented a plan to be competitive and got no traction. We also identified a massive gap in classified staff pay that we presented to the BOC but haven’t got anywhere with that either.

Advocates for additional local funding to increase school employee salary supplements.

- Advocates for additional local funding to increase school employee salary supplements.

Teachers

Commonized curriculum materials: The BOE supported an administrative review of curriculum materials and identified dozens of different tools being used throughout the district. In short, if a child moved from one elementary school to another (for example), the child likely would NOT be learning from the same materials. This issue has been addressed and will help improve the district in many ways. The most important to me is that teachers of the same content across the district can now collaborate to identify best practices and replicate.

If you could take any class offered in Lee County Schools, which class would you take and why?
I’d have to jump back into orchestra. It seems like performing arts aren’t quite as popular as they were when I was in school but I really enjoyed it and would gladly advocate for more kids to give it a shot. One of my old orchestra classmates plays violin in the Lee County Orchestra and prods me occasionally to bring my cello to a practice sometime.

Supports districtwide common curriculum materials so teachers who teach the same content can collaborate on best practices.

Advocates for more students to try performing arts.

- Supports districtwide common curriculum materials so teachers who teach the same content can collaborate on best practices.
- Advocates for more students to try performing arts.

School Curriculum

Question 4: Explain your stance on using sheriff’s deputies as school resource officers.
Answer: I love the collaboration. Sheriff’s deputies are properly trained for the role of SRO and it’s also an opportunity to allow kids to see that LEOs are people too. The current political climate in America sees a lot of demonization of LEOs and having them present in our schools provides both safety and real world experience for our students to see what LEOs do.

Supports using sheriff’s deputies as school resource officers, citing their training and their role in school safety.

- Supports using sheriff’s deputies as school resource officers, citing their training and their role in school safety.

Student Wellbeing

Facebook

Alan Rummel

- Prioritizes maximizing growth for students who are behind grade level to help them catch up.

Mauricio Mendez

Walter Ley

As of September 2, 2026, Karla Koballa did not have a website or any information online.

Karla Koballa is a candidate for the Lee County Schools school board At-large in North Carolina for the 2026 election. She is running to represent the interests of the community and improve the educational system in Lee County. Koballa has expressed her commitment to enhancing student achievement and ensuring that all students have access to quality education.

Karla Koballa (Lee County Schools school board At-large, North Carolina, candidate 2026)

Committed to ensuring all students have access to quality education.

- Committed to ensuring all students have access to quality education.

Karla Koballa

As of September 2, 2026, Karla Koballa’s website did not contain information on this issue.

New members join Lee County Schools board
By Caleb M. Soptelean Aug 13, 2026

Tuesday’s meeting of the Lee County Schools Board of Education included quite a bit of turnover.
...
Eric Davidson, who served on the board from 2022 through earlier this year, was recognized after he recently left to become a newly-appointed member of the Lee County commissioners, where he replaced Taylor Vorbeck, who resigned to pursue a master’s degree in public affairs at Western Carolina University.
Davidson was replaced on the school board by David Smoak for the rest of this year, while Laura Stryffeler replaced the late Marcus Mason, who died in a house fire earlier this year.

New members join Lee County Schools board

Laura Stryffeler replaced Marcus Mason on the Lee County Schools Board of Education in 2026.

New members join Lee County Schools board - The Sanford Herald

As of September 2, 2026, Laura Stryffeler did not have a website or any information online.

Laura Stryffeler

As of September 2, 2026, Laura Stryffeler’s website did not contain information on this issue.

In an October 2024 candidate Q&A, Kelly introduced himself by writing: “As a lifelong resident of Lee County and a proud graduate of Lee County High School, I have always felt a deep connection to our community. After earning my degrees in Political Science and Public Administration from Western Carolina University, I returned to Sanford.”

Candidate Q&A: Lee County Board of Education – THE RANT

In an October 2024 candidate Q&A, Kelly wrote: “As a lifelong resident of Lee County and a proud graduate of Lee County High School, I have always felt a deep connection to our community. After earning my degrees in Political Science and Public Administration from Western Carolina University, I returned to Sanford, where I’ve served our community through roles with Lee County Schools, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and my small business and farm.”

In an October 2024 candidate Q&A, Kelly wrote: “Having already served two years on the Lee County School Board, I am running for reelection to continue ensuring that every student in our county receives the education they deserve. This include my own children who attend Lee County Schools and the others who will in the future.”

Lee GOP accuses school board member Coble of “party disloyalty ...

Patrick Kelly is originally from Lee County. He received his bachelor's degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Western Carolina University. 

Patrick Kelly previously served as a member of the Lee County School Board. 

Supports an assessment of planned projects to "prioritize them based on urgency, impact on students and staff, and available funding"

Supports developing a long-term capital improvement plan to prevent delaying projects.

- Supports an assessment of planned projects to "prioritize them based on urgency, impact on students and staff, and available funding"
- Supports developing a long-term capital improvement plan to prevent delaying projects.

Supports creating programs to offer additional resources to students struggling academically.

- Supports creating programs to offer additional resources to students struggling academically.

Supports increasing resources for teachers such as updated instruction materials and professional development. 

- Supports increasing resources for teachers such as updated instruction materials and professional development. 

In an October 2024 candidate Q&A, Kelly said Lee County offers “diverse opportunities for our students, from specialized academies to apprenticeships.” He added that these programs give students practical, hands-on learning opportunities and said: “As a member of the school board, I advocate for this holistic approach to education, which values diverse learning styles and recognizes that every student has unique strengths.”

Advocates for a holistic approach to education that accommodates diverse learning styles and recognizes students' individual strengths.

- Advocates for a holistic approach to education that accommodates diverse learning styles and recognizes students' individual strengths.

As of September 2, 2026, Patrick Kelly’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Patrick Kelly

- As supplied
- Advocates for a holistic approach to education that accommodates diverse learning styles and recognizes students' individual strengths.

- As supplied
- As supplied
- As supplied

- Advocates for a holistic approach to education that accommodates diverse learning styles and recognizes students' individual strengths.
- As supplied

Chazzy Bailey

- The Board of Education runs the public school system. They create policies that establish standards, accountability and evaluation of essential operations of the school system.
- The Board of Education member hires a superintendent and can remove them when necessary. The superintendent assists the Board of Education in implementing the board’s policies. 
- The Board of Education is charged with deciding the school budget. This means they decide how to allocate money between different services, such as teacher pay, repairing school facilities, or access to technology.
- Board of Education members are elected every four years. 

Member of the board that governs your county's public school system

Lee County Board of Education Member

Candidates (4)
Choose 3

Compare candidates

School Facilities & Resources

Access to Education

Teachers

School Curriculum

Student Wellbeing

Lee County Board of Education Member

Candidates (4).css-1e5j0e1{margin:0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.4;font-family:"HouschkaRoundedAlt";font-weight:400;color:#22034F;} Choose 3

Compare candidates

School Facilities & Resources

Access to Education

Teachers

School Curriculum

Student Wellbeing

Candidates (4)
Choose 3