Alamance-Burlington schools honor retirees with 1,659 years of service

Alamance-Burlington schools marked the end of one era and the start of another at Southeast Alamance High School, where the district honored its 2025-2026 retirees with 1,659.61 combined years of service. The total is more than a ceremonial number; it represents the institutional memory, long-built relationships and daily judgment leaving classrooms, offices and support roles across Alamance County.

The Alamance-Burlington School System said the gathering was organized by the ABSS Human Resources Team, with special appreciation for Roberta Powell’s coordination. Southeast Alamance High School hosted the event, while CTEC Culinary Arts students prepared and served the food and the Hugh M. Cummings High School Orchestra Ensemble provided music, turning the recognition into a school-community collaboration rather than a routine personnel notice.

That matters in a district of ABSS’s size. The system says it is the 15th-largest public school district in North Carolina, serving nearly 23,000 students in pre-K through 12th grade across 38 schools. When a retiree class carries more than 1,659 combined years of service, the departure of veteran staff affects more than staffing charts. It touches the students who knew them, the co-workers who relied on their experience and the school culture they helped shape over time.

The setting added its own meaning. Southeast Alamance High School opened to students on Sept. 11, 2023, after the Board of Education voted on Aug. 30, 2022 to name the new campus and later approved the Stallions mascot on Oct. 24, 2022. Built as a 221,000-square-foot facility with room for 1,250 students, the school was funded through the county’s 2018 education bond, including $67 million for the new high school. In that way, one of ABSS’s newest buildings became the backdrop for honoring careers that stretched back decades.

The district’s retirement guidance shows how often that transition comes into focus. ABSS says qualifying Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System employees are permanently full-time workers who put in at least 30 hours a week, with a mandatory 6% payroll deduction and retirement processing that can begin 90 to 120 days before an effective retirement date. With the last day of school listed as June 5, 2026 and board meetings scheduled for June 16 and June 22, the retiree tribute landed squarely in the district’s summer handoff, when old routines close out and new staffing decisions begin to take shape.