Board of Education

Mr. Lee Kirkman

Chairman

Lee Kirkman represents District 2 of the Craven County Board of Education.

Having been born and raised in Craven County. His life has been devoted to education through teaching, administration and ministry in order to help others excel.

Lee is a product of Craven County Schools and graduated from West Craven High School. He graduated from NC State University in Agricultural Economics/Ag Business Management. After graduation, he taught Agricultural Education/FFA Advisor at West Craven High School for thirteen years. He then became the Program Director for the Smaller Learning Communities Federal Grant. Through this program, opportunities were implemented for freshman success in high school. This included establishing the Freshman Academy, AVID, and Link-Crew (a student a high school transition program, led by upperclassmen, designed to help incoming freshmen succeed academically and socially by providing mentorship and support throughout their first year.

While serving as Program Director, he also obtained his Master of School Administration/Educational Leadership degree from East Carolina University. Lee then served as an Assistant Principal at West Craven High School until leaving for full-time ministry.

Lee is currently the Pastor/Director at Kirkman Farm Ministries/Kirkman Family Farms in Cove City. He has two children, Grace and Isaac, both of which are graduates of Craven County Schools.

CURRENT TERM: March 2025 - November 2026

Mrs. Amy Davis

Vice-Chairman

Amy Davis proudly represents District 5 on the Craven County Board of Education. A graduate of Pamlico County High School (Class of 2003), Amy pursued her higher education at Craven Community College before embarking on a successful professional journey. She has spent the past 23 years as the Business Operations Manager at Carolina Craniospinal Neurosurgery, where she has honed her leadership skills and grown both personally and professionally.

Amy and her husband, Jonathan are the proud parents of three children: Talon, Baylie, and Easton, all of whom are enrolled in Craven County Schools. As a dedicated mother, she is deeply committed to ensuring that every child in the community has access to a high-quality education and the opportunities they deserve.

Her three children are her greatest passion, and  her deep connection to them and their education as well as all the students in Craven County are what motivated Amy to serve on the Board of Education.

Amy firmly believes that every child should have access to an excellent educational experience and  she is committed to collaborating with fellow board members, parents, educators, administrators, and the community to address the challenges facing Craven County Schools. Guided by a dedication to making decisions that serve the best interests of all students, Amy will work tirelessly to ensure that the needs of her district and the entire Craven County student body are met with fairness and integrity.

CURRENT TERM: December 2024 - November 2028

Mrs. Jennifer Dacey

Mrs. Jennifer Dacey, a native North Carolinian, represents District 4. Jennifer and her husband Scott have been married for 29 years. They chose to move to New Bern 20 years ago to be close to their extended family and to raise their two children with eastern North Carolina values. Jennifer believes that to whom much is given, much is required. And she has made an effort to live out those values in our community, serving as the president of the Craven Community College Foundation, chair of the Craven County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, board member of the Craven-Pamlico Re-Entry Council, trustee of Craven Community College, and president of the Craven County Republican Women’s Club.

As the daughter and granddaughter of high school teachers with a love for lifelong learning herself, Jennifer is passionate about ensuring that teachers, staff, and students have the resources and structure they need to succeed. She is most looking forward to spending time in our schools volunteering and learning about all that our school system has to offer. 

Jennifer is a graduate of Duke University where she majored in public policy studies and history. After graduation, she worked for several years in Washington, D.C., and then attended the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, from which she graduated with High Honors. Jennifer began practicing law in Falls Church, Virginia, where she dealt with a wide range of civil litigation matters. More recently, she practiced in the trusts and estates area at Ward and Smith, P.A. in the firm’s New Bern office. She is licensed to practice in both North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia and has handled matters in both state and federal courts.

CURRENT TERM: December 2022 - November 2026

Ms. Darlene Gibbs

Ms. Darlene (Nethercutt) Gibbs represents District 7 and has been a resident of Havelock/Harlowe for 45 years. She has been involved with Craven County schools as a parent, grandparent and an educator. Both of her daughters attended and graduated from the Craven County School System. Now, as a grandparent, she has five grandchildren currently attending schools in Craven County. Ms. Gibbs has a heart for military families, she is a part of a military family. Her father was a Green Beret with the 101st Airborne Division. Previously, as an educator, she worked in the school system for over 11 years. First as a substitute teacher at Graham A. Barden Elementary and Roger Bell Elementary, (now, Roger Bell New Tech Academy). Next, as an assistant Teacher at Roger Bell Elementary. And finally, as the Technology Specialist at Tucker Creek Middle School for the first six years that it was open. Through these experiences, she has an understanding firsthand of the struggles of students, staff and parents in her district.

Ms. Gibbs recently retired from FRC EAST, Cherry Point. There, she was tasked with supporting the fleet by managing and publishing technical manuals for various aircraft platforms.

Ms. Gibbs was a member of the Oak Grove United Methodist church for many years. While attending the church she was involved in various roles. She was blessed to teach Sunday School and serve as the Youth Leader for several years. There are a few of her previous youth members now teaching in the Craven County School System. Ms. Gibbs believes in service-related activities and one of the reasons she ran for election was to help young people understand that you must get involved in civil activities if you want to help make a change. Ms. Gibbs is looking forward to volunteering in the schools and being involved once again.

CURRENT TERM: December 2024 - November 2028

Mrs. Lauren Kitzinger

Mrs. Lauren Riggs Kitzinger represents District 6 of the Craven County Board of Education.  Having been born and raised in New Bern, Mrs. Kitzinger is a product of Craven County Schools and graduated from high school in 2005.  She attended Craven Community College, but eventually graduated from North Carolina Wesleyan College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, summa cum laude.  She is married to Matthew, who has been serving in the Marine Corps for over 27 years.  Together, they share 5 boys – one who graduated from New Bern High School in 2021 (Austin); the middle 3 boys (Nate, Blake, and Benjamin) currently attend Craven County Schools, and the youngest (Beau) will start kindergarten in 2023. 

Lauren’s passion is her children, which is what led to her desire to serve on the Board of Education. She believes that every child deserves a thorough, quality education and that we each carry a vital responsibility in ensuring that reality.  She is committed to effecting positive change with the intent of maintaining and requiring transparency, respect, and accountability.

CURRENT TERM: December 2022 - November 2026

Mrs. Patti Mason

Patti represents District 1. She and her husband Tim have been married for 31 years, choosing to move to New Bern after Tim’s retirement from the Army after 29 years. They LOVE New Bern and North Carolina – they love the people, culture and lifestyle. Patti immediately got involved community activities in New Bern including the Neuse Sunrise Rotary while transitioning to New Bern. She is active in her church and is blessed to serve as the Finance Chair, unofficial secretary, communications coordinator, and other roles as they crop up. She along with a few other women have organized a community women’s Bible study for women, by women. She has worked for the Board of Elections as a poll worker and Chief Judge. She and her husband stayed back to ride out Hurricane Florence to be on the spot to provide recovery assistance. Patti volunteered at Carolina East Hospital running a clothing drive for the hospital workers impacted by the hurricane and supported her church in helping members that were displaced by the hurricane.

Patti is passionate about education. Her undergraduate degree is in Secondary Math Education from University of Maryland. While there she started her first MS program in Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University and transitioned to the National Security eventually becoming a systems engineer earning her second MS in Telecommunications Engineering from the George Washington University. She taught on the job several times. She was requested to join a tutoring program at a local high school as part of the agency and gladly did so for several years. She volunteered at a local day care for two years. She has tutored here in New Bern discovering her talents are with girls learning mathematics. She taught GED level 2 math for a semester at the Craven Community College. She believes in education and in the fact her motto when running engineering teams and divisions was that you could not go home from work until you learned something for the day – even if it was a new way to do a minor task you always do.

Her belief is that the best leaders keep the people in mind that they are serving and do what is best for them. Leaders must remain in contact with and have an open door to all people. Patti believes the best solutions are the ones that we all jointly arrive upon. She is looking forward to serving  Craven County in this new capacity.

CURRENT TERM: December 2024 - November 2028

Mrs. Lori Spiece

Mrs. Spiece is a native of New Bern and Craven County, raised in The Ghent neighborhood, and has called the Forest Hills neighborhood home for the past 17 years. She is proud to be a product of Craven County Schools, attending Trent Park, F.R. Danyus, H.J. MacDonald, Grover C. Fields,
and graduating from New Bern High School in 1996.

Mrs. Spiece is a graduate of two of North Carolina’s finest state universities: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA, 1999) and EastCarolina University (MBA, 2004).
She spent the first 21 years of her professional career in the corporate sector, specializing in Finance, Accounting, and Business Planning within the Forestry and Manufacturing industries, primarily at Weyerhaeuser Company, but also including service at BSH Home Appliances. In
2020, she transitioned to residential real estate appraisal. She is a certified residential real estate appraiser, serving eight counties across eastern North Carolina.
Her commitment to education and community service has been long-standing. She served on the Board of Directors of Craven County Partners in Education from 2008 to 2025, including two terms as President. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Forestry Association (since 2015), where she formerly chaired the Education Committee; She is a past recipient of the Educator of the Year (2016) award in recognition of her statewide contributions to forestry education.
In August 2023, Mrs. Spiece married her childhood classmate and love of her life, Brandon, a public high school administrator (formerly 22 years in the classroom as a Social Studies teacher). She is also mom to Patrick, affectionately known as “my best bet yet.” Each are all proud products of Craven County Schools and grateful for the strong foundation it has provided for their success.
Mrs. Spiece stands for accountability, fiscal stewardship, academic excellence, and the safety and security of all students and facilities. She supports competitive education strategies that prepare students for success in career, college, and military opportunities – starting in Kindergarten. She believes Craven County Schools should strive for A+ performance in every aspect—Academics, Attendance, Athletics, the Arts, and all co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Her decisions as a school board member are informed by her Christian, Conservative values, ensuring that every single student has access to the possibility of A+ performance.

You can contact her directly at lori.spiece@cravenk12.org or via phone/text at (252) 474-6288.

CURRENT TERM: December 2024 - November 2028