Johnston County
Board
of Education report from May 30 session |
 |
Board members present: Chairman Mike Wooten, Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson,
Terri Sessoms, Peggy Smith, and Tracie Zukowski
Absent: Todd Sutton
School board eliminates 50
positions,
retains employees to fill
vacant slots
The Johnston County Board of Education, meeting in special session last Thursday, voted to eliminate 50 positions. The action followed a closed session to discuss personnel matters. The positions include seven operations directors and 43 teaching and learning coaches.
"While the positions are being eliminated, the employees will maintain employment within the school system by filling vacant," said Crystal Roberts, the system's chief of communication and engagement, in a statement issued to the JoCoReport.
In conjunction with that action, the board approved Superintendent Ross Renfrow's recommendations affecting a number of school principals:
• Heather Anders, from Smithfield Middle to North Johnston Middle.
• Tol Avery, from Four Oaks Middle to North Johnston High.
• Jamie Stoke, from Riverwood Middle to Cooper Academy at Clayton.
• Kenneth Sumler, from North Johnston Middle to the position of Site Administrator for Choice Plus.
• Ben Williams, from North Johnston High, to Director of Academic Innovation.
Three others were moved into principals' slots from other positions:
• LaShunda Faison, promoted from assistant principal to principal at Smithfield Middle School.
• Stephen Baker, moved from the system's Office of Academic Innovation to principal at Selma Middle School (he's a former Smithfield-Selma High principal).
• David West, moved from one of the eliminated operations director positions to principal at Riverwood Middle School.
All those changes take effect July 1.
Here's the complete list of personnel contracts approved by the board last week>
ATTENDANCE POLICY REVERTS TO RULE WITH "TEETH"
The board approved a return to a previous school-attendance policy that requires students to attend "a minimum of 91% of all class meetings to receive credit for a course during any grading period."
The revised policy states further that "if absences from class exceed four per nine weeks, eight per semester, or sixteen per year, the maximum grade a student may receive for the grading period is F or 59, regardless of the reasons for the absences."
Those rules were dropped from the policy a couple of years ago. School Board Chairman Mike Wooten thanked the system's Policy Review Committee for its recommendation to "put teeth back in our policy."
The 91% attendance requirement may be waived at the discretion of a school's principal, the policy allows.
TEACHERS AT "TARGETED" SCHOOLS TO GET COACHING
The board approved a contract with ASCD Professional Learning Services to provide "professional development" for teachers at Johnston County's 33 designated "Targeted Support and Improvement Schools" (TSI) where student achievement is lagging.
That includes numerous workshops for teachers as well as "job-embedded coaching," Deputy Superintendent Paula Coates said.
Board member Tracie Zukowski asked how many teachers at each school will be served by the project. "At least five and a maximum of 10," replied Ana Milazzotto, director of federal education programs.
The cost of the ASCD contract is $343,301, an expense that will be covered by federal TSI and Title II funds.
Johnston's TSI schools are Archer Lodge Middle, Benson Elementary, Benson Middle, Clayton High, Clayton Middle, Cooper Academy, Corinth Holders High, Corinth-Holders Elementary, Dixon Road Elementary, East Clayton Elementary, Four Oaks Elementary, Four Oaks Middle, McGee's Crossroads Elementary, McGee's Crossroads Middle, Meadow, Micro Elementary, North Johnston High, North Johnston Middle, Pine Level Elementary, Polenta Elementary, Princeton Elementary, River Dell Elementary, Riverwood Elementary, Riverwood MIddle, Selma Elementary, Smithfield Middle, South Smithfield Elementary, Swift Creek Middle, West Clayton Elementary, West Johnston High, West Smithfield Elementary, West View Elementary, and Wilson's Mills Elementary.
TRACKS AT SSS, TWO OTHER SCHOOLS TO BE REBUILT
The board awarded a contract to Romeo Guest Construction of Durham to rebuild the "rubberized" running tracks at Smithfield-Selma, South Johnston, and West Johnston high schools and also replace four tennis courts at South Johnston. The $1,909,549 expense will be covered by funds from the $76-million bond issue approved by Johnston's voters last November. The track repairs include drainage improvements around the schools' football playing fields. That work should be finished before football season opens this August, said Delores Gill, the school system's chief of staff who handled the contract award.
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING NEXT TUESDAY
Open business session at 4:00 p.m.
Public comment session at 6:00 p.m.
The board meets in the Evander S. Simpson Building at 2320 U.S. 70 Business East, Smithfield. As usual, the agenda was not published by the Sun's "press time" on Thursday; this link will lead you to it once it's posted online>
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