Johnston County
Board
of Education report from Nov. 12 meeting |
 |
Board members present:
Chairman Mike Wooten, Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms, and
Peggy Smith
Absent: Todd Sutton, Tracie Zukowski
Board revises rules on "public comments"
that limit speaking time to
three minutes
Following recommendations from its policy review committee, the Board of Education approved a new "Public Address to the Board" policy, effective next month, that allows speakers to sign up as late as the start of each meeting but reduces the time allotted for comments from five minutes to three.
Current policy requires speakers to sign up at least 48 "business hours" prior to a board meeting. The new policy allows speakers to sign up "in person with the Superintendent's designee ... prior to the beginnning" of each month's meeting. Speakers will be required to "furnish statements, written information, or provide the topic at the time of sign-up."
"Comments will be limited to matters relating to the school system," the new rules state. "For complaints or concerns about the performance of school personnel, student issues, or any other confidential matter, the Board suggests that the concern first be submitted to the school principal, the Johnston County Public School system official responsible for the program or facility, or to the superintendent."
The editor's thoughts about the new rules are on the OBSERVATIONS page>
NEW RULES PROPOSED FOR STUDENT TRANSFERS
The board received from the policy review committee revised rules for assignment and reassignment of students to particular schools. One new provision states that students granted a transfer to a high school outside their district of residence "will not be eligible to participate in athletic events for 365 days." Under the new policy, requests for reassignment must be received between May 15 and June 30 for the ensuing school year. Board member Terri Sessoms voiced concern about a new rule requiring a $10 non-refundable fee for each transfer application. She suggested that fee be limited to $10 for multiple requests coming at one time from the same family. The board will consider adoption of the revised policy at its December 10 meeting.
STUDENT REASSIGNMENTS APPROVED AND DENIED
As part of its "consent agenda" requiring no discussion, the board approved and denied numerous requests for reassignment of students to schools outside the attendance districts where they reside. The numbers are much smaller now that the school year is in full swing, and this time there are more denials than approvals. All of those on this month's approved list are transfers from neighboring counties. Most of the denials were transfer requests to "capped" schools that have no room for additional students this year.
View this month's list of APPROVALS>
View the list of DENIALS>
NEW STUDENT CONDUCT CODE COVERS FALSE THREATS
The board adopted a revised "Code of Student Conduct" that adds "False Threat" to consequences for threatening "mass violence" on school properties. A student who violates this policy shall be suspended from school for 10 days. If a school principal determines that "aggravating circumstances" exist, a student may be recommended for long-term suspension and possibly expulsion if the student is at least 14 years old.
BOARD MEMBER HAS A PLAN FOR COMIC BOOKS IN SCHOOLS
The
board endorsed
member Ronald
Johnson's plan
to furnish
comic books to
third graders
to entice them
to read books.
Dubbed the
"Super Hero
Initiative,"
his "pilot"
program seeks
donations from
businesses,
especially, to
purchase comic
books for two
third-grade
classes ---
one at West
Smithfield
Elementary
School,
another at a
school yet to
be named. He
estimates the
expense would
be $2,500 to
$3,500 per
third-grade
class for an
entire school
year.
Referring to
comic-book
characters
like "Captain
America,"
"Black
Panther," and
"Captain
Marvel," Mr.
Johnson said
he wants
third-graders
"to act like a
super hero, do
your homework
like a super
hero, get
(good) grades
like a super
hero, and help
others like a
super hero."
Another aspect
of his plan is
to bring
police, fire,
military, and
rescue
professionals
to the
classrooms
once a month
to talk about
their
experiences as
"super
heroes." He
said he's
looking to the
Johnston
County
Education
Foundation for
help in
rounding up
donations for
the project. TOBACCO TRUST GRANT FOR SOUTH JOHNSTON HIGH
The board approved acceptance of a grant up to $210,591 from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to construct a building at South Johnston High that will be used primarily for the school's agriculture curriculum. Deputy Superintendent Paul Coates said it will be located in the vicinity of the school's mobile classrooms and will be available for JROTC teams, district competitions, community club events, and other activities.
FURNITURE BOUGHT FOR CORINTH HOLDERS ADDITION
The board approved a contract for $162,325 with Interior Systems, Inc. of West End to provide furniture for the 24-classroom addition to Corinth Holders High School. Chief of Staff Dolores Gill said the construction project is progressing ahead of schedule, with completion now anticipated this February.
FACTS ABOUT THE SCHOOLS' NUTRITION PROGRAM
Dana Edwards, the system's director of nutrition, gave the board an update that included these numbers: 5,400 are students served breakfast and 16,700 served lunch each day by the school system's 194 nutrition employees. The average sanitation grade for the county's lunchrooms is 99.8. Meal prices for students who pay in full are $1.40 for breakfast, $2.30 for lunch in grades K-8, and $2.40 for lunch in high school. Of course, many of Johnston's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals because of family incomes. "No student goes without a meal, no matter what," Ms. Edwards told the board. Current enrollment at Johnston County's public schools exceeds 37,400 students --- which indicates that many students bring their own meals to school or go off campus to eat.
"INAPPROPRIATE IMAGE" REMOVED FROM WEBSITE
The board learned about placement and subsequent removal of an "inappropriate image" by Google's search engine on a link to the Four Oaks Middle School website that's maintained by the school system. The incident came to the attention of Nathanael Shelton, director of communication for Johnston's schools, early last weekend. Chief of Staff Gill said Google had the image removed after persistent requests from staff. She said a phone call to Google didn't fix the problem. It took "simply reporting it again and again and again" to Google to get action, she noted.
BUSINESS SYSTEM "MODERNIZATION" CONTRACT OK'd
The board approved a contract with Cherry Road (Oracle) to serve as the vendor for Johnston County's participation in a statewide "School Business Systems Modernization" project. Brian Vetrano, chief of human resources and financial services, said the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will pay for the installation of Johnston's new system while the county will pay Cherry Road $9 per student in the county's schools for annual maintenance.
SOUTH HIGH STUDENT SAYS TEACHERS NEED DEFENDING
Ben Martin, a student at South Johnston High School who's pursuing a career in teaching, voiced concerns about teachers being "publicly destroyed" by social-media allegations involving culturally sensitive materials. Referring to a recent incident at South Johnston, he said teachers are becoming "targets of national scrutiny with no one to defend them."
READ the full text of his prepared remarks
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER COMPLAINS ABOUT SEVERAL ITEMS
Kurt Peck, a substitute teacher at numerous Johnston County schools over the past three years, presented the board a list of complaints regarding treatment of students with learning disabilities, working conditions for substitute teachers, and school safety and security.
READ the full text of his prepared remarks>
BOARD'S MONTHLY MEETINGS TO BEGIN LATER
Starting in December, the Board of Education will meet later in the afternoon on the second Tuesday of each month. The new schedule calls for a closed session at 4 p.m. followed by the session open to the public at 5 p.m. The "Public Comments" portion of the meeting will continue to be scheduled for 6 p.m.
The board has scheduled a special session at 5:30 p.m. Monday, November 25 to consider "Facility Needs and Restart Reform; Modifications and State Reports."
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