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OBSERVATIONS
May 5, 2020 |
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 Wingate Lassiter |
Electing school-board members
by districts a good idea, if . . .
It's good to see members of the Johnston County Board of Education in accord as they push for election of future board members by residential districts. Their plan calls for electing the board's seven members from separate high-school attendance zones. (All would continue to be elected by voters countywide.)
That's an effective way to ensure representation from all parts of the county.
Since there are eight high-school attendance zones and seven board seats under the plan, board members working on a draft for enabling legislation by the N.C. General Assembly agreed last week that the North Johnston and Princeton attendance zones could be treated as one since enrollment at those two high schools combined is closer to enrollment at the other six.
That's fine, except for one thing: The attendance zones as they now exist range from about 2,000 students at Corinth Holders and Clayton to about 1,300 at several schools including Smithfield-Selma. Even though election districts ought to be crafted by population rather than school enrollment, those attendance numbers remind us that the school zones need some tweaking for assigning students more equally throughout Johnston County.
High-school attendance zones with enrollment numbers closer together not only ensure equality when it comes to allocating educational resources, but also put decisions about where to build or expand high schools on sounder fiscal footing.
To illustrate our current situation, here are Average Daily Membership (ADM) numbers compiled for 2019-20 by the N.C. High School Athletic Association:
Corinth Holders 2,040; Clayton 1,951; Cleveland 1,790; West Johnston 1,331; South Johnston 1,285; Smithfield-Selma 1,284; North Johnston 761; Princeton 585.
Combining numbers for North Johnston and Princeton equals 1,346.
Looking ahead to 2022, when the change in school-board elections would take effect and official population results are known from the 2020 U.S. Census, we ought to draw new boundaries not only for school attendance zones but also for the seven residential districts for electing County Commissioners. Those districts haven't been changed since they were adopted prior to the election of 1994!
LETTER FROM A READER
To The Editor:
I was shocked to read that the Town Council is not inclined to adequately fund our local library. This is unacceptable if we are to be perceived as a growing and desirable place to live.
When I was growing up a long,
long time ago, in a small town outside of Chicago, the
library was central to our community. Through the
years, I have lived in rural farm communities, medium
and very large cities all across our nation. In every
place I lived, the library was my first destination to
learn about where I was living. Even California --- so
maligned as lacking intellectual capabilities and
described as a plastic society --- has developed
incredible libraries that are an integral part of the
communities all across the state.
I found libraries with large
collections and some with smaller collections with
access to larger collections. I found libraries that
made every effort to offer computer access to their
communities. I found libraries that offered programs
from computer courses to story times to ancestry
workshops to a place for civic organizations to meet
at no charge.
I found libraries that had an
active Friends of the Library program to provide
volunteers and assist in fund-raising. I found
libraries that had free performances by local
musicians. I found libraries that had readings by
local authors. I found libraries that loaned toys and
even ukuleles in addition to books. I even found a
library with a hitching post outside so a patron could
ride a horse to return and check out books.
I do not think the Town
Council realizes how fortunate we are to have the
expertise of (Library Director) Rita Barksdale
struggling to maintain an incredibly underfunded and
unsupported entity that has the potential to bring
such rewarding benefits to our community. I have had
the pleasure to meet Ms. Barksdale. She has made
remarkable inroads, including a book sale and authors’
readings. It is obvious that she is ready and willing
to make our county library all that it can be.
As far as I can tell since
moving to Smithfield over five years ago, the only
amenities available at no cost to residents are a few
parks and the library. Everything else requires a fee
or fee-based membership. With over 200,000 visitors
and over 96,000 cardholders, the need to continue
support of the library is obvious. If we are able to
provide tax incentives to developers, why can we not
afford to support our library? Most of all, how can we
deny the children of our community access to all the
world that is offered in books?
--- H. SUSAN AUGUSTYN, Smithfield
Smithfield's Blooming: this week, yellow iris
Not as common as the purple variety, these yellow iris at the corner of South First and Parker streets are eye-catching nonetheless. And if it's true that April showers bring May flowers, we ought to have a bountiful month of flowering beauty before us.
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