Johnston County
Board of Education report from Sept. 8 meeting |
 |
All board members were present:
Chairman Todd Sutton, Teresa Grant, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms,
Peggy Smith, Mike Wooten, and Tracie Zukowski
School system's finances in good shape,
thanks to local actions and state relief
Johnston's school board got a double dose of good news from the financial front during Tuesday's monthly meeting:
First
of all,
recently
employed Chief
Financial
Officer
Stephen Britt
(pictured)
said it
appears the
school system
finished the
2019-20 fiscal
year with a
fund balance
of about $10
million,
thanks to
"emergency"
appropriations
from the
County
Commissioners,
cost-cutting
by staff
coupled with
savings
prompted by a
"wellness
audit," and
the premature
closing of
schools in
mid-March
because of the
COVID-19
pandemic.Before all that occurred earlier this calendar year, the system was facing a shortfall approaching $8.9 million to meet the county's obligation for operating Johnston's schools through June 30.
The second piece of good news is approval by the N.C. General Assembly last week of "hold harmless" measures that won't reduce state funding of North Carolina's public-school systems because of enrollment declines resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnston's schools, Mr. Britt said, "would have had a multi-million-dollar loss" without that temporary change in policy that bases annual state funding on enrollment. He noted that Johnston's Average Daily Membership was "1,376 under projections" at 36,685 on Day 10 of the current semester. (Last year's 10th-day number was 37,229.)
Despite the brighter financial picture overall, Mr. Britt sounded a warning about depressed revenue from cafeteria sales as students are barred from attending school because of COVID-19 restrictions. One way to reduce those losses would be delivering meals directly to all students rather than relying on curbside pickups at the county's elementary schools --- the current practice.
Thanks to an extension of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's summer feeding program, all of Johnston's students are eligible for free meals through December. "That's the best positive we've had," Mr. Britt said.
Board member Ronald Johnson wondered if the meals could be delivered on Saturdays and Sundays as well as weekdays. "There are legitimate needs" for that, he said.
With some flexibility included in the Legislature's recent adjustments on funding policies, Mr. Britt said it may be possible to use state and even federal money to pay for meal deliveries using the county's school buses with county-paid bus drivers.
Even with funding uncertainties persisting in the weeks and months ahead, Mr. Britt said he foresees no need for layoffs or cuts in salaries or services by Johnston County Public Schools this fiscal year.
MORE ABOUT PLANS FOR RE-OPENING SCHOOLS
The board spent a considerable portion of Tuesday's lengthy meeting discussing particulars of re-opening the county's 45 school campuses to students.
"We don't have classroom space to bring everybody back and remain in compliance," said board member Terri Sessoms, "and we don't have the staff" to educate students spread beyond normal class sizes because of the Governor's current requirements for social distancing.
The board was told that bringing back 995 "self-contained exceptional children" on September 28 would require 127 classrooms, while 445 pre-K students returning then would need 45 classrooms to meet the Governor's restrictions. That's based on all those students attending school four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday).
Superintendent Bracy said kindergarten students returning October 12 would be divided into two groups, one attending school on Monday and Tuesday, the other on Thursday and Friday. "The pandemic is real," he said. "We need to take baby steps" instead of returning all students to school at once.
Meanwhile, board members as well as staff continue to get complaints about online learning at home. "Virtual's not working," declared Deputy Superintendent Paul Coates, who predicted a "substantial number" of parents will abandon at-home learning once schools begin to re-open.
A major problem with virtual learning continues to be reliable Internet connections that can handle the workload. Dr. Coates said problems are especially acute for Sprint Internet customers, prompting her staff to work on alternatives including deployment of more "hotspot" devices. She said 462 families are currently on the waiting list for that assistance, but she expects all to be served once another 300 devices are delivered within the next week or so.
Another matter, which appears to be resolved, is taking temperatures of students who ride school buses. The initial plan was to check temperatures as students arrived at school, but now plans are in the making to do those checks when a student boards a bus. That's what several board members wanted to happen.
Chief of Operations Dolores Gill said the protocol will require students registering above-normal temperature to be seated well away from other riders and then sent to an isolated "triage" area once they reach school.
REPORT ON TEACHER RESIGNATIONS, "ACCOMMODATIONS"
Brian Vetrano, the system's director of human resources, gave the board an update on issues regarding teachers. He said 250 have recently resigned their positions, up from an average of 185 in recent years. Retirements, meanwhile, have numbered 26 lately, up from 10 in usual times. And so far 375 teachers have requested "accommodations" --- a term for assignments keeping them out of classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic. Most of those, Mr. Vetrano said, are requested because of "high risk" health conditions or "living with someone of high risk." Board member Ronald Johnson asked if there are any schools that may not be able to open for students because of teacher accommodations. Mr. Vetrano acknowledged concerns about several schools in suburban areas that could lack enough teachers on campus to handle student populations, but added he isn't aware of a specific school "where we couldn't make (re-opening) happen."
RESTART OF DRIVER'S EDUCATION COMING SOON
The board learned that a restart of driver's education by Johnston County Public Schools personnel should be occurring very soon. Amanda Allen, director of student services, said protocol will limit two students with one instructor per vehicle, all wearing masks and gloves, temperatures checked, windows down at all times, and cleansing of vehicles done in the presence of students before they start their lessons. Related classroom work will be done online along with other aspects of virtual learning, Ms. Allen said. The board, without dissent, approved a motion to restart the program.
SSS ROBOTICS TEAM IN NASA SATELLITE-LAUNCH CONTEST
The board bestowed its blessings on the SSS Robotics Team's quest to win NASA's acceptance of a "miniaturized satellite" it plans to build for launching into space for research and other scientific applications. The team is made up of 15 students in grades 7-12 representing not only Smithfield-Selma High but also Cleveland and North Johnston high schools, Neuse Charter School, the Early College program at Johnston Community College, and home schoolers. Collaborating with similar teams of students in Nebraska and Florida on the project, the group will meet with NASA scientists at Kennedy Space Center in October for a proposal review and critique. Selection of who gets to launch a "CubeSat" satellite will be announced in February. The local team seeks to win recognition from NASA as "First in Orbit" from North Carolina.
SEWER EXPENSE FOR NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The board awarded a $783,000 contract to low-bidder Providence Construction of Clayton to install a sewer pipeline and on-site pump station for the new elementary school under construction on Lynch Road in the Thanksgiving community off NC 42 east of Clayton. Funding for the work will come from the bond issue approved by the county's voters in 2018.
PROPOSED CLAYTON-AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTS TWEAKED
The board received the second draft of proposed new attendance districts for elementary schools and middle schools in the Clayton area from consultants associated with N.C. State University's Operations and Research Laboratory (OREd) and Numerix, a partner agency. Revisions presented at Tuesday's meeting were made in response to concerns voiced during a "virtual community and parent engagement meeting" held this past month. Final approval of the new boundaries is expected at the school board's October 13 meeting. The realignment of attendance districts is prompted by construction of a new elementary school on Lynch Road that's scheduled to open next year. New middle-school districts are being worked into the changes in an effort to disperse more evenly the student populations at Archer Lodge Middle, Clayton Middle, and Riverwood Middle. The new elementary districts will affect Corinth-Holders, Cooper, East Clayton, River Dell, Riverwood, and Selma Elementary plus the new school yet to be named.
View Tuesday's presentation with revised attendance boundaries>
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