All board members present: Chairman Todd Sutton, Lyn Andrews, Kay Carroll, Ronald Johnson, Terri Sessoms, Tracie Zukowski, Mike Wooten Sutton re-elected chairman, assigns new board members to committees With two new members in place --- Lyn Andrews and Kay Carroll --- the board re-elected Todd Sutton as its chairman for another year, with Ronald Johnson casting the only dissenting vote. Terri Sessoms was elected vice chair by unanimous vote. Chairman Sutton added the two new board members to an expanded Finance Committee that also includes Mike Wooten as chairman, Tracie Zukowski, and Mr. Johnson. He added Ms. Andrews and Mr. Johnson to the board's Policy Committee that includes Ms. Sessoms as chair and Ms. Zukowski. Those committees are to schedule monthly sessions open to the public since both will convene with a majority of board members in attendance. Mr. Sutton added Ms. Andrews to a temporary committee that's overseeing the recruitment and selection of both a full-time staff attorney and a contracted attorney to handle the school system's legal affairs, and he named Mr. Carroll to a committee that's working on proposals for electing future school-board members by districts. 2019-20 DROPOUT RATE LOWEST IN RECENT YEARS The board received a report on the dropout rate for Johnston's schools during the 2019-20 school term that shows an encouraging decline in recent years (see table below). Amanda Allen, the school system's director of social and emotional learning, pointed out that the lower numbers for the past year could reflect, at least in part, the interruption of traditional school attendance because of last March's coronavirus shutdown. For purposes of this report, required by the state, a dropout is defined as "any student who leaves school for any reason before graduation or completion of a state-approved educational program without transferring to another school (public, private, or homeschool)."  Actual numbers of dropouts by school for 2019-20 ranged from 26 at Smithfield-Selma to a low of 3 at Princeton High. The SSS number was down from 59 in 2018-29. The countywide dropout total this past year was 126 --- down from 215 the previous year. Of the 2019-20 total, 79 were white students, 68 Hispanic, and 50 African-American. PARENT REQUESTS IN-PERSON "PUBLIC COMMENT" OPTION For the "Public Comment" segment of Tuesday's meeting, the board was in receipt of an e-mailed statement from George Moore, "proud parent of a middle-school student and the proud husband of an elementary-school teacher." Among his suggestions was a request to make Wednesday a "deep-cleaning day" in elementary schools as presently scheduled for middle and high schools. He also put in a plug for allowing speakers like himself to appear before the board to voice their concerns. "I must say it is ironic that I cannot speak in person to protect you guys (from coronavirus exposure) but an elementary teacher can be in a classroom of 25 all week long," he wrote. That drew a response from Mr. Johnson, who said he agreed with Mr. Moore that citizens should be allowed to speak to the board in person. STAFF PURSUING OPTIONS ON CUSTODIAN SHORTAGE Chief of Operations Dolores Gill gave the board an update on efforts to fill vacant custodial positions. Presently, Johnston's schools have 29 vacancies and four on medical leave related to COVID-19, with 25 "temps" working in their place and administrators "looking for five more," she reported. Meanwhile, "school nutrition folks" and bus drivers are being asked to help out, she added. As he did at last month's meeting, Mr. Johnson insisted that contractors be lined up to help with the cleaning, perhaps rotating among several schools within a feeder district to "give our custodians a break." Chairman Sutton asked the Finance Committee to report back to the full board in January with a cost analysis of the contract-cleaning option. EXPENSES FOR ATHLETICS TO BE COVERED AS NEEDED Finance Director Stephen Britt brought up the question of how to cover expenses incurred by schools' athletic departments without gate revenues from fans. Rather than add "flat dollar amounts" to those budgets, Mr. Britt said he favors covering "certain costs" with General Fund appropriations as needed. Board members agreed, prompting Chairman Sutton to instruct the finance director to "make sure we take care of the essentials." The biggest expense, Mr. Wooten pointed out, is the cost of gasoline to fuel activity buses carrying athletes to games and matches. THREE RETIREES SALUTED AS "LIVING LEGENDS" In place of the customary annual banquet honoring "Living Legends" of Johnston County Public Schools, the board set aside time during Tuesday's meeting to recognize this year's recipients: • Valerie McCormick Carpenter, who headed the Foreign Languages Department at Clayton High School and was a founding member of the CHS alumni association. • Sandra Hodges Edwards, a teacher for more than 35 years, mostly at South Smithfield Elementary where she continues to volunteer as a tutor. • Shelly Wayne Marsh, whose career in public education spanned 47 years as he served in positions ranging from classroom teacher to deputy superintendent. |
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