Johnston County
Board of Education

report from April 29 session

Board members present: Chairman Todd Sutton, Lyn Andrews, Al Byrd,
Terri Sessoms, and Mike Wooten, with Kay Carroll taking part via Zoom
Absent: Ronald Johnson


PROPOSED BUDGET HAS BOARD'S ACCEPTANCE

The proposed budget for 2021-22 presented by Superintendent Eric Bracy and staff got a favorable response from board members. They especially praised the plan for incentive bonuses for teachers and support staff at schools that improve their academic standing.

The board took no action on either proposal at last Thursday's special session, deferring formal approval until next Tuesday's regularly scheduled monthly meeting. Once approved, the school's funding request will be sent to the County Commissioners who will make the final decision about funding levels with adoption of the the 2021-22 county budget prior to July 1.

"I think this is exactly what we need," exclaimed Terri Sessoms, reflecting the board's enthusiasm about the incentive-pay proposal. "It will attract the best of teachers to those schools" that have been graded D and F on the state's academic report card because of under-achieving students.

"We have to do something different for these schools that are lagging behind," added Kay Carroll, who said the proposal is one of the best ideas he has seen in many years (he previously served on the board in 1992-2008).

Superintendent Bracy emphasized the importance of incentive pay not only for student achievement but for Johnston's overall economic development.

Here's how the pay plan would work:

Teachers would receive a $1,000 bonus at schools that get a "Met Growth" rating on the state's annual measure of academic expectations, a $2,000 bonus at schools that "Exceeded Growth," and a $3,000 bonus for D-and-F-graded schools raised to a C grade or better. Support staffs would get bonuses half those amounts.

Under the proposal, the County Commissioners would pledge to make those bonus payments directly from the county's General Fund as needed --- not to be included in the schools' operating budget.

"It's a bit different," admitted Stephen Britt, the school system's chief of financial services. "We hope to make this a little more palatable to all parties."

A figure of $3.6 million was mentioned as the cost of that proposal over the next several years.


AN ADDITIONAL $5,773,079 FOR OPERATING EXPENSES

The proposed budget from the superintendent's staff asks for an increase in the coming year's county appropriation for schools to fund four specific requests:

• $2,993,991 to cover salary increases of 5% including additional costs of local teacher supplements and other benefits related to salaries. That's assuming the N.C. General Assembly approves raises of that magnitude for state-paid teachers --- raises that are matched for county-paid employees including teachers beyond the number allotted by the state for Johnston's public schools.

• $1,749,634 for an additional 1% in locally paid teacher supplements, which currently range from 10.5% to 13.5% of state-based salaries. That would move local supplements to a new range of 11.5% to 14.5% based on years of experience. (Wake County's current supplements range from about 18% to almost 24%.)

• $641,000 to raise pay for school-bus drivers to a minimum of $15 an hour.

• $387,000 for operating Thanksgiving Elementary School, opening in August.

The county appropriated $72 million for Johnston's public schools this past fiscal year. Adding to that state and federal grants for operating expenses plus capital expenditures funded by county taxpayers, Johnston's total budget for schools exceeds $400 million annually.


AN ADDITIONAL $2,162,000 FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS

The budget also asks the county to increase its annual appropriation for repair and replacement projects from $800,000 this past year to $2,962,000 (this amount does not include major construction projects funded by county bond issues).

Included in that request are boiler and/or chiller replacements at Glendale-Kenly Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, and McGee’s Elementary; HVAC control upgrades at nine schools; rubber-roof replacement at Four Oaks Elementary; football bleacher refurbishing at Smithfield-Selma High, South Johnston High, and Princeton; gym-floor refinishing at North Johnston High and Cleveland Middle; tennis-court repairs at Smithfield-Selma High and Corinth Holders High; new athletic lighting at Clayton High; replacement of activity buses at several schools; property purchases at Princeton High and Facilities Services in Smithfield; technology infrastructure upgrades; classroom furniture; work vans and mowers; and asbestos removal.


$104 MILLION IN FEDERAL COVID RELIEF THROUGH 2024

Mr. Britt gave the board a report on federal coronavirus-relief funds that began arriving last year and will continue to be available for specific needs through September 2024.

It adds up to $104,047,291, including $29 million expected to arrive in May that will cover this year's summer program for students needing catch-up work and the upcoming school year's Virtual Academy for students who will continue remote learning at home. Mr. Britt said the summer program alone is expected to cost about $10 million annually over the next four years --- a total of $40 million.

He emphasized that these funds cannot supplant state or county appropriations for normal school operations. The bulk of the federal aid approved by Congress is "geared toward learning loss" because of the pandemic, he said.

Furthermore, the spending of those federal dollars will be scrutinized by "a lot of eyes" to make sure it's used only for allowable purposes, Mr. Britt told the board.

He also presented a report on how much money Johnston County didn't have to spend because of the past year's shutdown of schools during the coronavirus pandemic --- savings that amounted to $1,156,212 in utility costs, $2,591,802 in school-bus services, and $1,277,795 in reduced expenses for substitute teachers --- a total exceeding $5 million.

As a result, Johnston's school system has built up a fund balance that may reach $20 million by the end of the fiscal year June 30, Mr. Britt suggested. "I hate to say it but COVID pulled a lot of (school) districts out of the red," he said.


UNCERTAINTIES ABOUT FUNDING FROM THE STATE

Despite the prospect of a hefty fund balance at the end of the current fiscal year, Mr. Britt warned that Johnston's schools could see a reduction of more than $8 million in funding from the state this coming year because of a drop in student enrollment this past year.

 

Johnston's state allotment for 2020-21 was based on an enrollment of 37,837 during the previous school year, but the funding allotment for 2021-22 is likely to be based on the current year's average daily membership (ADM) of 36,587, the finance director reported. If that holds up, Johnston's schools will be looking at a "reduction in force" of 46 positions, Mr. Britt said. "Nobody's losing their job," he was quick to add. "We have far more than 46 to turn over each year."

 

But if school enrollment this coming year exceeds the state's projection --- as expected by local officials as the coronavirus pandemic eases and Johnston's residential growth continues on a record-setting pace --- the county will be faced with having to employ additional teachers beyond the state's initial ADM allotment. If that occurs, the state would adjust its allotment accordingly but the funding wouldn't arrive before December, requiring the county to advance the funds to cover the expense of the additional teachers till then, Mr. Britt explained.

 

That's a big reason for maintaining a healthy fund balance, he noted.

 

Adding to that uncertainty is what the state's Legislature does this spring for school funding. Governor Roy Cooper has proposed a budget that would raise teachers' pay 10% over the next two years, restore extra pay for teachers with master's degrees, and set a minimum wage of $15 an hour for all school employees, Mr. Britt reported. Those extra expenses would inflate Johnston's school budget since county-paid teachers and support staff would have to be treated the same, he pointed out.

 

One encouraging proposal from the Governor, Mr. Britt said, is removal of the 12.75% cap on state reimbursements to local school systems for the expense of educating "exceptional children" with handicaps. That cap (applied to total enrollment) contributed heavily to putting Johnston's schools $10.8 million "in the hole" last year, he noted.

 

How the Republican-led Legislature responds to those proposals from the Democratic Governor remains to be seen.