Based
on the latest enrollment
numbers, American
Leadership
Academy-Johnston will
receive $8,587,849 of the
state's per-pupil
allotment for Johnston
County's public schools
(including three
charters). That news was
delivered to Johnston's
Board of Education last
week by Chief of Finance
Stephen Britt.
Termed a "reversion," the
allocation for the new
charter school impacts the
budget for Johnston County
Public Schools, but was
not unexpected, Mr. Britt
told the board. The same
thing happened in 2018
when $3.5 million was
diverted with the opening
of Johnston Charter
Academy in Clayton, he
noted. That school enrolls
about 670 students in
grades K-8. ALA Johnston,
located between Smithfield
and Clayton, has grades
K-10 now and plans to add
grades 11 and 12 next
year.
According to Mr. Britt,
ALA Johnston reported an
enrollment of 1,590
students at the end of its
second month of operation
(in late October).
Enrollment in Johnston's
traditional public schools
was 37,079 at that point,
he noted. Neuse Charter at
Smithfield is Johnston's
third charter school that
gets per-pupil funding
from the state. It enrolls
about 900 students in
grades K-12.
Johnston County Public
Schools ended the 2021-22
fiscal year June 30 with
an audited fund balance of
$31,345,361. That has been
reduced considerably by a
recent drawdown of $8
million for pressing
facility repairs and
improvements plus
$10,961,151 added last
week to the schools'
2022-23 budget to cover
the cost of charter-school
funding reversions and
other expenditures beyond
the budget adopted by the
Board of Education before
schools opened in August.
Funding
provided for police
officers in every
Johnston school
Included
in previously unbudgeted
appropriations is a
$250,000 local match for a
state grant of $1,693,500
to ensure that an SRO
(School Resource Officer)
can be employed at every
public-school campus in
the county. Currently,
there's an SRO stationed
at every high school and
middle school. The grant
plus the local match will
ensure that all of the
county's 25 elementary
schools have SROs on duty.
New
teaching scholarships
directed toward SSS
district
The board committed funding for five
scholarships each year
over the next three
years for prospective
teachers who meet
collegiate academic
requirements and commit
to returning to teach in
the Smithfield-Selma
school district,
classified as a federal
Title I district because
of above-average poverty
levels.
The JoCo TEACH
Scholarship will provide
$10,000 annually for
college students who
attend an accredited
teacher-preparation
program at "a university
of their choice,"
maintain a 3.0
grade-point average, and
volunteer for 20 hours
of community service "in
an educational setting,"
explained Chief Academic
Officer Nicholas King.
Local funding will
provide $50,000 the
first year, $100,000 the
second year, and
$150,000 the third for a
total of 15 scholarships
to be awarded. JoCo
TEACH (Teaching
Education Assistance for
College and Higher
education) is a program
initially launched at
Smithfield-Selma High
School for recruiting
future teachers and
putting them on an
academic path into the
profession.
Dropouts increased this past year;
SSS had the most
The Board of Education learned that
Johnston's high-school
dropouts numbered 265
for the 2021-22
academic year – up
from 236 in 2020-21.
Smithfield-Selma had
the most dropouts of
any high school in
Johnston this past
year with 75 – up from
55 the year before.
Asked what caused the
spike in the number at
SSS, Amanda Allen, the
school system's
director of social and
emotional learning,
pointed to students'
"choice to work rather
than graduate" as the
top reason for those
dropouts.
On a brighter note,
Ms. Allen noted that
19 of 23 dropouts who
re-enrolled through
the system's Summer
Learning Program were
able to graduate after
all.
SSS
PRINCIPAL'S LIST
AND HONOR ROLL FOR
THE FIRST NINE
WEEKS>
South Smithfield has "Employee of
Month"
Charlene Spruill, a fifth-grade teacher at
South Smithfield
Elementary School,
was honored as
"Employee of the
Month" at last
week's meeting of
the Board of
Education. She
started out as a
teaching assistant
at South Smithfield
and now serves as a
mentor for new
teachers there.
She's especially
involved with
helping
international
teachers who join
the faculty, the
board was told.
West Smithfield Advisory Council
appointment
The board confirmed the appointment of
De'Lyncia Pegues to
a three-year term on
the West Smithfield
Elementary School
Advisory Council.
She was recommended
for approval by
Principal Darrick
McNeill and current
members of the
council.
Rainfall
better in November, but
it's still a dry year
November
brought us 3.12 inches of
rainfall, including 0.56
inches on the last day of
the month, according to
Cornell Cox's Backyard
Weather Station in South
Smithfield. That brings
our year-to-date total to
38.7 inches, which is well
below our annual average
of just under 48 inches,
with one month to go.
(October's 0.88 of an inch
set us back quite a bit
from normalcy.)
Why have Smithfield's
stately oaks shown
brighter fall colors
than usual, so it seems.
Is it a result of our
abnormally dry year?
These magnificent
specimen were
photographed earlier
this week above Hancock
Street.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT
Smithfield-Selma Spartan teams: no
wins so far
Both
the boys and girls
basketball teams are 0-2
after losses at home on
Tuesday. The boys were
defeated 80-57 by Harnett
County's Triton High.
Senior Elijah Mays led the
SSS scoring with 18
points; junior Elijah
Bailey added 10. The girls
team was beaten by an
unlikely score of 87-0,
according to MaxPreps
(the source of all game
results reported by the
Weekly Sun).
SSS will dedicate
the naming of its
basketball court in
memory of long-time
Coach and Athletic
Director Carl Spragins
between games December
9.
Neuse
Charter boys and girls
win by large margins
The
Cougars' boys basketball
team trounced Mintz
Christian Academy 103-54
at home on Tuesday to
remain undefeated with a
season's record of 6-0.
Senior Sire Holmes led the
Neuse Charter scorers with
26 points; junior Jayvin
Bradley scored 19, senior
Darian Murray 17, senior
Blane Barefoot 13.
The Cougar girls improved
their season's record to
5-1 with a 63-29 triumph
over Mintz Christian.
Sophomore Cayley Cochran
led the Cougars with 14
points; senior Lyndsy
Parrish had 13, freshman
Layla Johnson 11.
Princeton
football team finishes
season at 12-2
Eliminated
from the state 2-A
playoffs by Wallace-Rose
Hill High 48-14 last
Friday at Princeton, the
Bulldogs are done after 12
victories and just two
losses, the first against
Smithfield-Selma in the
season opener. Princeton
was the last Johnston
County team remaining in
competition entering Round
4 of the playoffs.
(EDITOR'S NOTE:
Wallace Rose-Hill was a
conference rival of
Smithfield High School's
Red Devils in the 1950s,
and in 1959 SHS beat
Wallace Rose-Hill 7-6 in
the playoffs en route to
a state 2-A football
championship.)
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Downtown tree-lighting festivities
start at 6 this
evening
The
Town of Smithfield's
Christmas Tree Lighting
starts at 6 o'clock today
(Thursday) with "Candy
Cane Lane" activities
along the 100 block of
South Third Street,
including dessert food
trucks, ornament making,
"reindeer food making,"
free books, free face
painting and balloon
animals, "train rides" and
inflatables. The tree in
the Public Library
courtyard at Market and
Third streets will be lit
with the help of "a
special guest from the
North Pole" at 7 p.m.
Entertainment by Artistry
in Motion, South
Smithfield School
children, and the Johnston
County Community Choir
will follow. Santa,
meanwhile, will head over
to his workshop at Town
Hall Park to greet
youngsters. For more about
upcoming Town of
Smithfield Yuletide
events, visit SmithfieldChristmas.com>
County
Commissioners consider
grants to towns Monday
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will get a
recommended list of
municipal infrastructure
grants during Monday's 10
a.m. session. Included on
that list is a grant of
$500,000 to the Town of
Smithfield for
improvements to its
water-treatment plant. VIEW the
complete agenda for the
morning session>
At Monday's 6 p.m.
session, commissioners
will reconsider a request
from the N.C. Department
of Transportation for an
easement to allow
replacement of the NC 210
bridge over Middle Creek.
The board deferred action
on the matter last month
because of concerns about
a lengthy detour
associated with the
project.
VIEW the
complete agenda for the
evening session>
Town
Council's December
meeting at 7 p.m.
Tuesday
The
Smithfield Town Council
will conduct public
hearings on two rezoning
petitions during its
regular monthly meeting at
Town Hall:
(1) Bobby Huskey is
requesting a special-use
permit to construct and
operate a "private bar" in
a portion of a commercial
building at 447 Venture
Drive.
(2) Sanderson Engineering
is requesting rezoning of
a nine-acre tract at the
end of Gulfstream Court
off US 70 Business West
from Light Industrial to
Heavy Industrial to permit
"food (protein)
manufacturing."
A third public hearing
will be held on staff's
recommendation to increase
recreation and park fees
charged by the town for
approval of major
subdivisions.
VIEW the
complete agenda for
Tuesday night's council
session>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
ROMA BROOKS
WINBORNE, 85 – died
November 26
JOAN KAYE
STRICKLAND PARKER,
81 – died
November 25
NANCY POUNDS
TROGDON, 87 – died
November 25
GARY ALLEN
PHILLIPS, 54 – died
November 23
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Police
Chief Powell helped
bridge racial gaps
Wednesday
was the last day on the
job for Smithfield's Chief
of Police Keith Powell,
whose retirement after 30
years of service with the
town's Police Department
took effect with
November's end.
Appropriately, he was
honored with an afternoon
reception at Town Hall
that was well attended by
colleagues, friends, and
family.
Chief
Powell (left) stands
with Town Manager Mike
Scott behind a memory
box presented as a
retirement gift from
fellow policemen during
Wednesday's reception.
Mr. Powell succeeded Mr.
Scott as chief of police
in 2016 after Mr. Scott
was promoted to town
manager.
Chief Powell impressed me
with his professionalism
and calm demeanor during
the past four years of my
publishing the Weekly
Sun. What stands
out the most was his
commitment (without
fanfare) to "community
policing" – an effort to
bridge the perceived gap
between law enforcement
and minority neighborhoods
especially.
Working alongside Town
Councilman Marlon Lee and
other African-American
leaders, Chief Powell and
his staff made
Smithfield's National
Night Out event an annual
staple in conjunction with
a nationwide
community-policing
campaign.
And I'll never forget his
participation in
Councilman Lee's "100 Men
In Suits" rally and march
in the wake of the George
Floyd killing by police in
Minneapolis in 2020. That
was a bringing together of
civic leaders black and
white who stood shoulder
to shoulder to denounce
racial discrimination in
this place we call home.
(It was fitting that event
culminated with a walk
across the Neuse River
bridge to the site of that
infamous Ku Klux Klan
sign, which stood beside
US 70 Business from 1967
till 1976 yet continues to
haunt the town half a
century after its
removal.)
Chief Powell was a product
of a Police Department
environment that stressed
exemplary professional
service. We trust his
successor, once chosen,
will maintain that lofty
standard.
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