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The Johnston County Board of Education adopted by unanimous vote Tuesday a resolution calling for a $285-million county bond issue on this November's General Election ballot. It will be up to the County Commissioners to accept that amount and authorize the requested referendum.

School board member Kay Carroll, who headed a Bond Committee that included members of the system's administrative staff, said the $285-million request is based on priorities that include renovations at numerous schools and additions to others – "to get us to our next bond issue," he said – presumably in 2026.

Johnston's voters approved a $177-million school-bond issue in 2022. School leaders at the time said it would be the first of three to be put before the electorate every other year to keep pace with Johnston's projected population growth without relying on property-tax increases for the financing.

The school board's resolution adopted this week lists schools that would get new and/or renovated facilities with the proposed $285 million:
• "Reconstruction" of Clayton High School.
• "Build-outs" at four elementary schools: Corinth-Holders, McGee's Crossroads, Thanksgiving, and Wilson's Mills.
• Renovations to Cleveland Elementary, Cooper Academy, Corinth-Holders Elementary, East Clayton Elementary, Four Oaks Elementary, Innovation Academy, North Johnston High, Princeton Middle/High, Riverwood Elementary and Middle, Selma Elementary, Smithfield Middle, Smithfield-Selma High, South Johnston High, West Clayton Elementary, West Johnston High, Wilson’s Mills Elementary.

Meanwhile, two new schools are being constructed with funds provided by the bond issue approved in 2022: a new high school at Wilson's Mills and Swift Creek Elementary on Cleveland Road northwest of Smithfield.

READ full text of the school-bond resolution adopted by the Board of Education>

"Condensed" school calendar adopted for 2024-25

Johnston's Board of Education went with the option preferred by most parents and staff and adopted Tuesday a calendar for the 2024-25 school year that shortens the first semester so mid-year exams can be completed before the Christmas holidays.

That's similar to the calendar in effect two years ago. The current year's calendar has semesters of similar length with mid-year exams held in January and the last day of classes on June 6.

Board members voiced support for a modified "year-round" option but agreed with "community feedback" and school leadership teams that such a change would be better with a full year's notice and thereby shouldn't be tried until 2025-26. Under that option, classes could begin in mid-summer with a first semester of normal length ending before the Christmas holidays. That option would have breaks at least two weeks long between each of four nine-week grading periods.

The so-called "condensed" calendar adopted this week sets August 26 as the first day of classes with a 78-day first semester ending December 20. The 90-day second semester starts January 7 with May 22 the term's last day for students.

VIEW the newly adopted school calendar for 2024-25>

'Community Town Hall' Monday on schools' Strategic Plan

Johnston County Public Schools (JCPS) will host the event at 6 p.m. Monday at Swift Creek Middle School on Norris Road northwest of Smithfield. "In the fall we heard from over 12,000 members of the JCPS community on what we need in our district's next strategic plan," reads the invitation to the event. "Come join us to learn how we have incorporated community feedback and weigh in on our progress thus far. Participants will preview the district’s new vision, mission, values, and goals before engaging in table discussions that will inform revisions moving forward." The meeting will be co-facilitated by JCPS leaders and its partners from RTI International’s Center for Education Services. Door prizes and entertainment will be provided, and child care is available for school-aged children.
 

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Town bracing for 6% rise in residential electric rate

The first look at how the Town of Smithfield's budget for the upcoming fiscal year is shaping up comes with Town Manager Mike Scott's "draft" spending plan that has been presented to the Town Council and is now posted on the town's website>

The big takeaways:

• A 6% increase in the town's residential electric rate, effective July 1 (when fiscal year 2024-25 begins for North Carolina's local and state governments).

• A 6% increase in sewage-disposal fees to cover an expected 6% hike in what the County of Johnston charges the town for sewage treatment, effective September 1.

• A 55-cent monthly increase in yard-waste fees to cover a $2-per-load increase in what a dumping site charges the town for accepting that debris.

• No change in the town's property-tax levy of 57 cents per $100 valuation.

• Three new town employees – two in Public Works "to better improve the town's appearance" and one to work as a full-time code-enforcement officer in place of two part-time positions in the Planning Department.

Town Manager Scott notes in the draft's introduction that the proposed 6% hike in power bills "still keeps the town's residential rates lower than the electric costs for the same residential property served by Duke Energy," which includes West Smithfield neighborhoods.

Ted Credle, the town's director of public utilities, told the Town Council last week that the 6% recommendation came about because of an unexpected increase in Duke Energy's charges for electricity purchased by local systems like Smithfield's as a result of recent surges in the price of natural gas, which now powers a number of Duke generating plants that used to be fueled by coal.

Prior to that development, Mr. Credle noted, the town had been planning on a 2% electric-rate increase for its customers to cover capital expenditures, as recommended by a consultant's recent rate study.

The town manager's "draft" budget is a starting point for the council's deliberations in the weeks just ahead. Once that work is done, he will craft his "recommended" budget for 2024-25 that could undergo additional tweaks by the council before final adoption in June.
 

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Johnston's jobless rate rose to 3.2% in January

The N.C. Department of Commerce reports that 107,972 Johnston County residents were employed in January – down from 108,497 in December. At the same time, the number of unemployed Johnstonians rose from 3,256 to 3,619, producing a rise in the county's jobless rate from a revised 3.0% in December to 3.2% in January. The statewide jobless rate for January was 3.6% while the national rate remained 3.7%.

Over the past year the number of employed Johnstonians has risen by more than 3,400 – up from 104,564 recorded by the state for January 2023 – while the number looking for work has remained almost exactly the same. Statewide, the number of employed North Carolinians has risen by more than 64,000 over the past year, according to the state's latest report.
 

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DECA members at SSS achieve state recognition

Smithfield-Selma High School’s DECA members competed in the organization's state Career Development Conference in Greensboro February 29 and March 1. DECA – Distributive Education Clubs of America – provides students with skills, knowledge, and professional attitudes required to excel in future business careers.

Four SSS members achieved awards as overall finalists:

• Andrew Hartman and Lillian Mizner earned the recognition in the Buying and Merchandising team decision-making event.

• Hailey Stephens and Magali Santiago-Olmedo were recognized for having top scores in their role play in the Individual Food Marketing Series event.

DECA members who achieve high placements in their selected events have a possibility of becoming top finalists. If selected, they are able to compete at the International Career Development Conference and, if they are an overall finalist, they have a chance to participate in leadership workshops at ICDC.

DECA members who achieve high placements in their selected events have a possibility of becoming top finalists. If selected, they will compete at the International Career Development Conference with a chance to participate in leadership workshops. (Story & photos from Smithfield-Selma High School)
 

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WHAT'S COMING UP

County Commissioners scheduled to meet Monday
The board's third-Monday session is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday (March 18) at the Courthouse. VIEW the agenda once it's posted on the county's website>

Smithfield Town Council: two land-use hearings Tuesday
Public hearings are scheduled at the start of the council's 7 p.m. session at Town Hall on two requests:
• CMH Homes is seeking preliminary-plat approval  for Jubilee Creek, a proposed seven-lot single-family residential subdivision on 4.8 acres near the intersection of NC 210 and Galilee Road adjacent to West Smithfield Elementary School.
• Carmax is requesting conditional business zoning of 13.13 acres on Outlet Center Drive just east of Carolina Premium Outlets for an automobile dealership.
VIEW the complete agenda for the March 19 meeting>
 

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  FOR SALE: house & lots overlooking South Smithfield pond  
313 W. Wilson St.

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DEATHS & FUNERALS

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A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR

Some thoughts on Primary Election results

Journalists by nature are "number crunchers" when it comes to politics and government, budgets and elections especially. Here are a couple of observations about the results of last week's Primary Election in Johnston County.

• Ronald Johnson, the Board of Education member who's seeking re-election even as he's facing several criminal indictments, led the voting in a race for the Clayton area's seat on the board. He received 13,083 votes, yet three other candidates on the ballot were favored by a total of 20,871 voters. In other words, 61.5% preferred someone other than Mr. Johnson to fill that seat.

• Curiously, a separate contest for a Board of Education seat reserved for a resident of western Johnston County drew 40,671 total votes – 6,762 more than voted in the race for Mr. Johnson's seat. Keep in mind that school-board seats, for the first time designated by districts, continue to be filled by countywide voting.

Why, then, did so many more voters take part in that contest? It could be because the western-seat race had six candidates, compared to four in the other contest, plus the fact that it was a wide-open race as none of those six are incumbent board members.

Of course, November's General Election is another story altogether, when far more voters will turn out for the Presidential showdown.

The thing about the school-board races (and there will be four on November's ballot) is that the candidates are, technically speaking, running without political party affiliation – as should be the way we fill all local offices including county commissioners, judges, and other judicial officers.

Who have been our longest-serving county commissioners?

County Commissioner Tony Braswell's passing got me wondering about the longevity of board members like him over the years. Mr. Braswell distinguished himself by serving for almost two decades on the county's chief governing body.

Johnston County's longest-serving county commissioners are led by Frank B. Holding Sr., whose 37 years in office (1957-1994) may be a statewide record, and Norman C. Denning, who served 36 years (1962-1998) after succeeding J. Dobbin Bailey, who served 27 years (1945-1972).

Other commissioners with at least two decades of service: R.P. Holding Sr. (Frank's father), 27 years (1930-1957); Cookie Pope, 24 years (1994-2018); Henry M. Johnson, 20 years (1948-1968); Dr. John M. Booker, 20 years (1976-1996); James W. Cash, 20 years (1978-1998); and Allen L. Mims, 20 years (1998-2018).

That's a lot of dedicated public service, not to mention the repeated earning of voters' confidence over many years. (Thanks to County Manager Rick Hester's office for providing an historical listing of commissioners and their service since 1900.)
 

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