Schools
asking for $23,312,767
more from county
No Fund Balance “spend down” in
2024-25 proposed
budget
Last June,
Johnston’s County
Commissioners approved the
Board of Education’s request
for operating expenses in
full – at just under $88.5
million for fiscal 2023-24.
The school board raised its
operating budget to $110.8
million mostly by drawing
down the school system’s
Fund Balance to about $12
million projected at year’s
end.
This time the Board of
Education is asking
commissioners for $111.8
million to avoid reducing
its Fund Balance any
further. As a result,
the requested increase
from the county this time
around is 26% above the
past year’s appropriation.
That’s not all. The board is
seeking an additional $22.8
million for capital needs.
Chief
Financial Officer Stephen
Britt presented the schools’
proposed budget for the new
year starting July 1 during
a special Board of Education
meeting Tuesday afternoon. Topping
the list of needs: higher
salaries, especially for
recruiting and retaining
teachers.
Mr. Britt said Johnston
County Public Schools lost
133 teachers to other
systems this past year,
including 43 to Wake County
and 37 to the region’s
charter schools. To counter
that trend, the proposed
budget includes $5 million
to increase teacher
supplements, $2.9 million to
fully restore master’s
degree pay that was cut out
by the N.C. General Assembly
some years ago, and $1.3
million to fund an
"improvement bonus” for
staff at schools that raise
their state grade above
“D.”
Other requests in the
proposed budget include
$600,000 for bus-driver
safety and attendance
bonuses, $2.4 million
for contracted custodians
and cleaning, $526,000
for additional SROs (School
Resource Officers,
including six to be employed
by the Smithfield Police
Department), $321,000 for
three additional school
nurses and one more social
worker, and $161,000 for
recruiting bonuses within
the Smithfield-Selma High
School feeder district.
Another $5.5 million is in
the proposed budget to make
up for the state’s shortfall
in funding the full cost
of Exceptional Children
services and a state cut in
“low wealth” allocations for
counties like Johnston.
Mr. Britt said about $10.7
million of the $111.8
million requested from the
county will follow Johnston
students who attend charter
schools both inside and
outside the county. Based on
projected enrollments,
American Leadership Academy
Johnston will get more than
$4.6 million, Neuse Charter
at Smithfield $2.2 million,
and Johnston Charter Academy
at Clayton $1.6 million in
the year ahead.
In addition to the school
board’s funding request to
the county for operating
expenses, another $28.8
million is sought for
capital improvements – up
from $6 million in the
current year’s budget. The
request breaks down to $12.2
for yearly building
maintenance and school-bus
replacements and $16.6
million for a list of
one-time capital projects
ranging from HVAC upgrades
to new athletic facilities
at a number of schools.
At the end of the hour-long
presentation by Mr. Britt,
the board voted 5-1 to
approve the
schools’ budget that
will be forwarded to the
County Commissioners for
consideration as they devise
the coming year’s overall
county budget. Ronald
Johnson cast the only
dissenting vote after
questioning why a “line
item” budget had not been
presented as requested by
board member Michelle
Antoine, who was not present
at Tuesday’s meeting.
For more details about the
proposed school budget along
with supporting data on
enrollment trends, a
breakdown of operating
expenses, state rankings on
per-pupil expenditures,
proposed teacher salaries
and supplements, and a list
of proposed capital projects
at particular schools, here’s the
link to slides that
accompanied Mr. Britt’s
presentation>
Part of that presentation is
the table below, which shows
the impact of this year’s
end of federal COVID-relief
funding under ESSER
(Elementary and Secondary
Schools Emergency
Relief) as well as
anticipated state funding
reductions:
Johnston's
jobless rate rose to
3.4% in March
The
N.C. Department of
Commerce reports that
109,304 Johnston County
residents were employed in
March – up from 108,298
in February – yet the
number of unemployed
Johnstonians rose from
3,748 to 3,815, producing
a slight rise in the
county's jobless rate –
from 3.3% to 3.4%. The
statewide jobless rate was
unchanged in March
at 3.7%
while the national
rate dropped from 3.9% to
3.8%.
April showers few and far between:
just 1.16 inches
April turned out
to be another
drier-than-normal month,
with just 1.16 inches of
rain recorded
by Cornell Cox's
Backyard Weather Station in
South Smithfield. According to U.S.
Climate Data, our average
rainfall for April is
3.30 inches. Our total
of 10.63 inches for the
first four months of the
year is putting us further
behind normal rainfall of
14.55 inches January-April.
Golfer Neal Lancaster in JCPS
Athletic Hall of Fame
Smithfield-Selma
High School graduate and
professional golfer Neal
Lancaster is one of five
selected for the 16th
class of the Johnston
County Public
Schools Athletic Hall
of Fame.
The others inducted this
spring:
• Chris Archer
of Clayton High School – a
Major League Baseball
pitcher for 10-plus years,
twice a two-time MLB
All-Star.
• Lynwood McLamb
of the Four Oaks Middle
School faculty – a
“Legacy" nominee with
more than 30 years of
service with Johnston’s
schools as a teacher and
coach of several sports.
• Anna Raynor
Marbry of South
Johnston High School – a
high-school state champion
in track-and-field whose
college career earned her
a place in the Hall
of Fame at
UNC Wilmington.
• Pat Smith
of the South Johnston
High School faculty – a
state-championship
baseball coach who’s in
the N.C. Baseball Coaches
Association Hall of Fame.
Here’s what Johnston
County Public Schools
wrote about
Mr. Lancaster’s
career:
Neal
Lancaster was born in
Smithfield and has
always loved sports. As
a student at
Smithfield-Selma High he
focused his attention on
golf and basketball.
Mount Olive College
offered Lancaster a golf
scholarship, and it was
there that he realized
he wanted to become a
professional golfer.
He joined the Carolinas
Professional Golf
Association, and began
working at Southern
Wayne Country Club in
Mount Olive as an
assistant pro. Lancaster
also started competing
throughout the state,
soon winning the 1984
Carolinas Open.
One of the highlights of
Lancaster’s career is
his U.S. Open records.
In the final round of
the 1995 Open held at
Shinnecock Hills Golf
Club in New York, he
became the first man in
the 100-year history of
the championship to
finish with a nine-hole
score of 29 strokes.
Lancaster turned his
attention to the PGA
Tour, and successfully
advanced through the
1989 qualifying
tournament to secure his
position competing on
the PGA Tour for the
1990-1991 season.
He enjoyed a
decades-long career,
playing with the best
golfers in the world,
and eventually competing
in over 580 Tour events.
As a current Champions
Tour member, Lancaster
continues to travel and
play a handful of
tournaments each year,
but is also looking to
pass along his passion
for golf by teaching.
VIEW a short
interview with Neal
produced by the JCPS
media staff>
Started in 2007,
the Johnston County
Athletic Hall of Fame is
on display during
regular business hours
Monday-Friday in the
school system's West
Campus Building at 211
Rose Street (former home
of Smithfield Elementary
School) .
JCC’s Cyber
Tech Grant Writing Team
(from left): Ryan
Bradshaw, Department Chair
of Business Education
& Technology; David
Oliver, Networking
Technology Instructor;
Daphne Lewis, Director of
Grants; Brian Worley,
Associate Vice President
of Business, Industry,
Logistics, and
Transportation.
JCC gets $645,836 grant for
cyber-security
training
Story
& photo from
Johnston Community
College
Johnston
Community College (JCC)
has been awarded $645,836
from the National Science
Foundationto establish a
cutting-edge Simulated
Cyber Range Training
Environment. This
initiative aims to bolster
the college's
cyber-security program,
providing students with
hands-on experience
crucial for success in the
rapidly evolving field of
cyber technology.
The grant will enable JCC
to develop a
state-of-the-art facility
equipped with advanced
simulation technology,
allowing students to
engage in realistic cyber
threat scenarios. By
replicating real-world
cyberattacks in a
controlled environment,
students will gain
invaluable practical
skills in detecting,
mitigating, and responding
to various cybersecurity
challenges.
Stated JCC President Vern
Lindquist: “With the
establishment of the
Simulated Cyber Range
Training Environment, we
will be able to offer
hands-on training that
mirrors the complexities
of today's cyber
landscape, ensuring that
our graduates are
well-prepared to meet the
demands of the industry."
The Simulated Cyber Range
Training Environment will
not only benefit JCC
students but also serve as
a resource for the broader
community, including local
businesses and
organizations seeking to
enhance their
cybersecurity
capabilities. Through
partnerships and outreach
initiatives, JCC aims to
promote cybersecurity
awareness and contribute
to the overall
cybersecurity posture of
the region. JCC is also a
member of the Carolina
Cyber Network.
Guided by industry
feedback on talent
pipeline concerns and
diversity, the project
will facilitate hiring
skilled female candidates
by employers and offer
opportunities to
individuals with
backgrounds in IT/cyber.
JCC will also host
workshops for interested
female high-school
students and to offer them
assistance from mentors in
the field.
WHAT'S COMING
UP
Saturday’s
Ham & Yam Festival
will be bigger this
year
Organizers of
the 38th annual Ham &
Yam Festival are expecting
200 vendors, including 40
food stands plus food
trucks, for the one-day
event this Saturday in
Downtown Smithfield. Two of
the returning staples from
the first event in 1985 are
the Smithfield Kiwanis
Club’s ham-biscuit stand and
the WRAL-sponsored “What’s
That Yam Thing” sweet-potato
decorating contest for
youngsters. The festival’s
major sponsors this year are
Stevens Sausage and
Agri-Supply.
More festival
details are posted on the
Johnston County Visitors
Bureau website>
River
Jam hosts Cinco De
Mayo concert Sunday
afternoon
An extra edition
of the new River Jam
concert series at the
refurbished Neuse River
Amphitheater is a concert by
Orquestra K’che starting at
4 p.m. Sunday, which is
Mexican Independence
Day: Cinco De Mayo (May
5). Admission is free of
charge for this series
hosted by the Smithfield
Parks & Recreation
Department.
County
Commissioners may fill
board vacancy Monday
The agenda for
the Johnston County Board of
Commissioners meeting at 10
a.m. Monday at the
Courthouse includes
appointment of someone to
fill the vacant District 6
seat on the board left by
the recent death of Tony
Braswell. Commissioners will
also receive Johnston
Community College's request
for an $85-million bond
referendum as part of
November's General Election.
VIEW
the complete agenda for
the 10 a.m. session>
During the 6
p.m. session on Monday,
the board will adopt a
resolution asking the N.C.
Department of
Transportation to name the
Peedin Street Extension
bridge over U.S. 70 at
Pine Level in memory of
deceased Commissioner Tony
Braswell. Public hearings
are scheduled on two
requested rezonings to
allow business uses – one
in Pleasant Grove
Township, the other in
Wilders Township.
VIEW
the complete agenda for
the 6 p.m. session>
Town
Council to
revisit controversial
subdivision plans
The Smithfield
Town Council will face
decisions on proposed
residential subdivisions off
Buffalo Road north of town
and NC 210 west of town when
it meets at 7 p.m.
Tuesday at Town Hall. The
Buffalo Road case – first
heard in January with
opposition from council
members and neighboring
residents – involves
rezoning of 168 acres
adjacent to the Bradford
Park subdivision to allow
222 single-family houses.
The plan for a 7-lot
single-family project at the
intersection of 210 and
Galilee Road was turned down
by the council last month
but will be revisited in
light of litigation
concerns. Also on Tuesday’s
agenda is reconsideration of
an earlier request to
establish a Downtown “social
district” for outdoor
consumption of alcoholic
beverages. VIEW
the complete agenda for
Tuesday's meeting>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Dr.
Steven Landau is
planning to shred his
old medical files in mid
May 2024. Those wishing
to obtain the originals
may contact him at
yogidocta@gmail.com or
919-868-4729.
Cost, including shipping
and handling will
be $25.
Thank you
for allowing me to serve
you!
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Town
moving to replace
disfigured Bradford
pears
The Smithfield
Town Council hasn’t made its
final decisions on the
upcoming fiscal year’s town
budget, but one item of
consensus during the
council’s review of
departmental requests
appears to be replacement of
200-plus Bradford pear trees
that have lined residential
streets for several decades.
“You’re gonna get calls
about that,” Mayor Andy
Moore warned council members
during Wednesday night’s
budget session. “Whatever
you do, there needs to be a
plan in place,” he advised
Public Works Director
Lawrence Davis, who said the
Appearance Commission will
be recommending “trees that
flower well” as
replacements.
The ugliest Bradford pears
are those that line South
Second Street. Even though
they produce spectacular
early-spring blooms, they’ve
been grossly
disfigured over the
years by trimming to keep
their tops away from the
town’s electrical lines.
Obviously, the solution is
to replace them with
slower-growing specimens
that don’t grow so tall.
Another replacement
project discussed
during Wednesday’s session
is the proposed removal of
the bricks behind the curbs
on Market Street Downtown
that are being pushed
downward by vehicles parking
over the curbing. Stamped
concrete will take the place
of the bricks, Mr. Davis
told the council.
Once that’s done, police
enforcement of a rule
against over-the-curb
parking should be stepped
up, Mayor Moore insisted.
“We cannot have cars parking
on the sidewalks, period,”
he declared.
Both of those projects will
require appropriations in
the town’s budget for the
year ahead: $47,705 for
removal of the trees,
$18,700 for the curbside
work, Mr. Davis estimated.
In both cases, spending
money on those improvements
should save maintenance
expenses for Public Works
going forward.
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,527
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
You will
find it in the
Weekly Sun
archives>
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
