March 16, 2021 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 33 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners March 16 , 2021 6 00 pm The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in joint session with the Johnston County Board of Education on Tuesday , March 16 , 2021 at 6 00 pm at the Johnston County Schools Facilities Services Building , 601 West Market Street , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members of the Board of Commissioners were present Present Chairman Chad M Stewart , Vice Chairman Larry Wood , Tony Braswell , Patrick E Harris , RS " Butch " Lawter , Jr , and Fred J Smith , Jr Absent Commissioner Ted G Godwin Also Present County Manager Rick J Hester , Clerk to the Board Paula G Woodard , Finance Officer and Deputy County Manager J Chad McLamb , County Attorney Jennifer J Slusser , and Paralegal Deputy Clerk to the Board Dana Cuddington Board of Education Chairman Todd Sutton welcomed the Board of Commissioners and those in the audience to the joint meeting Chairman Chad M Stewart called the meeting of the County Commissioners to order at 6 00 pm Chairman Stewart thanked the Board of Education , on behalf of all the Commissioners , for hosting the joint meeting Chairman Stewart noted the absence of Commissioner Ted G Godwin , stating that Commissioner Godwin is home with his family as they are having to put down a long time family pet Chairman Stewart thanked the staff of Johnston County Schools for their work and preparations for the meeting as well as Jim Earp and the Technology Departments from Johnston County Schools and the County for working together so those at home can virtually attend Chairman Stewart stated since March of 2020 , COVID has impacted all of our lives in a way that he did not think anyone could have imagined He thanked the Johnston County Board of Education and Johnston County Schools including all the teachers and administrative personnel , the students and families that have been working so hard to continue the support and education of our youth throughout this entire event Chairman Stewart also expressed the Board's appreciation to the Johnston County Public Health Department , Emergency Services , the Sheriff's Office , 911 - Communications , Johnston Health and their entire team at the hospitals , all the EMS and first responder personnel , all the County employees , the volunteers at the vaccine clinics and the municipalities for their support and ongoing response to this pandemic Commissioner Larry Wood led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag Board of Education Member Al Byrd offered the prayer 1 Virtual Learning Update Johnston County Schools Superintendent Dr Eric Bracy thanked Chairman Stewart for his comments about the staff at Johnston County Schools Dr Bracy began his presentation by talking about the teachers , principals , bus drivers , custodians , and all other staff that have been amazing throughout COVID - 19 Dr Bracy reviewed and discussed the following information with the Board Page34 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm ContinuedPage35 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm ContinuedPage36 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Upon questions , Dr Bracy confirmed that students enrolled in the virtual academy would be able to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports , clubs , and band Dr Bracy stated he feels the virtual academy would be a great tool to market to current homeschoolers Dr Bracy also noted that many homeschoolers have to pay for learning platforms ; however , the virtual academy would be free At the inquiry of Chairman Stewart , Dr Bracy stated the virtual academy would be its own school with its own set of teachers The Board discussed possible enrollment numbers for a virtual academy Dr Bracy stated until an actual virtual program is launched they will not know exactly how many students will sign up for that alternative The Board also discussed with Dr Bracy and the Board of Education , the performance numbers and how to improve those rankings The Boards took a five minute recess 2 Construction Building Update Johnston County Schools Chief of Facilities and Construction Brooks Moore presented and discussed the following information PagePage pageNumber537 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Mike Miller with the Operations Research and Education Laboratory OREd , reviewed the membership forecast by school level with the Boards , as follows PagePage pageNumber638 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Mr Miller stated the effects of COVID - 19 are factored into the numbers and they have not seen a significant slowdown in permits He stated the numbers are indicating growth is beginning to occur in areas of the County that have traditionally not seen growth in the past Mr Moore continued his presentation as follows PagePage pageNumber739 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Mr Moore requested the Board consider a 2022 bond referendum with a smaller amount being sold in 2023 and stretching the sales out over a period of five or six years instead of waiting for a 2024 bond referendum Mr Moore also proposed the creation of a working group consisting of two Commissioners , two Board of Education Members , and staff to meet on a regular basis to keep the lines of communication open Commissioner Fred J Smith , Jr expressed concerns with the information in the presentation and stated he feels it may be inadequate to meet the needs of the County Commissioner Smith spoke on the growth and home sales in the County and stated more needs to be done to build school facilities and have a first class education system for students Commissioner Smith spoke on the need for the Commissioners and the Board of Education to work together collaboratively and build quality schools for the County At the request of Chairman Chad M Stewart , Mr Moore reviewed with the Board how the capacity numbers are calculated and how that equates to new facilities Chairman Stewart stated that regarding a bond referendum in 2022 , the Board of Commissioners could take action to put the referendum on the ballot ; however , the people of Johnston County are the ones that will ultimately decide if that bond referendum passes Chairman Stewart spoke on the need to have exact and certain numbers as to what is needed by Johnston County Schools He noted there are still many unknowns and the Board must proceed very carefully Upon questions by Commissioner Tony Braswell , Mr Moore stated they are asking for a 2022 bond referendum and based on their initial estimates the amount would need to be 143 million ; however , he will have more data as the next school year starts so that number should be considered a moving target at this point Mr Moore commented that there are many more needs not included in tonight's presentation At the inquiry of Chairman Stewart , County Manager Rick Hester stated staff would need to analyze all the scenarios and bring options back to the Board as it relates to a bond referendum Commissioner Patrick E Harris thanked Mr Moore for his presentation stating that he believes it was Mr Moore's intent to bring something reasonable to the Board to begin discussions Commissioner Harris stated to Commissioner Smith's credit , he feels that there needs to be a plan to address all the needs and fix the problems Commissioner Harris stated he is not in favor of mobile classrooms and would like to see them all eliminated Commissioner Harris also agreed with the need to create a workgroup to look at options and noted that perhaps it is time to reconsider the design and layout of school construction in the County The Boards continued to discuss the data used to project future needs and how those numbers are derived Chairman Stewart stated he would speak with Chairman Sutton later in the week to begin putting the workgroup together 3 Budget Update Johnston County Schools Chief of Finance Stephen Britt presented and discussed the following information to the Board PagePage pageNumber840 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm ContinuedPagePage pageNumber941 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Commissioner Larry Wood thanked Mr Britt for the information stating it is the clearest presentation he has received from Johnston County Schools concerning finances and was easy to understand At the inquiry of Commissioner Wood , Mr Britt discussed how school systems are allocated funds from the State Chairman Chad M Stewart also thanked Mr Britt for the presentation and stated he appreciates Mr Britt's efforts to make the funds work as efficiently as possible Upon a question by Commissioner Butch Lawter , Mr Britt reported he obtains the ranking data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Commissioner Lawter agreed with earlier comments that Johnston County's children deserve a first class education and he wants to see the ranking improve Commissioner Lawter commented that Mr Britt's presentation was very transparent which he appreciates Page042 March 16 , 2021 - 6 00 pm Continued Commissioner Patrick E Harris commended Superintendent Dr Eric Bracy , his staff , and the Board of Education for the information presented and stated for the first time since he has been a Commissioner , he feels comfortable with the numbers There being no further business , Commissioner Tony Braswell moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Patrick E Harris seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 9 20 pm Chad M Stewart , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage