Citizens of Johnston County to Vote on a $177 Million School Bond
The Citizens of Johnston County will have the opportunity to vote on a $177 million school bond on November 8. It is important that our community stakeholders understand Johnston County Public Schools' facility needs and the plan to address them with not only a 2022 Bond referendum, but future, anticipated bond and capital funding as well.
Facilities are one of the most influential, and limiting factors in building a high-quality Career & Technical Education (CTE) program. There are four very real issues that we are currently dealing with our CTE program that this bond would help to address:
- As schools swell with students the district uses mobile units to provide additional classrooms. Practically none of the CTE programs that we need to introduce and grow in JCPS are able to be deployed in a mobile unit classroom.
- Another solution is having teachers "float" into other teachers' classrooms during their planning period, but most CTE teachers cannot "float" due to the equipment, supply, and technology resources required by their curriculum.
- CTE curriculum and instructional activities place students in labs and shops, working hands-on with potentially dangerous equipment, tools, and materials. Overcrowded schools result in students being placed in CTE courses that, in some cases, far exceed the state recommended enrollment caps for the CTE course.
- New schools with intentionally planned CTE instructional spaces can help us meet our goal of increasing our alignment to the regional labor market. One reason we are out of alignment with regional labor market demand is that we are heavy in CTE pathway programs that can be deployed in a traditional classroom.
It is important to note that while the federal and state legislatures continue to invest in CTE, those funds may not be used on construction or capital improvements. CTE relies on the investment of our local community to provide the buildings and infrastructure to support our programs.
JCPS will be hosting informal community events to help community members understand these needs. Below are the dates and locations for these meetings. Each event will begin at 6:00 PM and last approximately 1 hour.
- Selma Area Schools/Smithfield-Selma High (hosted by the Town of Selma 110 E Anderson St) Monday, September 19
- Cleveland/West Johnston High Area Schools (hosted by Cleveland High): Tuesday, September 20
- North Johnston High Area Schools (hosted by NJHS): Monday, September 26
- South Johnston High Area Schools (hosted by SJHS): Tuesday, September 27
- Smithfield Area Schools (hosted by South Smithfield Elementary), Monday, October 3
