Board of Education selects firm for superintendent search
GOLDSBORO — The Wayne County Board of Education has selected a firm for its search for a new superintendent.
At its meeting Jan. 9, the board selected Ray and Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The vote to select Ray and Associates was 4-3 with Patricia Burden, H. Len Henderson, chair Wade Leatham and Don West voting in favor and vice-chair Craig Foucht, Bill Joyner II and J. Tommy Sanders III voting against. Foucht, Joyner and Sanders preferred another firm.
Executive Director of Accountability/Technology Support Services and Program Evaluation Robert Yancey presented a draft 2023-2024 Traditional Academic Calendar and then shared guidelines and other considerations that the WCPS Calendar Committee took into account as part of the calendar development process. After some discussion, the board unanimously approved the calendar.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tim Harrell shared background about the potential utilities providers for the new Fremont Elementary School and the need for the board to select a provider for electricity. Henderson motioned to approve TriCounty Electric. Seconded by Sanders, the motion passed 6-1 with West voting against.
Leatham motioned to untable an item tabled on Nov. 30, which was a motion to use half of the unspent funds from maintenance vacancies to provide a salary adjustment for maintenance staff for the remainder of the year. Seconded by Sanders, the motion to untable the earlier item passed 5-2. Voting in favor were Burden, Foucht, Leatham, Sanders and West and voting against were Henderson and Joyner.
Once untabled, Leatham recapped the discussion from Nov. 30 and why the original motion for the salary adjustment for maintenance staff was made, especially for new or newer employees. Foucht then provided salary information he downloaded from the NC Commerce Demand Data Delivery System highlighting wage information for similar types of positions in Goldsboro/Wayne County.
Leatham suggested that using unspent funds to temporarily supplement salaries may not be the best direction for the board and expressed that a more permanent solution is needed. Without further discussion, the board, at the request of Leatham, retabled this item until the finance office can complete its collection and analysis of area salary data and potential costs to the district to increase wages for maintenance personnel.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Carol H. Artis presented to the board a listing of Systemic Curriculum & Instruction Resources. The listing included information about WCPS curriculum programs, supplemental instructional resources, assessments, mandates, training and funding.
Artis shared with board members why it is important that the district have systemic resources which can be evaluated for their impact or effectiveness, as well as which can be supported through district-led coaching and professional development. Follow-up questions from board members centered around training, testing and particular programs listed, which were addressed by Artis and her curriculum and instruction team.
Superintendent David A. Lewis presented the Fall 2022 PLS Update and shared a number of policies with the board. The policies, which had been reviewed by the Policy Committee, were presented for information and first reading. These include Policy 2120 – Code of Ethics for School Board Members, Policy 2123 – Board Member Opportunities for Development, Policy 3220 Technology in the Educational Program, Policy 4050 – Children of Military Families, Policy 4100 – Age Requirements for Initial Entry.
The following policies were approved upon second reading. These include Policy 3620 – Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations, Policy 4720 – Surveys of Students, Policy 8305 – Federal Grant Administration, Policy 8310 – Annual Independent Audit.
During public comment, Karl Langren spoke concerning having the constitution taught more in school, Thomas “Moose” Huffman spoke concerning grooming and Pamela Stiles addressed sexually explicit information.
Chief Finance Officer Leslie Rouse presented a Donation Report with nine donations, which were unanimously accepted by the board. Monetary donations received totaled $3,450, which ranged from $100 for the Eastern Wayne High FFA to two $1,300 donations for the Goldsboro High boys’ basketball team. Non-monetary donations ranged from $103 for event support to three $800 pianos for Eastern Wayne High, Brogden Primary and to WCPS. As noted in the report, WCPS has received $63,839.23 in monetary donations and $58,260 in non-monetary donations since the start of this fiscal year July 1, 2022.
The Board also approved its consent agenda, which included minutes, a general personnel report and student reassignment requests.
— From the Wayne County Board of Education website
