As many as 1,500 students in Johnston County Public Schools could be forced to pay for a portion or all of their textbooks next year.
That’s the number of students projected to enroll in Career and College Promise (CCP) classes at Johnston Community College for the 2018-19 school term, up from 1,307 this school year. The program allows high school students to also take college level courses and graduate with a high school diploma and two year college degree at the same time.
Johnston County Schools may not be able to afford the cost of college-level textbooks next year, which is projected to run $681,280. Some of those textbooks cost as much as $400 each.
An estimated 42 percent of the 1,500 CCP students will qualify for free and reduced meals.
Several options are being considered. Among them, students paying for all their books and fees; students paying $100 per semester to take Career and College Promise classes to help offset the book costs; or the school system paying only for books for the 42% of students who qualify for free meals and the remaining 58% paying for their textbooks.
In addition to the cost of textbooks, Johnston Community College charges Johnston County Public Schools $41.50 per student per semester who attends CCP classes on their campus.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Eddie Price suggested the school system may want to speak with JCC about waiving the $41.50 fee. That alone could save $116,200 next year.
If students are forced to pay for some or all of their textbooks, it is expected to decrease the number taking CCP classes next year. By forcing students to pay for some or all of the book costs, it could force some low-income students to drop out of the CCP program.
School districts vary on who pays for textbooks for the advanced classes. Schools in Duplin, Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson Counties pay for the books for everyone. In Wake and Sampson County, students cover the full costs. While in Wayne County, the district only pays for books for those who qualify for free and reduced meals.
In an email statement to WTSB News this week, Dr. Renfrow said, “We are concerned that if students have to pay for a portion of their book costs or all of their book costs, this could potentially be a limiting factor for some students and would prohibit their participation in CCP classes. This option is not being actively pursued by the school system. Our goal is to remove barriers that could prohibit our students from engaging fully in school.”
However, at the Oct. 10th school board meeting, a slideshow presented to the School Board did indicate all options were on the table, including CCP students paying for all or a portion of their books.
School officials plan to announce no later than January 2018 their decision on the CCP textbooks. This will allow the students and their parents ample time to make any classroom schedule changes before the start of the 2018-19 school year.
