SMITHFIELD – Johnston County Public Schools (JCPS) Payroll Supervisor Belinda Lee received the JCPS 2024 Central Office Employee of the Year Award. Lee was recognized and presented with the award during the JCPS Spring Special Recognition Celebration at Cleveland High.
Lee has lived most of her life in Wilson County. She attended Appalachian State University, transferring to Barton College where she received a Bachelor of Science in Business. After college, Lee spent some time in Georgia and South Carolina before returning to Wilson County and accepting a position with Prudential Financial in Raleigh.
At that time, her mother was a teacher assistant with Wilson County Schools and told Lee about a job opening in the finance department. She applied, got the job, and thus began her 35-year career in education. When she started working in Wilson County Schools, the finance department was still printing paychecks. Lee assisted in entering every employee into the new system to allow for direct deposit, which was an enormous undertaking.
Luckily, there was a school district nearby that was using the new system, and Lee attended a training to learn more about it. That school district happened to be JCPS. “Everybody was just really, really nice to me when I came in,” Lee recalled.
In March 2009, Lee’s supervisor accepted a position with JCPS. She enjoyed working with him so much and remembered how nice the staff had been to her, that she followed him and has been there ever since. Even though she could retire, Lee is not quite ready to hang up her calculator. “I enjoy the people I work with,” she said, “and that makes a big difference.”
Lee is one on a team of six that work closely together in one space bouncing ideas off each other and jumping in to help find solutions. As Payroll Supervisor, she is responsible for assisting employees with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), worker’s compensation, and short-term disability claims. She also ensures that people are getting paid correctly. “We’re paying the teachers which, in turn, helps the children,” Lee said. “We are all here for the children so they can get a good education.”
Seeing those children and teachers at the Spring Special Recognition Celebration that are doing great things is rewarding not only for Lee, but for the entire department. “It’s wonderful to know that we have many schools where the children will do great things in their futures, and we’ve got teachers out there helping them to do great things.”
As far as the recognition, it was very humbling for Lee. “Knowing that somebody thought that I should be afforded this great accomplishment in my career makes me feel fantastic!” she said.
