Johnston County School Board Censures Ronald Johnson, Calls For His Resignation

SMITHFIELD – The Johnston County School Board censured Ronald Johnson during a special called meeting Wednesday evening. The board also asked Johnson to resign by 12:00 Noon Friday.

School officials met in closed session before emerging and announcing the findings of an investigation by a law firm hired by the board.

The report accused Johnson of violating board of education policy by recording other members. According to the report, Johnson admitted to recording board members approximately 10 times since January 2022. Terri Sessoms told Johnson, “You have abused the trust of your office.”

Johnson called it a “witch hunt” and stated he refused to participate in the investigation.

The report further alleges Mr. Johnson asked a school principal to modify assignments for two special education students as a favor. The board said Johnson used his position for personal gain by interfering with a school assignment. The report alleges both the principal and parent of the students were interviewed and gave consistent statements.

The board voted 6-to-1 to approve a resolution censuring Mr. Johnson for violating both a board policy and a code of ethics policy.

Afterwards, Board member Mike Wooten made a motion asking Ronald Johnson to resign from the school board by 12:00 Noon Friday, August 26. If not, a letter would be submitted by the school board to the Johnston County District Attorney asking Johnson be removed from office. The motion passed 6-to-1 with Mr. Johnson voting no.

The board also removed Johnson from the Finance Committee and Policy Committee.

Johnson is a detective with the Smithfield Police Department and is currently on administrative leave. Town officials have not said why Johnson is on leave.

Terri Sessoms made a motion asking the Smithfield Police investigative report be included in the evidence forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office seeking his removal from public office. The measure passed 5-to-2.

The board stated they believed Mr. Johnson is a liability and has broken or violated public trust.

Johnson was elected to the board of education in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. He has two years remaining on his term.

Thursday afternoon, the Smithfield Police Department released a statement saying their investigation into Johnson was still ongoing. Captain R. Grady said, “We ask for the public’s understanding, patience, and continued confidence, as we continue to work through this process.”


Links:
Resolution to Censure Ronald Johnson
Report: Code of Ethics Issue: Allegations of Secret Recording
Report: Code of Ethics Issue: Allegations of Attempted Interference in Student Assignment
(This information was posted on the Johnston County School Board website following the meeting)



This story has been updated

79 COMMENTS

  1. I actually believe their meetings should be recorded … but they all seemed hateful and mad … and scared of the possibility that something they said wrong was recorded?? Something doesn’t seem right with that group. They talk about ethics … why were they holding a secret budget meeting to begin with and then using words like hide the money? Ethics??

  2. I’m not a Ronald Johnson fan but Terri Sessoms has some nerve talking about broken trust. Many teachers voted for her thinking she’d actually make a difference but she’s done nothing to help them out.

    And I can tell you as a former employee, all of them are rotten and need to go.

    • This makes no sense as the purpose of special education is to make accommodations based on their disabilities and barriers to learning. It should happen anyway as per federal laws. The accusations tells me the BOE does not understand the millions of dollars in federal funding awarded to JCPS is their job to monitor with principals and must be used to protect students with disabilities …maybe the feds should investigate how they are using their special education funds?..

      • Watch the video of the board meeting or read the investigation reports the district posted in the meeting agenda. He and a friend evidently had a dispute and Ronald Johnson tried to use his power to block his former friend’s children with disabilities from attending a school that best serves them.

        • That was just an email sent to the board. That is not evidence. That is hear say just like he said in the meeting on 8-24. These board members that wouldn’t let him talk has things to hide. Don’t think that is not the reason they want him gone.

      • Thank you for saying this. He took time to help me once and I have never met him. I appreciated it then & now so much! I worked with & have had respect for Lyn for a long time. Her words squashed that…that quickly.

  3. While we get rid of Johnson, can we get rid of the rest of them as well as the scam known as public education? With today’s technology, there’s no reason to keep these institutions that do nothing but steal our money while not teaching our kids anything.

    But y’all keep being sheep and think these government run education this is the best way to go.

    • Not all parents have the resources to homeschool their children if that is what you are advocating.

      Or, are you saying that private schools are the way to education our children?

          • Sorry Brett. Your claim isn’t true.Japan has public education and school is compulsory. Where in the world did you get that false claim from? “Japan funds its public schools through a combination of support from the national, prefectural and municipal governments. In public compulsory education, prefectures pay two-thirds of teachers’ salaries, and the national government pays one-third. Public primary and lower secondary schools do not charge tuition, and government tuition support makes public upper secondary school essentially free for families making below an annual income threshold. Families earning above this threshold pay tuition at the upper secondary level.” https://ncee.org/country/japan/

    • You have absolutely no clue and understanding of this community or many other communities. Public school is a great place to learn and become a man or woman based on experiences. But you go ahead and hide your children at home.

  4. The investigation by a law firm hired by the board had nothing. We already knew and he already admitted recording. Let’s just forget all about what was said in the recording. Sometimes, we have to do what we deem best to expose corruption. The other charge was for him asking for a favor. Was it really that bad? Sounds like the law firm (hired by the board) was looking for any dirt they could find. The investigation should have centered on the exposed recording. All these board members should go and we can get a clean slate.

    • A 43 second recording altered to fit the agenda. And now the R’s are endorsing the two Johnson co conspirators.

    • Also, the money they used to hire this law firm could have gone to the kids and schools.. They have things to hide and is using Johnson as a distraction of their real ideas. Don’t think for a minute, he don’t want for what’s best for the schools.

    • You nailed it Carl. Now how much will the lawyer make trying to track recordings down. They brought him in to try to intimidate mr Johnson Now what can the DA do ? No evidence so here we go wasting more money. The lawyer will get rich off of this. And Todd Sutton had the nerve to talk to Ronald like that. Now he is gonna use all the schools money to get back at Ronald and try to get them to find any and everything on him . He knew Ronald was about to embarrass him . We need a new fresh board and a new primary

  5. Just a prediction here folks, let’s just pretend that Susan Doyle will not pick political winners and losers and doesn’t act to remove Ron-Jon from the school board what happens then parents and taxpayers? That is when the out going JCSB Chairman Todd Sutton along with the other five board members announce the lack of bipartisanship from our local DA Office and only these school board members has the intellectual honesty to repair this law breaking non adherence Ron-Jon situation by voting 6-1 in ousting your elected leader Ronald Johnson. This ruling class of school board members will nail the only chance to having a real and open and ballanced book of political integrity down shut for at least over two more years. That’s right, they will kill any chance of a incoming elected majority to vote for anything that would come close to a forensic audit. Then the out going JCSB Chairman Todd Sutton will appoint a new loyal teacher union member in the place of elected Ronald Johnson. Then they will have kept thier teacher union board majority out of the light of day and no one will never get to see the accounting techniques that has to be kept away from those stupid taxpayers and commissioners for at least another two years!

    • You always seem to have the answers. Why don’t your run or get WRAL to interview you so you can spread your BS on a public forum.

    • @ johnny: Honest?!? He admits to dozens of violations of the ethics policy? If you truly believe that the ends justify the means, what’s the point of having any policies? He tried to play the nepotism card. And who knows what he’s doing wrong on the Smithfield PD — they refuse to make the investigation public

  6. This news is not only disappointing but it’s rather disgusting. I don’t know Ronald Johnson personally but this I do know. He has not been on JOCO Mugshots, so obviously he has not been charged with a crime. However, on the Board of Commissioners sits a man whose mugshot came up for Indecent Liberties of a minor followed by a True Bill of Indictment of Indecent Liberties of a minor, yet he is still on that board! This article should be about him!
    Ronald Johnson was elected by the people of Johnston County twice! Dickie Braswell was appointed! And while everyone says in Braswell’s case “Innocent until proven guilty”, the charges itself should remove him from that board!
    It seems to me that both boards are full of the “good ole boys club” for which Ronald is not in but apparently Dickie is! Both boards should be cleaned out and we the people should decide who will replace them with citizens of integrity because it’s clear to me, nobody on either of these boards have any integrity or concern for our children or the citizens! This is a total embarrassment and disgrace to the citizens of Johnston County!

    • Amen! These are my thoughts exactly!! Clear all the board and replace them with elected honest citizens who have the students, schools, staff, teachers and county at the forefront of all they do.

    • I totally agree. Past time to rid the county of these crooks. The board became dysfunctional through their shady actions before Ronald Johnson entered the scene! He’s the only one that has stud up to their underhanded actions.

  7. Parents and taxpayers wouldn’t it be nice to know our school board isn’t trying to keep our eyes off of something like the true story made into a movie “Bad Education”?

  8. It’s likely he’s an informant for the feds collecting evidence. The board members seemed rattled for some reason.

  9. Time to exit the stage Ron!!!! You’re 15 minutes are up! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

  10. Well if Johnson recorded a conversation he was in then he did nothing wrong, as in NC as long as one person being recorded knows they are being recorded then its not illegal and not a breach of trust. But if he recorded a conversation he was not a part of then he broke the law and should have known better given his occupation as a law enforcement officer. Honestly I say get rid of all of them and let’s start fresh with new people. Our school board has more problems than any other I’ve ever heard about, but maybe its because Johnson was willing to air the corruption where other school boards keep their shady dealings hush hush.

  11. Johnson called it a “witch hunt”
    Witch Hunt, that’s the new phrase people without integrity use when they won’t admit the truth. Lie & Deny that’s the new morals.
    See Ya Ron Jon

  12. Ron-Jon is in trouble professionally for abusing his authority to help him stay out of hot water. If your going to repeatedly be a whistle-blower, I would make sure my closet was clean first

  13. Sadly, the entire board has lost the public trust. Poor money management, back room dealings to get a fiend hired, chairman didn’t disclose a board member who was no longer eligible to stay, inability to act in the best interest of students/ teachers, attempting to hide money…..If these members had any integrity they would all resign. But like most politicians, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

  14. They should replace everyone one of them. They’re in the pockets of the teacher’s union. The FBI will probably raid Johnson’s house next looking for dirt. All those board members are part of the elite ruling class who think they know what’s best for us. They play by a different set of rules.

    • Yes, play into that fear that the orange man is feeding you. They will definitely raid your house now that you’re on to them.

      • Same fear you played into when you got your 12th booster without any evidence they remotely work? The FBI lost their credibility when they interfered in the 2016 election, the disproven Russia hoax, 2020 election interference colluding with Facebook and Twitter to stop people from hearing about the Hunter Biden laptop, going after concerned parents as domestic terrorist, the Governor Whitmer kidnapping, etc. But you keep on believing you’re on the right side of things Orange 4 King. Stick to trolling Twitter.

  15. What is truly sad is how similar local elected officials are similar to state and national. One leaders child smoking crackers, buying a gun illegally, one scams students from a fake university, ones spouse is caught drunk driving and gets off, one state leader has ethics violations against them…..I could go on and on and it would be across parties. The real problem is…..we put them all where they are. We are the problem. We don’t hold elected officials to standards. We dismiss improper behavior if they fit our party line or deny that there was even a matter of impropriety in the first place because we voted for them. We are as guilty as they. I had a pastor once say “ be careful when you point the finger at someone for doing something wrong….because there are 4 more pointing right back at you”.

  16. I find it humorous that this board says Johnson broke the trust of the people when based on the majority comments on here no one trusts the entire board! The taxpayers are supposed to be in charge as we pay their salaries… fire them all as the people wish!

  17. Think about it folks, two of the leading school board candidates are hauled in for a terogation style questioning for having these tapes by the very police department that has suspended Ronald Johnson for being a possible whilsle blower. This isn’t a fictional book but it happened in the police department of the County Seat of Smithfield NC. No it is not Nazi Germany but Smithfield NC and no reporting of it from other Democratic News Networks?

  18. I think all the people on here wanting someone off the board for telling the truth are also part of what’s wrong with this society today. They use there positions for personal gains and our children are paying the price

  19. So the board doesn’t like it when their activity is exposed by a police detective?!? They must think that they are above the law.

  20. Notice there was no mention of the “hide the money” recording during their show trial. Another commenter said it and I agree, this retaliation appears to be all about kicking Mr. Johnston off, retaining control and burring what they did. This BOE knows that a group of serious candidates are poised to win in November and they are terrified of a righteous majority uncovering what really happened.

  21. Johnson has been the issue for 3 years now. Nothing but a bad person in a position he should not be in. Censured by the school board and on admin leave from his detective job. Time for him to go and go far away from JOCO.

  22. Someone who comes in and starts documenting corruption and blowing the whistle is never going to be popular, as demonstrated here.

  23. Ans now they want to take Johnson to court to get him removed. Don’t they think he will not be prepared? They are using school board money for this worthless removal. If parents would speak up, they would get THEM to resigned for miss-using their money that should be used in the schools, not law firms and court costs.

  24. Take his badge send him to prison… but then let him record what he goes through in there…
    That would be interesting to see.

  25. I wonder if they would have thrown a fit about the recordings if the recordings didn’t expose wrongdoing. Reports before the elections indicated that he had recorded things. He was still reelected. Just search JOCO Report.

    I can’t speak to abuse of power though and trying to block parents.

  26. Broken public trust…. Really. How about broken trust of fellow board members. The public is still waiting for a forensic audit of both boards since they don’t trust each other and neither do we.

  27. If the board is to be creditable and has done nothing wrong then begin the forensic audit immediately to restore faith back to the taxpayers. Also while we are at it ,go one step further and audit the country commission. Seems they don’t trust each other meaning BOE and JC commission. It’s ironic that we are expected to provide them blind trust when they can’t trust each other in plain view. Prove all is on the up and up instead of removing members that are warning the people of Johnston county that something isn’t right.

  28. My opinion only, you get what you vote for. Keep being uniformed, not involved and believing or going down every rabbit hole. Eventually you will get what you don’t want. MAGA

  29. Sure the current school board wants Ronald gone! He is the one who has been holding their feet to the fire his whole tenure on the board. Hiding 8 million is reason for concern and total mistrust of the board. It takes courage to stand up against fraud and crooked underhanded actions from the majority. Ronald Johnson has stood in the gap and represented the kids, teachers and parents interests against a tribe of jackals! I say investigate the whole board and if guilty of shady dealings censor them all. I believe Ronald’s intentions are sincere. By the way as others have pointed out, this board has been guilty of other serious misgivings! Just saying!

  30. BREAKING OPINION
    BREAKING COMMENTATOR

    Parents, Taxpayers and Voters it has been brought to us via special intelligence that has analyzed the chatter of Johnston County Political Powers To Be are indeed placing Operation Overturn 2020 into action should the Johnston County DA office fail to overturn the 2020 election of Ronald Johnson. This will not be achieved by vote flipping machines or by middle of the night bags of ballots dropped in dropped boxes but by six selfmade courageous board members of a certian school board that has made the decision that all cannot be lost by leaving Ronald Johnson in a position of possibly being elected Johnston County School Board Chairman by this November election? Operation Overturn 2020 is said to go into effect the next Johnston County School Board meeting should the Johnston County DA Office fail to fall inline and remove Ronald Johnson. Sources has said that the six courageous members will simply hold a vote to undo the 2020 election of Ronald Johnson and nullify the 52,718 votes of Johnston County Citizens. Just as a footnote Mr. Ronald Johnson got more votes in the 2020 election than Lyn Andrews, K-Carroll and Mike Wooten who only beat Terry Tippitt by 1556 votes. Some are saying this is only being done so the outgoing JCPS Chairman Todd Sutton can appoint a loyal teachers union replacement and hold the majority after the November election and others are saying this is being done to give the newly elected board members in November a clear warning to fall inline or history can repeat it self.

    https://jocoreport.com/johnson-leads-ticket-in-school-board-race/

  31. Ronald johnson just needs to move on.
    Might be a rent a cop but definitely has no place on board.
    Keep it moving:..

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