By Laura Crosio
According to Superintendent Dr. Ed Croom, the Johnston County school district is one of the fastest growing in the state, increasing by 700 new students per year with no plans to slow down.
With his encouragement this week, school board members unanimously approved on Aug. 11th to set the wheels in motion to present a bond resolution in 2016 to Johnston County Commissioners for future building needs.
Dr. Croom said he has been in discussions for several months with County Manager Rick Hester about the district’s projected growth. A specific dollar figure will not be presented to the county until they revisit their current facility plan. Johnston County Schools works in collaboration with North Carolina State University to determine the county’s needs and location proximity of school sites.
Board member Keith Branch said many times he’s been asked by the community how the district plans to keep up with an increase in population and reduce overcrowding in area schools.
“I don’t think there’s a night that goes by that I don’t think about how we’re going to do this,” agreed Dr. Croom.
“We’ve always had a good dialogue with our county commissioners and county manager,” said Chairman Larry Strickland. “We need to seize the moment and do this now rather than wait until 2018.”
The resolution will now move to the county commissioners so they can set a date in the next election year for a public school funding bond referendum.
