Todd Sutton Reappointed Chair
SMITHFIELD – Two new and one incumbent Johnston County school board members took their Oaths of Office Tuesday afternoon at Johnston County Public Schools Central Office. Incumbent Mike Wooten of Princeton and newly elected members Kay Carroll and Lyn Andrews of Smithfield were sworn in. Ronald Johnson was sworn in Tuesday morning in a separate ceremony at the Johnston County Courthouse. All received their Oaths from Superior Court Judge Tom Lock.
The board voted 6-to-1 to reappoint Todd Sutton as chairman. Sutton said afterwards, “I want to thank my fellow board members for their continued confidence and support of me as Chairman of the Johnston County Board of Education. It has been my honor to lead in this capacity, and I am excited about the prospect of another productive year, as we collectively serve the Johnston County School System.”
“While we always want to focus on academic achievement as our top priority for JCPS. Due to the unprecedented times that we are currently in my main focus will be on the safety and well being for our students and staff. Secondly, I would like to work towards providing them some type of normalcy back as we continue to navigate through the pandemic that will assist with increasing their social and emotional well- being. While accomplishing the above goals, an underlying goal would be to improve the professionalism amongst the board members while problem solving to improve our school system,” Mr. Sutton stated.
Ronald Johnson voted against Sutton’s appointment as chair.
Afterwards the school board voted unanimously to appoint Terri Sessoms as vice chair. “I am honored to be selected by my colleagues on the board of education. I have great respect for each of my fellow members and look forward to serving them in this role. I have faith that we can work together, alongside our superintendent, to make JCPS be the best it can be.”
“My goals and priorities for this challenging year are to keep our students, employees, and communities safe while doing the very best we can to provide quality learning to each and every student. As we move past this pandemic, I hope to help our board create a premier school system that is financially solvent. Taxpayers deserve the best,” Mrs. Sessoms said.
