OCS Board News | April 2025
News from the Board - April 29, 2025
On Tuesday, April 29, the Onslow County Board of Education held a workshop meeting at the Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center to discuss the 2025-2026 budget proposal.
First, Chief Finance Officer Jeff Hollamon presented the proposed local current expense budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The local current expense budget provides funding for salaries, insurance, academic programming, technology, cultural arts, utilities, exceptional children and more. Hollamon said that the total proposed budget for 2025-2026 equals $107 million, with $600,000 coming from fines and forfeitures, $12.2 million coming from the appropriated fund balance, $14 million coming from disaster recovery funds, and $80.2 million coming from the county’s tax revenue. Going into the new fiscal year, the superintendent plans to prioritize effective instruction, upholding a culture of continuous improvement, building internal capacity, leveraging parent and community support, inspiring innovation and opportunities, and creating safe and secure learning environments.
Budget highlights include a new JROTC program at Southwest High, elementary behavioral support, CTE courses in Teaching as a Profession, staffing for Woodland Elementary School, a cohort for a graduate certificate in elementary mathematics, training on artificial intelligence, and more.
Next on the agenda was a presentation from OCS Chief Operations Officer Brendan Gartner, who discussed the 2025-2026 Capital Outlay Budget. The capital outlay budget covers the district’s expenses related to maintenance, transportation, paving, roofing, furniture, safety and security and more. Dr. Gartner began his presentation by sharing with the Board and executive staff that the oldest OCS building was built in 1934, while the newest was built in 2025. He also shared that the district is responsible for maintaining 521 buildings, as well as over 1,550 acres of land. The district’s current assets are valued at more than $850 million.
Under the current funding agreement with county government, Dr. Gartner said that the district would be receiving $6.25 million for next year’s capital outlay budget. That funding, along with other revenue sources, would bring the district to a total capital outlay budget of $6,304,577.
This year, Dr. Gartner said the district received more than $50 million worth of capital requests from schools and departments across the county. Requests were prioritized by greatest need, requirements by law, instructional and security needs, and the timeline needed. From there, the requests were filtered until there was $6.3 million worth of work to be done. Some highlights of the work to be done with next year’s capital outlay budget include roofing projects, HVAC repairs and replacements, security upgrades, vehicle replacements, and more.
On May 6, the Board will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed budget and will vote on the budget later that day. Then, the budget will be sent to the county commissioners for their approval, and the budget will be adopted by the BOE in June.
News from the Board - April 1, 2025
The Onslow County Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on April 1 at the Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center. Agenda items included a proclamation for the Week of the Young Child, the final adoption of policies, an Instructional Services update on the partnership with Coastal Carolina Community College and Parent Academy, and a closed session pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes 143- 318.11(a)(1), (a)(3), and (a)(6).
After a Good News Spotlight full of student accomplishments and a public comment period with 4 speakers, OCS Executive Director of Elementary Education Dr. Mark Bulris took to the podium to present about Week of the Young Child.
Week of the Young Child is an annual event celebrating early learning as well as young children, their teachers, and their families. After reading a proclamation that acknowledged the importance of early childhood education, Dr. Bulris asked the Board to adopt the proclamation and declare April 5-11, 2025, as the Week of the Young Child. The Board unanimously approved.
Next on the agenda, OCS Chief Communications Officer Brent Anderson asked the Board to consider the adoption of a few policies the Policy Committee recently recommended revisions to, as part of the ongoing policy update process. Revised policies included 3000, 3100, 3200, 4310, and 5010. The Board unanimously adopted the changes.
In the meeting’s final item of business in open session, Dr. Michael Elder, Director of College and Career Readiness, introduced representatives from CCCC to talk about the district’s partnership with the local community college.
OCS’ partnership with CCCC includes Onslow Early College High School, NC Career and College Promise, which allows students to take college courses while enrolled in a traditional high school, and dual enrollment opportunities in career and technical education. In the 2023-2024 school year, it is estimated that OCS students earned more than 1,500 college credits and saved more than $116,000 in tuition.
Future opportunities with CCCC include expanding opportunities to students not yet accessing Career and College Promise and anticipating additional pathways that students can benefit from while in high school.
OCS instructional staff closed their presentation with information about upcoming Parent Academy sessions about college admissions, preparing for high school, scholarships, and more.
The meeting closed with a closed session of the Board pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes 143- 318.11(a)(1), (a)(3), and (a)(6): To consult with the Board attorney to preserve the Board’s attorney-client privilege; and to consider confidential personnel matters pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes 115C-319 through 321.