OCS Board News | June 2023

 

On Thursday, June 29, the Onslow County Board of Education held a special meeting at the Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center. Agenda items included the adoption of the 2023-2024 budget, the naming of Northeast Elementary School Project, a public hearing to receive input on the New River YMCA Aquatic Center MOU, and a closed session pursuant to open meetings law.  

First, Chief Finance Officer Jeff Hollamon took to the podium to ask the Board to approve the 2023-2024 budget proposal.  

Budget elements discussed included the Capital Outlay Budget and the Local Current Expense Fund. The capital outlay budget covers the district’s expenses related to maintenance, transportation, paving, roofing, furniture, safety and security and more. The local current expense budget provides funding for salaries, insurance, academic programming, technology, cultural arts, utilities, exceptional children and more.    

The Board voted 6-0 to adopt the budget as presented. Board member Bradley Williams was not in attendance.  

The Local Current Expense Fund Budget for 2023-2024, including all revenue streams, totals $93.8 million and the Capital Outlay Budget, including funds from all revenue streams, totals $4.8 million. 

Next, Chief of Operations Dr. Brendan Gartner presented to the Board a request to name the new Northeast Elementary School Project ahead of the start of construction on the site. Dr. Gartner shared that from the many options suggested and discussed, the top three options were Mulberry Creek Elementary School, Belgrade Elementary School, and Woodland Elementary School. Based on staff input, public feedback, and the district’s current naming strategies, Dr. Gartner and his committee recommended the name Woodland Elementary School.  

The Board unanimously approved the new name.  

During this meeting, the Board also hosted a public hearing to hear input from the community regarding the New River YMCA Aquatic Center Memorandum of Understanding. Twenty-three speakers shared their thoughts on the MOU at this hearing.  

In addition to the public hearing, the Board is also seeking public input on the MOU via email. Anyone interested in providing feedback for the Board can submit their comments via email at aquaticcenterfeedback@onslow.k12.nc.us, by 12 p.m. on Friday, July 7, 2023. 

A special meeting of the BOE will be held on Monday, July 10, at 6 p.m. in the main meeting room of the Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center. At this meeting, the Board will make a final decision on the MOU.  

You can read more about the MOU on the OCS website: New River YMCA Aquatic Center Memorandum of Understanding.

In its final order of business, the Board went into closed session, pursuant to public meetings law, to discuss the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee.  

 

The Onslow County Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting on June 6 at the Eastern North Carolina Regional Skills Center. Agenda items included the Purple Star District recognition, the 2023-2024 Title I plan, policy adoptions, a closed session, and a personnel report.  

Before the start of the meeting, Board member Louis Rogers requested that the vote on an item from the consent agenda, the Head Start self-assessment and program improvement goals, be put off until the Board’s next meeting to allow more time for review. The motion was accepted.  

After a Good News Spotlight segment, which highlighted the accomplishments of OCS students and staff, and a public comment period with 5 speakers, Dr. CJ Korenek took to the podium to talk about the district’s Purple Star designation.  

Dr. Korenek shared that, through demonstrating a district-wide commitment to supporting military families, Onslow County Schools has been selected to receive the Purple Star District Award from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.   

To earn this distinction, each school in OCS individually applied and qualified for the Purple Star Award, which NCDPI awards to honor schools that have established military-friendly practices and show commitment to military students and families.  

The award was presented to OCS staff at the meeting by NCDPI State Military Liaison Consultant Howard Lattimore. Also in attendance for the presentation were Col. Garth W. Burnett of MCAS New River, Michael L. Scalise, executive director of MCIEast-MCB Camp Lejeune, Nicole Russell, executive director of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, as well as military support staff from OCS and local military bases. 

Next on the agenda was a presentation from Executive Director of Elementary Education Dr. Mark Bulris and Director of Federal Programs Dwayne Snowden.  

Dr. Bulris shared that the purpose of Title I is to approve the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students, ensuring all children have access to a high-quality education. Currently, 52.53 percent of OCS students are considered economically disadvantaged, as they receive free or reduced lunch. That figure is up from 42 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.  

The 2023-2024 plan would allocate $7.3 million directly to our schools, which develop individual Title I plans to determine how funds will be used.  

Major considerations for this year’s plan included the district needs assessment, continuing support for math PD and instruction, early intervention and remediation, support of the OCS Early Childhood Program, family engagement, and school-level needs. Required set-asides in the plan included non-public students served, parent and family engagement, homeless students, and foster children.  

The plan was unanimously approved.  

Brent Anderson, chief communications officer, was next to the podium to request the adoption of policies that were recently reviewed by the OCS Board of Education Policy Committee.  

Policies in the 4000 and 5000 series were recommended to the full Board for adoption after the Policy Committee made appropriate recommendations for these policies, all of which were reviewed by staff, provided to the NCSBA for review, and posted for interested parties to provide feedback. Some policies were presented for approval as they were originally presented, and others were presented for approval with edits based on feedback received.  

All presented policies were unanimously adopted by the Board.  

Next, the Board went into closed session to consult with legal counsel, to discuss the handling of Case Citation Number 23 CVS 1535, Kelli Muse versus Onslow County Board of Education, Barry Collins, Cathy Jo Korenek and Eric Whitfield, and to discuss personnel matters.  

Upon returning to open session, Chairman Ken Reddic shared that, in closed session, the Board took action to approve legal representation for Dr. CJ Korenek and Dr. Barry Collins under Board policy 7610. Dr. Korenek then came to the podium to ask the Board to approve the 2023-2024 licensed personnel recommendation report presented in closed session. The report was unanimously approved.