A high note
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on July 26, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
John Bell watches his grandson, Nicholas Cole, play the bass guitar at Bell's home Friday. Bell taught Cole how to play when he was 8 years old.
John Bell wants a 300-person orchestra.
He wants to spend all night watching a great play.
He wants great music, inspired art and thought-provoking productions.
And he wants it at Goldsboro High School.
Earlier this month, Bell approached the Wayne County Board of Education to ask its members to look into placing a specialized, performing arts school on the GHS campus.
And he presented the idea as a private citizen, not as District 3 County Commissioner, to the school board on July 6.
"I had to ask my attorney, 'Can I do this?' He said, 'Of course you can. You're a private citizen first,'" he said.
The idea has been the brainchild of Board of Education member Rick Pridgen and Bell since 2004.
Bell says that now is a perfect time to move forward with the project. With the civic center and sports complex, he says a lot of good things are happening for the citizens of Wayne County. He believes the school would help raise the quality of life and give students something positive to do.
And the school would be a welcome addition to GHS, he says.
"You would have GHS, and the performing arts and theater, that way it will not interrupt those students who want to pursue a normal education," he said.
He has a 21-year-old grandson, Nicholas Cole, who is about to release his third album. Cole produces music and plays jazz keyboard.
"Had he had some formal education in that area, he wouldn't have had to use trial and error," Bell said. "He does a great job, though."
Bell believes there are lot of students in the community like his grandson. He wants to help cultivate young talent.
"I'm a passionate person for doing things that are good for the community," he said.
On his own time, Bell has been taking a straw poll among different officials and educators.
"I haven't found one person that was against this type of program," he said.
Bell says students involved in the arts score 15 to 20 points higher on state testing than students who are not.
And he also looked into the economic impact of such a school.
He believes the program would be very beneficial to families transferring to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
"It would be great," he said. "We have people coming from all over the country to look at our schools. What if there is a student in the arts in California moving here? They can go to this school."
The infrastructure is already in place at Goldsboro High School, he added. The large auditorium could be used for plays, concerts and shows.
"Anywhere else, we'd have to build an auditorium," he said. "I went a different route that wouldn't cost a lot of money."
He says the school has a history of arts from years past.
"We're not creating a program, we're bringing it back," he said.
There are no programs like this in eastern North Carolina, which Bell believes would add to the appeal of the program. He hopes to reach out to similar programs in Wake Forest and Durham.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," he said. "We can use what they are doing and tweak it so it works for Wayne County."
The idea for the school would be similar to the Wayne School of Engineering at GHS, where students could come from all over the county to attend.
"We're doing our youth an injustice by not having these type programs," he said. "I believe in sports, don't get me wrong, we put a lot of emphasis on sports, but the arts are also very important. ... Everyone can't play basketball or football, and stuff like that, no offense. This would open up another avenue for students that don't play sports."
At the Board of Education meeting on July 6, no action was taken, but Bell urged board members to look into the program.
"I have to make sure I don't overstep my bounds. ... It is the school board's area of responsibility," he said. "If they go forward with it, there will be a role for county commissioners at a later date, and then I can exercise my position."