Boards to talk technology plan
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 2, 2016 1:46 PM
Wayne County commissioners on Tuesday will meet with the county Board of Education to discuss the school system's technology plan.
The two boards will meet for lunch at noon at the school system's central office at 2001 E. Royall Ave.
A work session on the technology plan will follow lunch.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore said Friday the technology plan is still in the development stages.
"We're presenting some options," he said. "It's not like a strategic plan. This is more of just meeting with the commissioners discussing our needs and trying to look at some solutions of how we get where we need to be.
"Our goal coming out of the meeting is to have a plan."
The primary purpose of the joint meeting is to develop a workable technology plan.
"We know we were about 93rd out of 115 school systems and really need to be creating our technology plan to get where we need to be," Dunsmore said.
Most of what will be needed is the infrastructure within the schools, he said. Beyond the devices students may have, having a stronger foundation across the district will only serve to take the district forward in the future, he said.
One of commissioners' goals for 2016 is to continue the "solid working relationship" with the school board.
It includes looking at covering state raises for employees not covered by the state's funding program, addressing technology with a new budget appropriation earmarked for technology, and indicating support for a performing arts program at Goldsboro High School.
The commissioners' first-of-the-month meeting will get under way with an 8 a.m. agenda briefing followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex.
Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on naming a service road that resulted from the construction of the new U.S. 70 Bypass as Rock Pond Road. The road stretches from N.C. 581 South to Community Drive.
Following that hearing, the board will meet at 9:30 a.m. as the Board of Adjustment for a public hearing on a special use permit.
Icarus Solar LLC and Sunlight Partners, LLC have requested a special use permit for a solar energy facility at 1709 North Beston Road, LaGrange. The property is in an Airport (AP) zone.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners will be asked to support the Semi-Colon Project of Wayne County to help address mental illness issues. ClientFirst Behavioral Health, Piedmont Natural Gas, Wayne Memorial Hospital and the Curtis Media Group East stations have joined forces to create the Semi-Colon Project of Wayne County.
The group is requesting that local government provide meeting space for a town hall meeting in mid-May. The meeting would bring together local organizations such as shelters, the Soup Kitchen, group homes, churches, schools, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, to gain the momentum needed to reach those who are either not diagnosed or misdiagnosed, individuals who aren't receiving regular care, and those who don't know where to go.
Jennifer Polk, Workforce Solutions office manager, will update commissioners on the available services provided at the site.
The Division of Workforce Solutions is the host agency for the Wayne County Career Center which is comprised of organizations providing employment and training-related services. The Center's services include labor market information, vocational counseling, clerical testing, job information and referral, specialized services for military veterans, on-the-job training, work experience and institutional training. The Center also provides services for employers including on-line personal computers, mandatory labor posters, screening, selection and referral of qualified job applicants, prevailing wage information, job analysis, employee handbooks and unemployment tax information.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners will consider motions to approve proclamations for:
* Older Americans Month in Wayne County. Services on Aging Director Paula Edwards will give a presentation on activities being held.
* Mental Health Month in Wayne County.
Public comments will start at 9:15 a.m. Anyone planning to speak must sign in with Marcia Wilson, clerk to the board, at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the 9 a.m. session. The time limit is four minutes for comments on agenda items and two minutes for non-agenda topics.
Consent agenda items include: applications for Present Use Value, proclaiming A Day of Prayer in Wayne County; establishing a public hearing for 9:30 a.m. on June 7 on a request to rezone 0.65 acres at the end of Leslie Road from Residential Agriculture 20 to Community Shopping; establishing sessions for the county's 2016-17 budget presentation, work sessions and public hearing; a resolution for Berkeley Mall for a fireworks display on July 4; a resolution by the county to apply for asset inventory and assessment grant assistance for it sewer system project; proclaiming May 1-7 as Tourism Week in Wayne County Proclamation; and budget amendments.