District 7 school board: Veteran teacher seeks seat at the table

Jeff Sullivan, a longtime teacher, is challenging incumbent Ronald Johnson for the District 7 seat on the Johnston County Board of Education.

Currently the lead driver's ed instructor at Clayton High School, Sullivan has also been a special education teacher, assistant principal, coach, program specialist and teacher assistant in his 32 years in the Johnston schools.

He and his wife of 33 years have three daughters, all graduates of the county's schools.

Below, Sullivan answers questions from the Johnstonian News.

Johnston County is experiencing rapid population growth. How do you plan to address school overcrowding and ensure that new schools are built in a timely manner to meet the needs of a growing student population?

SULLIVAN: As a school board, we must continually monitor the high-growth areas throughout the county to be proactive with our solutions for the needs of each community. We must maintain good relationships with our County Commissioners and community leaders. The Johnston County Public Schools will soon have 50 schools. To keep pace with student enrollment growth, we must be efficient with each school's design and construction. Building two- and three-story schools will soften the overall cost, allowing for more construction and additions to current schools.

With the rapid growth in student enrollment, attracting and retaining quality teachers is a challenge. What strategies will you advocate for to recruit top educators and ensure competitive pay and benefits to retain them in Johnston County?

SULLIVAN: Attracting teacher candidates starts with school system leadership. Teacher candidates need to know that they will be supported by the school board, which ensures the integrity of curriculum and discipline policies. Teachers also need the support of central office staff and school-based administrative leadership, which implement those curriculum and discipline policies.

We must be competitive with neighboring counties, like Wake County, which typically offers a much higher supplement to certified employees. Consequently, our county has seen teachers start in Johnston County, stay for one to two years, and then leave for a higher-paying school district.

Other possible ideas include strengthening the recruitment process at universities, having effective social media across all platforms and continuing a strong mentoring program for beginning teachers.

We also need to retain veteran teachers. Our current state salary scale flattens out after 25 years, with no salary step growth after that. The only increase they receive for their remaining years of service is a cost-of-living increase when it is granted. This leads to many of our veteran teachers retiring from the profession as soon as they can.

In order to prevent this attrition, we need to protect instructional time, allow ample time for curriculum planning, provide meaningful professional development and reduce paperwork so that teachers can focus on what is important, teaching our students. We must give the education profession the respect it deserves to attract college students and to retain those who are currently in the field.

What measures will you take to address the academic achievement gaps between different student groups, including low-income students and English language learners?

SULLIVAN: Evaluating student test scores, benchmark assessments and classroom performance all factor into instructional planning for student weaknesses and deficiencies. Furthermore, we must continue to examine state testing data by subgroups. Focusing on English-language learners and other subgroups to determine learning deficiencies and setting achievement goals give educators targets to obtain.

As a board, we must ensure that our administrators and teachers have the resources to address our student academic subgroups. We can provide enhancement opportunities after school and during school.

With increased national attention on school safety, what initiatives would you support to ensure both the physical safety of students and the mental health support systems needed within our schools?

SULLIVAN: We can continue to improve our security measures by updating camera equipment and evaluating needed improvements to our school-entry protocols. In addition, we need to reduce the number of mobile units so that students are in the building for safe transitions throughout the day. We must also continue to fund student resource officers for all schools.

Students should have access to security apps to report bullying and safety concerns. To address the mental health needs of our students, we should partner with local agencies to provide mental health services and programs for students and advocate to our legislators to provide funding for counseling services for our students.

As Johnston County continues to develop, how would you expand career and technical education programs to prepare students for the growing job market in industries such as health care, manufacturing and technology?

SULLIVAN: Our school system has expanded academies that include agriculture, fire science, the Career and Technical Learning Academy, Early College and International Baccalaureate programs. I envision our high schools increasing opportunities and expanding internships with local companies. Students need more choice opportunities like a pharmaceutical academy, theater arts and vocational academies that focus on trades, i.e., plumbing, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, masonry.

All students should have the opportunity to pursue vocations that interest them. Partnering with local businesses will provide an opportunity for our high school students to gain experience in a trade.

Given the growth and changing demographics in Johnston County, what are your top budget priorities, and how would you ensure that funding is allocated efficiently to meet the educational needs of all students?

SULLIVAN: My top priority is to improve student achievement. The school system will focus on our core subjects and provide the intervention to help our students grow academically. We need to ensure that teachers have the time and resources to inspire our children every day.

Furthermore, recruiting new teachers and retaining all teachers in Johnston County is of utmost importance. We will achieve this through competitive supplements and benefits.

We need to continue to monitor enrollment growth and build schools accordingly. We will also continue to advocate to our state legislature and county commissioners to provide competitive teacher salaries. Reducing the number of mobile units at our schools will reduce the cost of mobile unit rental and improve safety.

I have seen firsthand how the county has grown and how that has impacted schools across the district. I believe that experience in the school system will enable me to make decisions that focus on what is best for students.