In all, 31 Johnstonians applied to fill the school board seat that Tracie Zukowski resigned when she moved out of the county. On Monday, the school board was supposed to interview five finalists. Instead, it changed gears, agreeing to later interviews with a total of six applicants after one of the original five bowed out.

Here are excerpts from the applications the six submitted.

Al Byrd

Aldostin Eugene “Al” Byrd Jr., of Watrus Drive, Clayton, is a graduate of Smithfield-Selma High School and N.C. State University, which he attended on a full scholarship.

Since 2013, he has been the Fellowship of Christian Athletes life coach to the football team at N.C. State. Before that, Byrd taught in the Durham County public schools and at Wake Technical Community College, and he was program coordinator for the Educational Talent Search at N.C. State.

His wife taught in Johnston County’s public schools for 17 years, and the couple’s daughters are graduates of Cleveland High School. Byrd is a member of the Johnston County Athletic Hall of Fame.

Byrd gave the school board generally high marks. Thanks to a “progressive partnership” among county commissioners, school administrators and school board members, “we have seen the new construction or renovation of schools in nearly every city in our county,” Byrd said.

Also, Johnston schools have made it a “priority to attract top-notch administrators and educators in order to provide a top-tier education for all of our school-aged students,” Byrd said.

Brian Jenkins

Jenkins, of Mallard Loop Drive, Clayton, has a daughter in sixth grade at Archer Lodge Middle School. His son graduated from Corinth Holders High School in 2019.

Before moving to North Carolina six years ago, Jenkins was a school board member in Tennessee. “While on the board, I helped review and approve superintendent contracts, remodeling and construction contracts, helped form an education foundation (and) worked with the superintendent, system staff and other board members on annual budgets,” he wrote in his application. “I will be able to step into the position, understand policies and be able to make educated decisions that will move our school system forward.”

Jenkins owns an insurance agency with offices in Clayton and Selma.

Robert A. O’Neal Jr.

O’Neal makes his home in the Corinth-Holders community, where he has been a PTO and advisory council president. “My spiritual mission in life as a pastor is to prepare people for an eternal life with God,” he wrote. “My mission outside the pulpit is to prepare children to reach their potential through a good education. Specifically, my tangible mission is to become a part of a team that works together in directing the course of action for education of the children of Johnston County.”

O’Neal said he would be an open-minded voice for the county’s young people. “I bring to the table no preconceived ideas in that I will listen, I will visit stakeholders, and I will assist in crafting resolutions to difficult dilemmas,” he said. “I have no hidden agendas, and as a minister, I have an innate proclivity to shun divisiveness and fan the flames of unity.”

An entrepreneur who has managed budgets, O’Neal said he would be a good steward of tax dollars.

Marvin Rawls Jr.

Rawls, who lives with his parents near Clayton, is pursuing his master’s degree in divinity at Campbell University, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree.

“I believe that I can bring to the board not only diversity, but a younger perspective,” he wrote. “I believe that it is time for change, not only through diversity and inclusion, but real change by hearing a younger voice as we work together to determine what is best for all students.”

Rawls pointed to Amanda Gorman, the young Black poet who spoke at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. “The world needed to hear and see a voice of hope through the eyes of a young adult,” he said. “So today, my only desire is to receive one opportunity to serve the students, teachers, administrators, other staff, parents, and concerned community of this historic Johnston County school system.”

Terry Tippett

Tippett, a retired teacher who lives in the Corinth-Holders community, finished fifth in last November’s race for four seats on the Johnston County Board of Education. He thinks the board should consider his strong run in filling its vacancy.

“I received over 40,000 votes for a spot on the BOE,” he noted. “I finished within 1,600 votes of fourth and 3,000 votes of third. I would hope that would be a major factor, as it was in 2017.”

That year, the board chose Todd Sutton, now its chairman, to fill a vacancy. Sutton, too, had finished fifth in the race for four seats.

“I do believe that the will of the people is important and almost a slap in the face of 40,000 voters if it wasn’t a major factor,” Tippett said.

If appointed, Tippett said he would focus on lifting academic achievement. “We can’t blame an already low academic performance rate on COVID, and we have to work now to keep from falling any lower and prepare to meet the needs as we return to that sense of normalcy,” he said.

Chuck Williams

Williams, a Clayton resident and doctor with Horizon Family Medicine, ran unsuccessfully for the school board last year. He was one of eight candidates to advance out of the March 2020 primary but fell short in November, placing seventh.

“My experience as a physician would be particularly helpful to the system as we continue to navigate a safe return to school for students and staff during the pandemic,” he wrote.

As a candidate in 2020, Williams called for competitive pay for teachers, greater financial stewardship, a school-building plan more aligned with growth, and accountability for school board members.

“Our constituents must trust our motives, and we have to earn that trust by behaving like adults, communicating fairly and openly, treating each other with respect, and ultimately allowing our decisions to be examined with transparency by the public,” he said in an interview before the primary.