Mr. B weighs in on bond issue, new Princeton school

By Barry Merrill
NL Publisher

There are 18 mobile classrooms on the Princeton School campus, and if the school’s request for at least two more teachers is filled, they will need more this fall. This will mean more mobile classrooms on the softball field behind the high school.

While no one really wants the elementary school kids to move off the campus, especially the former principal at the school, he says they have no choice, and it needs to happen as soon as possible.

Johnston County School Board Chairman Fred Bartholomew, who was principal at the school before his election to the school board, took some time Sunday afternoon to speak in favor of the three bond issues which will go before Johnston County voters on May 8.
The schools will receive $99 million, Johnston Community College will be getting $10 million, and $3.7 million will go for recreation facilities in the county.

Mr. Bartholomew stresses that according to the schools, the county commissioners, the county’s financial people, and their oversight people on the Council of Governments, the county will be able to finance these bonds without a tax increase.

First on the list if the bond issue is approved and the bonds are sold will be elementary schools for Princeton and Clayton, including some relief for the crowded Princeton campus.

“If things go well,” Mr. Bartholomew said Sunday, “we could be in the school by August of 2008. No more than two years…if we get the weather we need, if the price of steel and iron doesn’t go sky high, and depending on when we get the bonds sold, maybe August 2008.”

Johnston Schools Assistant Superintendent Ann Williams is pushing Town of Princeton officials to get their proposed sewer line extension to serve the school ready. The town expects to have everything in place so their part can happen, once the school bond is approved.

The bond, if approved, will fund four new schools: in addition to the new elementary schools, two new high schools in the Cleveland area, and the Corinth-Holders-Archer’s Lodge area.

Additional classroom wings are set for Riverwood Elementary and Riverwood Middle, with renovations at five schools including Princeton. Princeton’s money will be used to remodel the elementary classrooms so they can be used by older students.

“The best scenario,” he continued, “would be for (Princeton) to stay a K-12 concept, but we don’t have the land; we’re land locked. The next best case scenario is to build a new elementary school, and keep the high school and middle school on the same campus.”

Mr. B said that growth and its related stresses could one day bring the consolidation issue back. He feels confident if they can get the bond issue passed and this construction completed, while he is still on the school board, it will help alleviate that concern.

He also believes strongly in the need to build two more high schools in the county, based in no small part on his experience at Princeton. “There are 1900 students at Clayton, somewhere close to 2000 at West Johnston. I want us to keep high schools at no more than 1200.

“We’re going to reduce and make these large high schools smaller, and that’s good for the whole county.”

Mr. Bartholomew was full of praise for the support from the county board. “We are very pleased with what they have done; they have worked closely with us.”

Still, he said there were other needs this bond won’t meet. He would not say when or how those other needs would be met. He said the county wanted to see how the lottery money came in to help school needs before looking beyond this $99 million.

Even with the stresses growth is putting on the county schools, “I like our problems a whole lot better than some other counties.” He noted that the growth is putting more money in the system, and while there are stresses, it is helping the county to improve and progress.

He also noted that if they don’t move now on this needed construction, the costs will be more in the future. “In five years we project these schools will cost 25% more.”

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