News from the Board -- December 15, 2021

The Onslow County Board of Education held a special meeting on Wednesday, December 15 at the Family Education and Professional Development center. Agenda items included a closed session to discuss the acquisition of real property and school safety plans, as well as an open-session presentation on the district’s Capital Improvement Plan.  

Shortly after the meeting was called to order, the Board went into closed session, where they discussed the acquisition of real property and school safety. Upon their return to open session, Chairman Bob Williams shared that the Board decided to direct staff to move forward in negotiations for the acquisition of a piece of property. He also shared that the district would be sending out information to families about school safety and the importance of knowing when to speak up and how to responsibly share information about potential threats in our schools.  

In the meeting’s last order of business, Chief Operations Officer Steve Myers presented to the Board the district’s plan for the Capital Improvement Program. The Capital Improvement Program aims to forecast the district’s infrastructure needs over the next 10 years. This includes large-scale maintenance projects and construction needs.  

Needs are forecast based on anticipated maintenance projects, as well as data regarding projected population growth in the county and projected student enrollment. Identified needs over the next 10-year period, according to the presented plan, include new roofs and deferred maintenance projects at several schools, as well as the construction of new schools to address projected growth in the county.  

Additional, secondary items to consider in the plan were new facilities for the OVS/central services office, a new bus garage, and a new child nutrition center.  

After discussion about options to address growth in the district, the Board unanimously approved the plan as presented and directed staff to move forward with implementation.