A former Charles B. Aycock English teacher was arrested today and charged by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office with three felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a student. Keith Gerald Woodard III, 32, was suspended by Wayne County Public…
COVID-19 cluster identified within Health Department
Another COVID-19 cluster has been reported in Wayne County — this time, within the department responsible for contract tracing and tracking the virus in local schools and businesses. A “minimum of five” Health Department employees with a “plausible epidemiologic linkage”…
COVID-19 cluster forces closure of North Drive Elementary
North Drive Elementary will be closed indefinitely — and the school will transition to all-remote learning — as Wayne County Public Schools officials keep an eye on what the district has characterized as its first COVID-19 cluster. The announcement was…
A low-profile contest could speak volumes about who we are
All too often, it seems as though our nation is stuck in neutral — that a refusal, from those on both sides of the political aisle, to break from party lines is preventing progress. We ignore bad behavior by those…
WCPS adds COVID-19 dashboard to website
Wayne County Public Schools, in an effort “to help keep its school communities informed,” launched a dashboard on the district’s website that will provide the public with up-to-date COVID-19 data. Since schools reopened to students and staff in August, the…
WCPS to teachers: Use your children to boost lunch numbers
Financial consultant Aaron Beaulieu hinted to the Wayne County Board of Education Monday that the school district is not serving enough meals to support its Child Nutrition budget for the 2020-21 school year — and warned that WCPS did not…
Millions in cuts already made, but more are coming as WCPS mends budget woes
Wayne County Public Schools’ interim superintendent and a financial operations consultant have gotten the district’s 2020-21 budget in line — and come up with a preliminary 2021-22 spending plan that does not include the across-the-board reduction in force or cuts…
COVID cluster forces closure of Brogden Primary
Wayne County Public Schools has moved Brogden Primary to Plan C — full remote instruction — for the next two weeks, as eight COVID-19 cases “impacting the school” have been reported since Sept. 29. Four of those cases were reported…
Stop spinning and start planning, before it’s too late
In January 2012, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta proposed a round of military base closures, arguing that the Pentagon needed to consolidate to save money. And while Congress did not ultimately authorize the measure — the result, many believe, of politicians’…
Sweeping change on local boards isn’t coming, but we can still send a message
When Wayne County’s remaining registered voters head to the polls Tuesday, they will not have the opportunity to bring sweeping change to the dynamics of local boards. Unlike last year, when the outcome of races for the Goldsboro City Council…