Michelle Antoine, candidate for Johnston County Board of Education
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Candidates for Johnston County school board
A total of 13 candidates are running to fill three seats on the Johnston County Board of Education in the nonpartisan primary. Get to know the candidates with the 2022 Voter Guide.
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Name: Michelle Antoine
Political party: Republican
Age on election night: 48
Website: michelleantoine.org
Occupation: Parent of eight great kids!
Education: B.A., B.S., Master’s of Science in Rehabilitation Psychology Counseling
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) Yes, the primary in 2020 Johnston County Board of Education.
Civic involvement: The Johnston County Report writing in-depth education op-eds and news pieces as a citizen journalist; Citizen Advocates for Accountable Government (CAAG), Education Chair; Johnston County Republican Party volunteer - weekly volunteer from June 2020 through current; Joco Parent and School Advocate - Maintained social media page with 1.3k following; John Locke Foundation Grassroot Parent Council - member of the newly developing council of informed parents across North Carolina; volunteer and participant in many sports, arts, school, and church programs listed on my website.
Why do you want to serve on the Johnston County Board of Education?
My tagline is “restore the flame for learning” and that is my motivation. Our schools were in a steep decline in academic proficiency prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and things have only grown worse. It is my great hope to return our focus away from nonessential programs and trainings and move back to the academic focus and success our schools once had. I have a four-point plan to accomplish those goals, called the A game.
1) Accountability - As a nation we value the education of our young people. The taxpayers of the county and state spend tremendous amounts on our public schools. As a member of the school board I promise to watch over every dollar spent, that it should in some way benefit students whom the school serves. By installing appropriate curriculums with teacher-led direction and ensuring not to diminish their role or simply exchange the importance of their human touch with technology I will work to install a new, brighter vision with the other members of the Board of Education.
2) Authority back to the parent - You send your child to school to learn, and I promise to make that learning focused and appropriate. We’ve wasted too many opportunities to grow your children into better readers, mathematicians, writers, scientists, and artists. A well-rounded educational experience is what parents expect, and if elected I will make sure the dollars, policy, and superintendent vision matches those parental expectations.
3) Attainment for all students - We hear all (the) time about opportunity gaps. We must recognize students are not one size, they come with all levels of talents and abilities. While priority one will be proficiency for all students, which is entirely doable with appropriate curriculum and structure, we cannot focus solely on perceived inequities. Instead let’s focus on opportunities that every student should be leaving school with a plan for their future.
4) Achievement - Achieve proficiency for all regular education students. The most basic foundations of reading, writing, and arithmetic will be restored. We must have a minimal standard of achievement, because life requires a basic ability in these areas to function successfully. Making the minimum a nonnegotiable means the larger academic ladder will always remain open for our graduates.
What are the Johnston County Public Schools doing well?
Johnston County Schools have heart, our staff that is daily working with our students is giving their level best to make sure our students feel loved and valued. That is the starting block from which we can build, and fixing the broken parts is worthwhile because of the very strong structure of caring, concerned and dedicated professionals inside our schools.
What are the most pressing challenges facing the school district?
Academics by far is the most pressing issue. Our schools in a decade dropped from the top of the state to the bottom. The entire purpose and function of a public school is to educate. If the school isn’t doing academics well, or at all, what purpose do they serve? Our children need knowledge, skills, discernment, and reasoning to be productive citizens of our nation and my goal is to ensure our county focuses in on raising the level of achievement and bringing excellence back to education in Johnston County.
What would be your three top priorities if elected? Choose one, and explain how you would address it.
Three main priorities I have are reading proficiency, financial transparency, and bringing a new vision for the district. I am certain that if we provide financial transparency with open checkbook accounting and an uncoded budget a lot of the problems we find ourselves in will fix themselves. When people are held accountable they tend to do the good and right thing. Bringing that level of openness to the taxpayers of Johnston will not only end problematic spending, but will build trust. While the schools are asking for a $720 million bond to build and repair buildings, they can’t account for $10 million in missing funds from two years ago and the last two high schools built went $30 million over budget. We need to rebuild trust, get back to fiscal responsibility and then a better relationship with the community will form.
Editor’s note: Johnston County Public Schools have told the Board of Education that they need $720 million to build new schools and repair existing ones, according to the Johnstonian News, but have divided the request into three proposed bond measures. The first bond proposal, totaling $250 million, was approved by the BOE earlier this month, and could be on the ballot in November if approved by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. Officials have proposed two additional bond issues totaling $250 million and $220 million, to be put before voters in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
How should JCPS address issues of diversity and inclusion among staff and students?
Treat all people equal, as each and every one of us is made in the image of God and valuable in our own right. I will never cast a vote that breaks the 1964 Civil Rights Act. All students and staff are guaranteed certain rights including equal opportunity at education and employment, we do not hire or fire someone based on their religion, sex, or race. Somewhere along the line our district lost sight of the law and I intend to make sure we have fidelity to those basic rights that were so hard fought to be instituted by civil rights leaders.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 11:08 PM.