Left to Right School Board Member James Tripp, Principal of Pactolus Global School Kim Lucas,and School Board Member Benjie Forrest

School Board Member Benjie Forrest, Interim Superintendent Dr. Steve Lassiter, and School Board Member James Tripp.

School Board Member Benjie Forrest, Interim Superintendent Dr. Steve Lassiter, and School Board Member James Tripp.

 

 

“Expanding opportunities for all Pitt County students” has been the foundation of my tenure on the Pitt County School Board.  While serving the students and their families of Pitt County, I have been able to advocate by serving in many roles:

• Served as Chairman of the Pitt County Schools Finance Committee and led our system in identifying innovative funding sources which have allowed Pitt County to retain its teachers and teacher assistants during an economic recession when many surrounding counties have had reductions in staff.
• Being a strong proponent of the Bio-Diesels for Schools Program, which has created a 30 to 40 thousand-dollar annual windfall for Pitt County Schools from recycled restaurant cooking oils.
• Partnered with Pitt County Commissioners for the benefit of children by achieving the necessary upgrades of county school buildings and the improvement of infrastructure, with a specific emphasis on planning for future generations.
• Collaborated with other school board members to streamline office personnel, transition to a new superintendent, and achieve unitary status for Pitt County.
• Very responsive to constituents, community members, and all county residents when contacted.
• Worked to lower the drop-out rate and increase graduation rates. In 2013, Pitt County’s graduation rate was the highest in its history, which has increased significantly throughout the years I have been serving on the board.
• Helped to expand career technical education and prioritized more hands-on learning for students across all grade levels. 
• Along with the superintendent, I served as Pitt County’s representative for the North Eastern Region School of  Biotechnology and Agriscience, an experimental educational program open to students in five counties, including Pitt.
• Supported and helped to pass a policy providing for a moment of silence for all of our students, teachers, and staff.

Career Technical Education is one of my passions and a high priority of my service on the board. I have had the opportunity to celebrate with teachers, the success that many of our students have achieved as members of our various CTSO organizations