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Board weighs multiple options for Choice Plus and Innovation Academy as redistricting proceeds
Summary
Superintendent and staff presented several location and renovation options for Choice Plus Academy and Innovation Academy; board members asked for more data on enrollment, discipline assignments and in-person vs. virtual counts before deciding.
The Johnston County superintendent presented several options on March 11 for where to site Choice Plus Academy and the Innovation Academy as the district proceeds with redistricting and facility changes.
Superintendent Dr. Bracey told the board the district could: keep Innovation Academy at its current campus while expanding Choice Plus into space at West Campus; renovate parts of West Campus or South Campus and relocate programs; evaluate using the separate "600 building" at Clayton High School; or build a new facility. "These are my options, but these are not the board's options," Bracey said, framing the items as staff proposals for discussion.
Administrators said Choice Plus currently operates a mix of in-person and virtual students and that space constraints have pushed some students into remote placements. At one point in the discussion staff said about 66 students were attending Choice in person; later in the meeting staff clarified districtwide there were larger counts of virtual students assigned to Choice and alternative settings and said an updated enrollment and discipline breakdown would be provided to the board. "We should have enough data from the past ... that shows us enrollment, how many students is housed both virtually and in house," a board member said.
Board members and staff spoke about goals: several said they want more students in supervised, on-campus settings rather than remote placements for behavior-related cases. Board member Terry Tippett said, "If a student can be on campus, they should be on campus," and several members said principals have limited alternatives to place disruptive students, a key driver of the Choice Plus capacity issue.
Members raised questions about program distinctiveness at Innovation Academy. Commissioner-turned-board member Kevin Donovan and others asked how Innovation's curriculum differs from programs at other middle schools. Board member Ed Carroll said Innovation once operated as a lab/AIG center and has shifted over time. "I still have questions about Innovation Academy," Carroll said, asking staff to produce clearer comparisons showing what Innovation offers that base schools do not.
Parents' comments during the public-comment period tied to the Choice Plus discussion focused on two themes: the academic and social limits of extended virtual enrollment, and safety and discipline in some high schools where parents described incidents they said resulted from gaps in enforcement and placement. Several parents urged that Choice Plus provide more in-person capacity so students could receive structure and services.
Board members asked staff to return with detailed enrollment counts (in-person vs. virtual), discipline categories that drive placement decisions, capacity plans for alternative programs and cost estimates for each facility option. They said they expect a follow-up work session with more complete data before making changes to program locations.
Ending: The board did not make a final decision; members asked staff to provide enrollment-by-program counts, discipline breakdowns that trigger alternative placements, and more precise renovation costs before any move is approved.
