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Deputy superintendent's community roots go deep
By Barry Merrill
NL Publisher
3 April 2008 — Dealing with the challenges growth brings to schools is a big topic in Johnston County. It’s the nuts and bolts kind of challenge that stimulates Dr. Ed Croom.
Dr. Croom is the deputy superintendent for the Johnston County School System. He comes from the humble farming roots of a nearby Wayne County family with a heritage in teaching.
Ed Croom grew up on the family farm on Pikeville-Princeton Road just outside Pikeville. His father, Herman, was head of vocational-agriculture program at nearby Aycock High School in northern Wayne County.
When Ed graduated from State College, as he calls it, he followed in his dad’s footsteps, teaching over at Princeton for Fred Bartholomew starting in 1987. He continued to help his dad on the family farm, however.
In 1992, when his father retired at Aycock, Ed moved over to the Vo-Ag program there. He was continuing his schooling, going back to NC State to get his masters in Ag Ed, and then getting his administrative masters from East Carolina. After three years at Aycock, he got his chance to get into administration, moving to Southern Wayne as an assistant principal for the ’95-’96 school year.
The following year he was offered a job back in Johnston County, this time working in the central office as vocational director for the school system, another one-year stint.
In the fall of ’97 he moved to South Johnston High School as principal. He stayed there for five years.
In 2003 he went back to the central office in Johnston County as an associate superintendent. Last year now Dr. Croom was named deputy superintendent.
His latest position in the county schools came with some immediate attention, as he was asked to put together a plan to save the county funds after a budget cut from the county commissioners.
In order to save the county money, he quickly devised a bussing plan in the Clayton area that would stagger start times at those schools and allow the county to use the same busses for different schools in the area.
The plan drew a strong protest from Clayton area parents, as they would have to adjust schedules just before the start of school.
In a late compromise, county commissioners agreed to provide additional funds, if needed, to help pay for additional busses, so they plan was shelved, at least for the current school year.
Dr. Croom said recently that the plan will be back off the shelf this year, as they will be looking at similar bussing schedules in several areas of the county.
He explained that the state evaluates and incentives greater efficiency in the bus system through their funding of the system. If a system is graded at lower efficiency, the state gives lower funding.
With higher fuel costs and the average bus now costing $70,000, the dollars mount up. Johnston County Schools now buy 15,000 gallons of fuel on a weekly basis.
With the proposal in the Clayton area last fall, the school system would have saved the cost of 20 busses. That’s $1.4 million that the county would have to pay for busses alone.
The staggered system that would allow busses to pick up students for one school and then re-fill for another will be proposed again this fall, and, with greater time to prepare and several areas of the county involved, Dr. Croom and others in the school system are hopeful the changes will be better accepted.
“Sooner or later it is something that will have to happen,” he said recently.
New schools are being opened and district attendance lines are being drawn. That often is an area where strong opinions are expressed, as well.
This fall another potentially unpopular decision will go into effect, as campuses across the county and the state will become tobacco free. No tobacco product use will be allowed on school grounds. That means grandparents going to watch their kids at a ballgame can’t smoke or chew.
Dr. Croom noted that the school system will be getting money from the tobacco trust fund to help employees who use tobacco now to deal with not being able to use tobacco during their time at school.
Dr. Croom may hear the complaints from the grandparents at ballgames, as athletics is one of his areas. He tries to attend athletic events across the county, including several at Princeton, where he has a sixth grader.
His older son is a Princeton graduate and is now following his father at State College.
Despite the pressures of the job, Dr. Croom tries to make sure that there is plenty of family time and time for things outside the office.
He continues to help his dad, now 72, with farming, though he says there are times when it is good there are headlights on the tractor. He recently bought a farm in the Hickory Crossroads area.
His wife, Phyllis, works with KS Bank part time in their home office in Smithfield. They also own some rental property and she helps with managing that.
On Good Friday, he was out fishing, and bore a bandage with a nice chunk out of his hand on Saturday as evidence of his love of getting out from behind the desk. It’s the hands-on, nuts and bolts kind of work that he enjoys.
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