Agenda 06-02-2026; 8-a - Minutes for May 5, 2026

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4 1 said "we came out better for it," and urged the board to keep this history in mind as they begin the annual 2 operating budget discussion. 3 Commissioner Portie-Ascott recognized teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, saying that 4 they are "on the front line of our community." She also reported on the NCACC's draft five-year strategic 5 plan, highlighting three features she found impressive:an issue tracker for legislative goals,a matchmaking 6 program pairing new county staff with experienced peers in other counties, and a mentoring program for 7 new commissioners providing practical day-to-day guidance. 8 Commissioner Bedford said she participated in the "topping off" ceremony for the new Durham 9 Tech building in Orange County. She said the project came in under budget. She said she will listen to an 10 upcoming call with NCACC on property tax legislation. She said that the board self-evaluation 11 subcommittee met the previous Friday. 12 Vice-Chair Fowler thanked Gayanne Chambless for her comments and her work on mental health 13 for many years in Orange County. She said she participated in the Senior Games in late April. She 14 highlighted the other proclamations on the agenda. 15 Chair Hamilton recognized a proclamation on the agenda for Professional Clerks to the Boards of 16 County Commissioners' Week and thanked the Clerk to the Board, Deputy Clerk, and Assistant Deputy 17 Clerk for their work. She highlighted the item added to the consent agenda, a congratulatory letter to 18 McDougall Middle School eighth grader Zoe Tolmie, who received an honorable mention in the C-SPAN 19 student documentary film competition for her film For the People: Unemployment and Unjustified Denial 20 to Housing. She said the film was impressive and that it reflects awareness of the challenges around 21 unemployment and housing inequality. 22 23 4. Proclamations/Resolutions/Special Presentations 24 a. Proclamation Honoring Jason Johnson as the National Association of Secondary School Principals 25 (NASSP) 2026 National High School Principal of the Year 26 The Board approved a proclamation honoring Jason Johnson as National Association of Secondary School 27 Principals (NASSP) 2026 National High School Principal of the Year. 28 29 BACKGROUND: Orange High School Principal Jason Johnson was recognized in 2025 as the Wells Fargo 30 North Carolina Principal of the Year. In April 2026, Principal Johnson was named the National Association 31 of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) 2026 National High School Principal of the Year. He received the 32 recognition at the National Education Leadership Awards (NELA) in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 2026. 33 34 Principal Johnson has been an educator in North Carolina for 28 years, serving in Chatham County Schools 35 and Guilford County Schools as a teacher and principal,in addition to his tenure in Orange County Schools. 36 Additionally, Johnson worked at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) as a School 37 Transformation Coach. 38 39 For the NASSP Principal of the Year program, each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. 40 Department of State Office of Overseas Schools, and the Department of Defense Education Activity select 41 one (1) middle and one (1) high school principal to represent their state or department. From those 42 nominees,three(3)middle and three(3) high school finalists are chosen.The NASSP Middle Level National 43 Principal of the Year and High School National Principal of the Year are selected from among the finalists. 44 The award recognizes middle and high school principals for their outstanding contributions to student 45 success, school improvement, and educational leadership. 46 47 The commissioners read the following proclamation in turn: 48