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LOUISBURG -- There was a lot to like -- and things to be concerned about -- in the statewide data on student performance for the 2024-25 school year that was presented in great detail to the Franklin County Board of Education Monday.
Dr. Lela Nichols, chief of academics for the district, presented these highlights to the school board:

Young Sarahng Blossom Ambrosia displays great passing form as she fires a cold, wet sponge at "receiver" Dave Jerose during Youngsville's Night Out. Actually, Jerose may have had a pretty good gig considering that a cool sponge to the face might have felt pretty good on a hot, muggy evening. Or, maybe not so much -- but Blossom seemed to enjoy the challenge.

LOUISBURG -- A Raleigh man was sentenced to between 10 and 25 years in jail after a jury found him guilty of making repeated threats to "blow the brains out" of a Wake County assistant district attorney.
Prosecutors alleged Jesse Nathan Metcalf was serving time in the Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn when, in the fall of 2023, he made repeated threats to kill assistant district attorney C.J. Koscianski -- the prosecutor in a gun and domestic violence case that resulted in Metcalf's 16 month to two and a half year sentence on charges of discharging a firearm to incite fear, communicating threats and resisting an officer.

LOUISBURG -- The Franklin County Board of Education took the first steps toward finding a replacement for Supt. of Schools Rhonda Schuhler who has announced that she is ending her 32 years in public education at the end of this calendar year.
Sam Thorpe, an attorney with the North Carolina School Boards Association, attended Monday's meeting to give the board an overview of how it could help with a nationwide search for a new superintendent.

LOUISBURG -- Franklin County commissioners pledged $10 million to bolster a grant application for a new Franklinton Elementary School.
But, not before suggesting the school system take a broader approach to expanding public education in that area of the county.
Franklin County Schools is in the midst of applying for a $42 million Needs Based Public School Capital Fund grant to build a new Franklinton Elementary School on the existing school compound.

Corey, Elijah & Katie Pursche