Local Government 101: How Education Works Here — From Kindergarten to a New Career

Local Government 101: How education works here — from kindergarten to a new career

New to Brunswick County? Here’s how education actually works here — and it’s not just for kids. It’s three systems that connect: our public schools, Brunswick Community College, and the workforce training system. And with new industry coming in, the retraining side matters more than ever.

K-12: Brunswick County Schools runs 20 schools serving more than 13,000 students, from pre-K through 12th grade — nine elementary schools, four high schools, middle schools, an Early College High School, and a career and technical center. The district is run by a five-member elected Board of Education — Chairman Steven Barger, Vice-Chairman Steve Gainey, Robin Moffitt, Catherine Cooke, and Vickie Smith — with Superintendent Dale Cole running day-to-day operations. The board generally meets the first Tuesday of each month. The district is funded by the county and the state, and voters approved a $349.6 million school bond on Nov. 4 to pay for school construction and renovations (results unofficial until the Nov. 13 canvass). The schools are improving, too: 14 of the district’s 20 schools met or exceeded state growth expectations last year, up from 8 the year before.

THE COLLEGE: Brunswick Community College’s main campus is at 50 College Road in Bolivia. Founded in 1979, BCC offers associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates — and two years there can transfer toward a bachelor’s degree at a four-year university. High school students can also get a head start through dual enrollment and the Early College program.

RETRAINING FOR ADULTS: This is the part most people don’t know about. BCC’s Workforce and Industry Training programs offer short-term training and industry credentials that can be finished in six months or less — welding, HVAC, electrical work, integrated machine technology, construction and blueprint reading, project management, automotive, culinary arts, health care, cosmetology, and IT. BCC also runs pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship programs that combine classroom learning with paid on-the-job training at local employers — you learn while you earn.

NO DIPLOMA? NO PROBLEM: BCC offers a free high school equivalency program — GED or HiSET — including a five-week Honor Boot Camp for motivated learners, plus an adult high school diploma option.

WHERE TO START: The NCWorks Career Center sits right on BCC’s main campus, Building A, 50 College Road, Bolivia — 910-755-8508, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It’s free: career assessments, résumé and interview help, job matching, and — for eligible adults and dislocated workers — federally funded training through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that can help pay for the training itself. BCC’s own Career Center, on the second floor of Building A, adds job-search help, scholarship referrals, and veterans services.

And the Brunswick County Literacy Council, at 282 Ocean Highway East in Supply — (910) 754-7323 — offers free one-on-one tutoring for adults in reading, writing, and math, GED test prep, work skills, and financial literacy.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW: New employers are coming — Epsilon’s $650 million project with 500 jobs at full build-out, U.S. MgO’s 35-plus jobs, and “Project Infinity,” a finalist that could bring about 200 more. Those jobs will need welders, electricians, HVAC techs, machinists, and health care workers. The training to get them is already here, mostly free or affordable, and most of it runs through one campus in Bolivia.

If you — or someone you know — has been thinking about a new skill or a new career, the first step is a phone call to NCWorks at 910-755-8508.