N.C. school board member takes service to the rafters

JARVISBURG, N.C.

Hard hat tilted slightly, John Barnes climbed a steel ladder for a look at the heating and air conditioning units in Jarvisburg Elementary School, set to open this fall.

At the top, Barnes stepped into a long, well-lit attic where the mechanical units and connecting pipes lined up on each side of a walkway with plenty of working room. For a little extra money, this extra space will save a bunch in future maintenance, Barnes noted. It was the kind of thing Barnes appreciates, something the average official might not notice.

Barnes is retired as a civil service maintenance supervisor. Expertise and attention to detail in school construction and maintenance have been his strongest contributions to the Currituck County schools in 32 years on the Board of Education, he said.

Barnes, 73, is the longest- serving school board member in the state, said Ramona Miller, board development manager for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He is running again this fall, unopposed. Since being appointed to the board in 1976 he has never had an opponent.

"I think never having opposition says a lot for John Barnes," said Diane Sawyer, a former school administrator. "The people of Knotts Island have a lot of faith in him."

Barnes hesitates to talk about himself and doesn't speak of difficult times or difficult people except to say there were some.

Contemporaries describe him as one who diligently attended board meetings despite living in remote Knotts Island and who kept current on the issues. Generally soft-spoken, he has spoken out when compelled, but is not contentious.

"You didn't always know he was going to agree with you, but you knew he was going to listen to you," said Jeanne Meiggs, Currituck County superintendent from 1976 to 1988. "That was important to me."

"If I had a word or two to describe him, they would be good, common sense," said current Superintendent Mike Warren.

Barnes has been around for Currituck's most prolific period of school construction.

Currituck County grew from about 7,000 people in 1970 to nearly 24,000 in 2006, according to census records. About the time Barnes took office, people began moving to Currituck County in larger numbers than ever. Schools that had been around for decades were no longer sufficient. A new high school was finished in 1976.

In the 1980s and 1990s, every existing school was renovated or expanded, and another high school was built. The older high school was converted into a middle school.

In the past eight years, the county has built a new middle school and is in the process of finishing two elementary schools, including the Jarvisburg building.

Barnes retired in 1990 as the general foreman of utilities, building maintenance and grounds-keeping at the Navy's fleet combat training center at Dam Neck in Virginia Beach, supervising up to 140 employees. Since 1953, he has operated a family hunting lodge in Knotts Island.

Beyond work, the family business and board meetings, Barnes attended monthly construction updates intended for contractors and the school construction manager. In the 1990s, the new Currituck County high school was the largest building ever put up in the county and ended up as one of the longest-lasting school construction projects ever in the state. The school board and county commissioners battled with contractors over delays and mistakes. In the end, the high school opened complete and satisfactory.

Barnes wouldn't elaborate on the troubles except to say, "We spent a lot of time on it."

In 1976, when Barnes was asked to serve out the final months for a school board member who was leaving, Barnes still had children in the system. His youngest grandchild recently graduated from Currituck County High School. A great-grandchild is a year away from starting kindergarten.

"I've loved seeing the kids grow up and graduate," he said. "You start something and see things going forward and you don't want to leave."

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com