A newspaper called the Garner-Clayton Record isn't necessarily intuitive: Two distinct towns in two different counties. But a couple of events over the last week suggest that Johnston is growing more like Wake every day.

On Thursday, the Johnston County Board of Education held public hearings on proposed attendance boundaries for two new high schools - Cleveland and Corinth-Holders. Before West Johnston High School opened in 2002, the schools last redrew attendance boundaries in 1969-70. After setting lines for Cleveland and Corinth-Holders, the school board will have drawn new boundaries three times in seven years.

In other words, the pace of change in Johnston County is quickening, and our school leaders, if they are wise, will look to fast-growing Wake County for lessons in how to handle constant boundary changes.

Speaking of Wake County, this week's school election became a referendum on busing to achieve diversity. (We've heard the pros and cons but are far from experts on the subject, so we'll trust that Wake voters made the right call on Tuesday.) Our point is that Johnston County might be on the verge of such a debate. In Johnston, the poorest families live in the Interstate 95 corridor, but more-affluent families in towns like Smithfield and Selma send their children to school elsewhere. In their wake, they leave schools filled with poor children who struggle to learn. If it's true that poorer kids fare better when in classrooms with richer kids, then how long will it be before Johnston confronts the issue of busing to achieve diversity?

For the longest time, we'd agree, Johnston and Wake counties had little in common. Now they do, and if we're wise, we'll pay attention.