By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer
During its Nov. 13 meeting, the Whiteville City Schools Board of Education heard a legislative update from Superintendent Dr. Randall Shaver.
Topics included the school calendar, school tax districts and merger studies.
Shaver reported on the statutes of North Carolina General Assembly House Bill 359, which would restore some flexibility to the dates for school startup.
The current law, enacted two years ago, requires all schools in North Carolina to begin classes no sooner than Aug. 25.
Prior to that, the city schools had been starting around the middle of August.
HB 359 would allow districts to apply for exceptions to the start date for district-wide purposes, such as working in partnership with a local community college.
The Whiteville City Schools works in conjunction with Southeastern Community College on many junior and senior courses.
Shaver said that an earlier start date would better accommodate Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.
“It addresses the unique problems that schools with block schedules have,” Shaver said. “I believe that every school system should have the flexibility to determine its own calendar. This is an attempt to gain that flexibility back.”
Shaver said the bill was in a good position to be voted on when the General Assembly convenes for its short session in 2008.
Shaver said that another bill, HB 1740, is bound to raise some eyebrows.
Known as the School Board Fiscal Accountability Act, it would remove the obligation of local school financing from county commissioners and place it with elected school boards.
Instead of the state’s county commissions setting tax rates for schools, the school boards would.
Shaver said that North Carolina is one of the few states that doesn’t allow school boards that option.
Shaver said the law would allow schools boards to levy and collect taxes and take away the fiscal school accountability from the commissioners.
Shaver said that both local school systems have been “flat funded” by the commission for three years, which is actually a decrease in funding when inflation and rising fuel prices are factored in.
Shaver said that the North Carolina School Boards Association is lobbying for passage of the measure in 2008 and was asking for a resolution and help in lobbying legislators.
Shaver said the school board could operate more efficiently if allowed to collect its own money.
“I hope it will pass,” said board member Greg Merritt. “One of our county commissioners made statements about us abusing our funds. It shows how little they know about the funding of the school system. I think it would benefit this county if it does pass.”
Shaver said the current bill is the closest any has come to being seriously looked at.
Shaver said that in most cases where school boards had been given tax authority, the taxes have come down. He cited South Carolina as an example.
“Hopefully, (the commissioners) would not continue to tax at the same rate,” Merritt said.
“This would be an opportunity to work with the county commissioners,” said Chairman Carlton Prince.
Shaver said the school board needed to meet with the commissioners.
‘We don’t want them to feel threatened,” he said, “They are doing the best they can with what they have. This would be removing from them a huge responsibility. This board should have that responsibility.”
“This might be a good time to have a dialogue session with our legislators and commissioners,” Prince said.
Shaver mentioned that since Sen. Tony Rand’s Senate Bill 120 – to fund only one school district per county – had failed to pass in the state senate, Rand had managed to attach at the last minute a study on the feasibility of school merger to a bill that will study the 10 funding formulas used by the state for its schools.
The study would determine if reducing the number of school districts would save significant money.
Shaver said that the existing city school districts need to join forces and lobby against the possibility of merger.
“We need to stay on top of this,” he said. “Everywhere we look, the big systems are breaking up into smaller units.”
He cited the findings of the (Bill) Gates Foundation that smaller is better.
He said that Rand is moving in the opposite direction.
The second largest school system in the state – Mecklenburg – has divided itself into seven smaller school districts, each with a supervisor and a guidance committee answerable to the superintendent and big school board.
“This was at the urging of Judge (Howard) Manning who understands that smaller is better. If large isn’t working, then small might. Now, Sen. Rand wants us to be larger without any say-so from us.”
Shaver, who taught cost analysis debate at the high school level, said the overall public school budget in North Carolina is $6.5 billion.
He said the potential savings of $10 million would pale in comparison to the loss of knowing the best ways to teach a smaller school population.
Shaver recommended that the Whiteville City Schools join the small city school consortium being put together by the 15 affected units.
Each school system would contribute $4,000.
“I think the $4,000 would be money well spent,” Shaver said
December 26th, 2007 at 11:51 am
I cannot believe this article did not cause more up rising than it did! I find the Whiteville City Schools Board of Education and Superintendent totally out of touch with reality! Here are a few of my observations:
- August 25 School Start Date - Complaints from parents and students (through Save Our Summers) was the very reason the General Assembly implemented this rule and kept it in place in 2007-2008. It is a good rule and should be kept! School districts should not be allowed to apply for exemptions. Those high school students enrolled at Southeastern Community College high school (early college) should follow the college schedule not the public school schedule.
- School District Imposed Taxes - Absolutely a terrible idea. People are opposed to additional taxing authorities because it removes the requirement of balancing many important needs with limited funding. Sure the County Commissioners are doing the best they can with what they have. Many people believe that are not doing a very good job. But, if you really want to see abuse and misuse of taxing authority, then give school board taxing authority and our taxes will skyrocket because they will have no requirement or incentive to balance the needs of education with other important taxpayer funded needs.
- One School District Per County – A great idea proposed by Senator Rand that would have passed had it not been blocked by Senator Soles trying to protect the Whiteville vote. If we really want to save the taxpayers money, a merger is a great idea. It is amazing that Whiteville City Schools is willing to spend $4,000 to join other small LEAs in fighting the merger issue, but were irate about a suggestion that they, Columbus County Schools, and Columbus County government split the cost of a proposed study on the pros and cons of merger in 2003, that would have likely been even less money.
The people of Columbus County (and those in Whiteville who do not have blinders on with regards to their school system) need to wake up and pay attention to what Shaver and the Whiteville City Schools Board of Education are proposing! We need to speak up and make our voices here in the governance of our schools. Otherwise, we will ultimately pay a higher price for the same or lesser quality education.