Purser Revises Proposal on Year-Round Schools
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Academy Heights Elementary School could still close, but the option of year-round school may remain in the Pinehurst attendance area next year.
That option is a part of a revised budget proposal that Superintendent Susan Purser has provided to the Moore County Board of Education, along with parents and faculty at Academy Heights.
On Thursday morning, Purser was preparing to meet with Academy Heights parents that evening at West Pine Elementary School to discuss the new recommendation. (That meeting took place after The Pilot’s press time.)
She also planned to meet with faculty at Academy Heights Thursday afternoon.
The new recommendation calls for closing the Academy Heights facility in Taylortown and transferring its year-round program to Pinehurst Elementary and West Pine Elementary schools.
Students currently at Academy Heights would have the option to attend year-round school at Pinehurst Elementary for kindergarten through second grade and West Pine Elementary for third through fifth grade.
Both elementary schools will continue to operate on a traditional schedule, with the same grade structure along with these new year-round programs.
Students would also have the option to attend year-round school at Southern Pines Primary and Southern Pines Elementary school or to attend schools in their attendance area on a traditional schedule.
Purser said she and her staff would have to stagger school start times between Pinehurst Elementary and West Pine Elementary if the board approves the option in order to accommodate parents who may have children at both schools.
During her initial budget presentation March 14, Purser originally proposed that Academy Heights be closed and the year-round program be consolidated to Southern Pines’ elementary schools.
Since then, Academy Heights parents have asked the school system and the Board of Education to reconsider the recommendation and investigate the feasibility of keeping the school open or maintaining a year-round option in Pinehurst.
Purser said the new recommendation is a step toward maintaining the choice of a year-round school in the area, while also allowing the system to save money by closing Academy Heights.
“I feel like this is the next best option that we have,” she said.
Closing the school would save the school system $500,000 a year.
Purser said that if the Board of Education does approve the measure, she is interested in working with Taylortown Mayor Ulysses Barrett to establish a lease agreement that would transfer the facility to the town.
Academy Heights was originally built in 1934 as a K-12 school that served the children of the black community.
“That’s been my hope all along,” she said. “We recognize the value to the community, so we would like to work with Taylortown and see how the facility could serve the community.”
The school system is required to offer the facility to the county first before Taylortown would have a chance to make an offer.
Cuts in Other Areas
The latest recommendation to keep the year-round program in Pinehurst is the biggest revision Purser is making to her budget proposal, which reflects a funding reduction of $8.2 million — $5.2 million lost in federal stimulus funds and a $3 million cut in state funding.
Purser stressed that though the Academy Heights recommendation has been the most publicized item on her budget, there are several major reductions that will affect the system.
The current budget proposal calls for cutting more than 90 positions, which Purser has said she hopes to reduce mainly through attrition, and reduce school pullout programs, such as the English as a Second Language (ESL) or academically intelligently gifted (AIG) programs.
The proposal also eliminates PD360, an online professional development program, reduces middle school athletic programs and takes away orchestra programs at the elementary level.
Purser also recommended in her revisions that the school system retire 20 school buses, instead of 10, in an effort to consolidate the system’s bus routes to save money on transportation costs.
She has also added an additional day in August to a week of five designated days in December to close district offices and schools, which would save $6,000 per day in energy costs.
Purser’s revisions do not stray far from her original proposal, which does not account for the additional $3.3 million in cuts that the school system will likely have to absorb for a total loss of $11.5 million in funding.
Purser said that because the system could see even more cuts from the state before the N.C. General Assembly approves its budget, she does not want to propose additional cuts to the system without some direction from the board.
Gov. Beverly Perdue’s proposed budget recommends that the state pass on the costs of tort liability and workers’ compensation, which are currently paid by the state, to local school systems in order to reduce the state deficit.
Purser said she has heard that the General Assembly has been receptive to this option, which would add $1.5 million to the system’s costs for the coming year.
In addition to the $1.5 million, the system is also anticipating an additional $1.8 million in cuts from the state.
Now, the system expects an 8 percent cut in funding from the state for a total of $4.8 million. The system has been advised to expect cuts between 8 and 12 percent.
‘This Will Hurt’
As the school system anticipates greater funding cuts from the state, Purser says she is now looking to the Board of Education for direction on how to proceed.
The board must consider asking Purser to make additional cuts in funding to the system to accommodate the cuts or increase the system’s request for local funding from the Moore County Board of Commissioners.
The current budget proposal requests $27.5 million, which is the same amount allotted last year, from the Moore County Board of Commissioners.
Purser said that the system does not have the option to use more money from its general fund balance because the system wants to save half of its funds in preparation for budget cuts next year.
Currently, Purser is proposing that the system use $4.2 million from its general fund balance.
Purser said she was not in a position to speculate how the Moore County Board of Commissioners would respond to a potential increase in the request for local funding, but she added that the system typically tries to absorb funding cuts instead of passing on costs to the county.
“We have a responsibility to this community to be fiscally responsible,” she said. “Therefore, we have not exercised the practice of passing the cost to the county commissioners. Even when we have asked for more funding, we made reductions in what we were doing.”
Purser said that if the Board of Education directs her to make additional cuts, she would have to eliminate more positions.
“If we have to go back [and make cuts], it’s going to be in the form of people,” she said.
Though the current budget outlook is grim, Purser said she believes her current proposal is consistent with the system’s core beliefs and will maintain the quality of education for the system.
“This will hurt us no doubt, but we believe it’s something that will help us continue growing to greatness,” she said.
The board expects to vote on the 2011-2012 budget during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Union Pines High School.
Contact Hannah Sharpe at hannah@thepilot.com.
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Comments
publius 2 years, 1 month ago
I have to wonder if continued discussion on Academy Heights even makes sense given the likelihood of substantially higher budget cuts. Most of the variable costs in education revolve around teacher salaries. It appears County leaders - Board of Education and Board of Commissioners - will be forced to come to grips with the trade off between substantial increases in class size and reduced offerings and the need to increased local funding for education. The sooner this 'hypothetical' discussion begins the better for all concerned.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
Personally, I don't trust the accuracy of the alleged 500k savings as being the true net savings after all of the costs of closing the school and integrating the AH students are considered. I believe that the number is highly suspect and should be closely scrutinized.
Bureaucrats tend to wear blinders when they are on a mission to accomplish an objective and often ignore facts that are inconsistent with their end objective.
A truth with omissions is still a lie. Ask the questions and question the answers until you are satisfied that the whole truth has seen the light of day.
soccermom 2 years, 1 month ago
@iplay1515 - Thank you for your statement, as I believe you're dead on. Not only is the $500K a totally bogus amount, there are other budget errors, misrepresentations, which have been discovered during the course of the last couple of weeks. We have made the BOE aware of these errors, but haven't seen advised on how they will correct.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The proposal to transfer the AH students to Pinehurst and West End is only a temporary band-aid at best. It leaves both schools operating at maximum capacity with no room for growth in an area of consistent growth.
Quality education is one of our most valuable assets, and we don't need to be cutting corners and incorporating planned obsolescence into our school system.
Moore County is one of the wealthiest counties in our state. So I must ask, why is the option of closing one of the nations best performing schools even on the table?
From personal experience, I have found that when actions don't make sense, there is usually a hidden agenda.
Trust but verify. R. Regan.
CSmithson 2 years, 1 month ago
"Moore County is one of the wealthiest counties in our state. So I must ask, why is the option of closing one of the nations best performing schools even on the table? "
Because we elect people who run on platforms promising to cut taxes and never raise them no matter what. They cut and cut with no vision or savings for the future. Then the economy takes a dive and they are deathly afraid of raising taxes to save the quality of our schools.
You are right that the proposal to move the students is a temporary step at best. If we paid any attention to the 2006 school facilities plan, which we are already behind on, we'd already be constructing another elementary school in the area. There are also plans for another middle school.
Even though county voters approved school construction bonds in a referendum, the County Commissioners simply forced the school system to pay those bonds from their existing operating budget. They did not provide any new funding to help with the debt service much less funding to help operate the new schools we just built. The facilities plans call for a new high school too as Pinecrest and Union Pines are overcrowded.
Moore County needs to have a serious discussion about how dedicated we are to education.
Alistener 2 years, 1 month ago
Yes, yes, yes! " Promising to cut taxes and never raise them" is EXACTLY how we got in this mess. Politicians' promises are simply to get them reelected, NOT to serve their constituents.
phstresident 2 years, 1 month ago
As a parent of school aged children, I would not balk at a tax increase to offset these cuts. Education is key to the future of our children and our country and is not a place to pinch pennies. A 1 or 2% property tax increase is not a huge price to pay per household to keep education funded at the level it deserves.
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
Check your cell phone bill and cable bill to see if there is a Moore County tax on those. Ask where these funds go...that's right to the County. Therefore, not all funds come from property taxes. How much income is there monthly from all the cell phones if 60-75% of our residents have phones? How many people pay a Moore County tax on their cable bill? This was just started not all that long ago.
honesty2 2 years, 1 month ago
So what will the costs be for the year round programs at PE and WPE?
tgirl 2 years, 1 month ago
It's sad that there's so much attn given to the potential closing of Academy Heights, that all the other cuts "magically" take a back seat. Specifically, the AIG program. So, our schools need to have high test scores, yet they want to get rid of a program that keeps those test scores high? Yes, let's punish the kids who have a thirst for knowledge, and will also be the ones stepping up to help their fellow classmates when there are too many kids in the class for the teacher to assist. Our kids are the ones who will be stuck with our selfish deficit, the least we can do is focus everything we have to educate them and give them the tools to make a difference.
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
Well said twirl! Well said!
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
So many nonsensical programs are prioritized using the code word diversification. This is just another way of saying that we are not smart enough to solve our own problems and we need government to tell us how, when, where, and at what rate we must FORCE cultures to combine. In most cases, this results in resentment and resistance on the part of all parties and is a huge waste of valuable resources.
Of focus must remain on educating ALL of our children in the best and most efficient manner and allow diversification to occur at it natural pace and time.
Aparent 2 years, 1 month ago
All budget reductions are a shame. I am more confused why the meeting held Thursday evening was targeted primarily at parents of students at Academy Heights, since Dr. Purser's new recommendation could significantly impact students and families of West Pine Elementary and Pinehurst Elementary. While not necessarily opposed to the idea, as a PES parent, I have questions.
The elementary, middle and high schools already have staggered start times. How will it impact the start times of Pinecrest High School and its feeder middle schools if start times are staggered for West Pine Elementary and Pinehurst Elementary to allow for year-round families who have students at both?
Does the new recommendation really provide a significant savings, considering both WPES and PES would be open year-round (increased staffing costs, utilities costs, operational costs)? Is the net savings worth the inconvenience to so many families?
How will this recommendation impact the administrations at PES and WPES? Will there be dual administrations, or will the present principals be responsible for both the traditional and year-round programs as is the case at the Southern Pines dual tract schools?
Is this simply a stepping stone to eliminating the year-round program in Pinehurst? If so, is it necessary to significantly restructure two elementary schools to avoid making a politically difficult decision?
Why weren't PES and WPES families invited to Thursday's meeting at WPES? Will WPES and PES be given the same consideration and opportunity to voice their concerns and questions as were given to Academy Heights families?
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
I can't see how it will have a significant savings at all! Here again Dr. Purser has blindsided another school community with recommendations that aren't solving the problem. With 2 schools in the county already on dual track schedules and that have the room for the AHES students it doesn't make any sense to change WPE and PES schedules and over crowd the schools!
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
Well, this was the suggestion made by several AHES parents at the board meeting. They wanted to stay in the coveted Pinehurst school district. Southern Pines didn't seem to be a desirable option. It makes me sad for the AHES teachers, students and parents that are already sensing being unwelcome and frustrated at their impending arrival. Southern hospitality is definitely in order here.
Alistener 2 years, 1 month ago
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? After all of the belligerent and hateful posts that AHES parents have made in this paper during the past month condemning every other teacher and school in Moore County, you’re worried about not being welcomed with open arms at PES and WPE??????? You shouldn’t be welcomed at all! AHES parents have done a thorough job of trashing the wonderful teachers in Moore County and boasting about the false sense of success you’ve achieved. What small school full of rich white kids wouldn’t be successful? People have heard you all loud and clear and the malicious things you’ve said won’t be forgotten.
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
You are so wrong! Not all of us have bashed any other schools. In fact if you look back there have been a select few that said negative things. It's really unfair that you would assume that all AHES parents feel that way based on a minority of parents. In fact you are reading into my comment all together....It was really intended for the AHES parents who still aren't satisfied with what was requested. But, you have confirmed there is "nasty" on both sides. No matter what your thoughts are towards the parents I hope you are kind enough not to reflect your negative attitude towards the incoming students and teachers. They certainly don't deserve it.
Alistener 2 years, 1 month ago
You are right about not all parents doing the bashing. But it was more than a "select few". In fact, Peacemaker, you have been one of the few voices of reason I've heard in all of this - I have truly respected your comments. I understand your post better, too. However, too many untrue and unkind comments have been spewed out by too many AHES parents - according to them, all other teachers are unqualified and all other kids are dolts, not like the "amazing" kids at AHES. My child is amazing, too, and so are his teachers - at PES, just like the ones at WPE. I hope that the nasty attitudes from AHES parents or students will not spill over into the coming school year - nobody deserves it.
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
Agreed! I have truly been disappointed. It just seems that it has become contagious and unproductive. I think most of us see the reality.....and it is unfortunate across the board.
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
I know that no one at WPE and PES, teachers, staff, students and parents have any ill will towards the children! It's the AHES parents ( and only those) who trashed the other teachers and schools that there are issues with! My child tested in the top of his grade and the state on EOG's last year and we aren't apart of the AHES community. The way this one group from AHES has handled themselves has put a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Comments like "we will come in and take over" don't help either.
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
I can assure you that this (and others I know) AHES parent will be nothing but supportive and grateful. It will be very obvious next year who the discontented are.... It won't be me. I'm looking forward to being a part of WPE. I've heard great things!
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
Thank you! It is an amazing school with awesome teachers and staff! The kids love the school and our parent's are very involved. We all just want what is best for our children as I know you do.
Forwardmarchmom 2 years, 1 month ago
These questions need to be answered prior to Monday nights vote or we need to demand that the vote be delayed!
girlymonster 2 years, 1 month ago
I had all the same questions.....I'm an AHE parent but obviously- your schools and kids are equally affected by this. Would love some answers and it's scary how this is all going to have to be figured out so quickly. They should really just let us be for a year so they can plan properly instead of making rash mistakes. Good questions though Aparent
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
I agree! It affects all of us. Why is this being pushed through so fast? Why over crowd 2 schools when they could leave AHES open for 1 more year??????
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
There is NO perfect solution. It was repeatedly suggested at the board meeting that this new proposal be put up for discussion. Now that it's happened there are complaints about this....It is increasingly obvious that many will never be satisfied. This goes for the AHES parents and the receiving schools. It's time to move towards a reasonable compromise, which has been offered. There are MANY other budget decisions to be made that will hit us all. It's not an easy time in our county and we all will be required to accept things we may not totally agree with or even understand. The complaining needs to stop.....it's redundant and unproductive.
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
However there are already 2 schools in the county that are already on dual track schedules and have room for the AHES year round students? Why overcrowd PES and WPE? Change our starting times for school to start and end when we have already worked our work schedules around that for this school year. Some of us don't have jobs that allow us to come into work anytime we want to.
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
I work full-time. This isn't easy for any of us. Frankly, if the year-round had been shut down all together I would've been fine with the WPE program as is. My point is (for whatever reason) this is the decision that is potentially going to be approved. You have been a great supporter of WPE through these postings(they are lucky to have you as a parent - I know that some of the AHES parents have left a bad taste in the mouth's of surrounding schools. Heck, they've left a bad taste in my mouth, too but I'm just trying to move ahead so I can prepare my children for what is coming next. I am sincerely looking forward to being at WPE next year if this is what is decided.
WPEMom 2 years, 1 month ago
I know it's not easy for any of us and regardless of the decisions made we all will have to make adjustments. We love WPE and loved PES too. Year round was not for us for many reasons. I don't have a problem with the year round program at all. My problem is with over crowding PES and WPE when there are 2schools that already have the dual tracks running and have the room. thank you for being supportive of us! We just want the same respect and time AHES got. We were blindsided by this.
kst101 2 years, 1 month ago
Where are the funds from the NC Education Lottery???
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The quality of our schools is a direct reflection of the quality of our community. How can we expect to remain competitive in a world economy without an educated population?
We can pay now or we can pay much more later. Don't become short sighted regarding education.
Ross 2 years, 1 month ago
Blame it on the republicans - and jimmie - honest - I saw then do it - yup!
truthiswelcome 2 years, 1 month ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
"A few crybabies that want their private school at MC taxpayers expense." ?????
noname 2 years, 1 month ago
I am not a crybaby because I want my child's school to stay open. I'm fighting for a cause that I believe in and I honestly believe it will cost the distrist more money to close the school than to keep it open!
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The budget process within government in general is a joke. The entire process encourages wasteful spending, and provides built-in disincentives to save money and return it at the end of the budget year.
The general mentality of the process is: you had better spend what we gave you this year or you will get less next year. Every year, as the budget year approaches the end, there is a rush to spend the unused funds.
In another life, I was part of this insanity and was responsible for the preparation and monitoring of departmental budgets. Each year, it was the same wasteful mandate from the budget office.
DaveyNC 2 years, 1 month ago
I used to benefit from that particular phenomenon and it always left me shaking my head.
We need to switch to zero-based budgeting at all levels of government. That alone would lower the cost of government. Right now, govt. budgets are designed to only increase.
Alistener 2 years, 1 month ago
The bottom line of this whole situation is that the Moore County Board of Commissioners DO NOT VALUE EDUCATION!! And, in the larger view, North Carolina lawmakers as a whole do not value education, either!! If they did, they would fund education appropriately and we would not be in this situation. You will never convince me that there is not enough money in this state to at least keep the status quo. All of these teachers losing their jobs, schools closing and the bitterness that has resulted, funds being removed - it's all because lawmakers don't see the big picture. Well-educated children are a resource of inestimable value.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
I agree. It's about priorities. Funding for education should always come before funding of social programs, and if that were the case, there would be much less need for social programs.
Education, self esteem, the desire to contribute rather than be a load are all closely related.
Very close scrutiny is required when examining government budgets. The bureaucrats are experts at hiding pet projects in very creative ways. The line item summary never revels the real picture.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The proposed closing of Academy Heights due to budget issues is nothing but smoke and mirrors in an effort to disguise the real reason for closing the school. If you look at our national public school system carefully, you will find a general effort to under fund the programs for high achievers and over fund programs for low achievers.
I am not making this up. Yes, there is a great deal of lip service and rhetoric about higher test scores, but the true story is in the funding and the programs that are cut first due to alleged budget limitations.
Never accept at face value what comes out of the mouth of politicians and bureaucrats. The devil is in the details, and I know it takes work and effort to compel full disclosure, but it's absolutely necessary if the real truth is to be known.
I'm offering $500.00 to the first person that can produce detailed certified documentation showing the alleged $500,000.00 savings from closing Academy Heights is accurate and is inclusive of the cost increases in other areas due to transferring AH students.
In almost every case, if you follow the money trail, you will find the truth.
Alistener 2 years, 1 month ago
iplay1515 You are so right!!! We are a culture where athletes are paid (don't earn) millions, teachers receive an insult each month and children are crammed into over-crowded classrooms with loving and caring but overwhelmed teachers. It is all about priorities and, in Moore County and North Carolina in general, education is not a priority. I would love to try for your $500, but I can't even find a proposed budget for all of Moore County (not just the schools). Anybody know where it is? I'd love to see what IS being funded at the expense of education!
Ross 2 years, 1 month ago
Amen - Amen - Amen!
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The officials that we elected to make sound and rational decisions regarding the operation of our county school system appear to be either buying into the deception of the administration or are a party to the deception.
It makes no sense whatsoever to close the one of the highest performing schools in the nation over an alleged savings of $500,000.00.
There are motivations not related to budget that are driving this agenda. The budget is only a convenient and easy mechanism to promote the deception and the cover the real reasons for closing the school.
Moore County has the money and the means to prevent the closing if it were really about the budget.
Clearview 2 years, 1 month ago
The revised budget proposal now lists the savings at 375K. You can review it at MCS website. Of course, it does not specify exactly how that money is saved.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
Thank you for point that out. This makes Purser's recommendation to close AHES even more absurd.
Clearview 2 years, 1 month ago
And, I would say, even more evidence that there is an underlying agenda.
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
I don't care what any budget says on savings, parents are being blindsided at the whole issue of money. Multimillions are being pumped into a federal sized JAIL and the County can come up with enough money to offset that $500,000 shortfall. There are many revenue streams that feed income into the county funds. You don't have to look far to realize that. Parents should be raising cane and stomping feet big time at the Super as well as the County Commissioners. Closing the #1 school is rediculous and beyond belief! The whole thing was already planned and is going to happen if not enough people raise protest. If you sit back and do nothing, believe me, you're part of the problem. Where were all the people when protest was raised over the Multimillion dollars to add 200 federal sized JAIL beds at a higher cost than other recently built jails? What about spending more than market value on land only to find all the buildings intended wouldn't fit on it due to 6 acres wetlands? How about when thousands of dollars of architectural plans had to be trashed due to that? Doesn't anyone care at all about how certain commissioners are spending this county way into debt with their pet projects (JAIL), iinstead of properly funding education? Education should be the number 1 priority.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
The Pilot reported in June of 2008 that our current school superintendent earns $147,500. For that salary, we were given a 198 word document that she labeled as a study that justifies the closing of Academy Heights Elementary School which is one of the highest performing schools in the NATION.
The "study" can be found on pages 31-32 of the MCS website:
http://www.ncmcs.org/190610123141921670/lib/190610123141921670/Superintendents_Proposed_Budget_2011-2012_(updated_03-29-11_)_for_website.pdf
The study is also posted below in it's entirety.
It's reported that Dr. Purser has an undergraduate degree in mathematics as well as a masters degree in mathematics. Her doctorate is in Education Leadership from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Read the document and decide for yourself if this work product is what you would expect from someone with an doctorate degree and a mid six figure salary. Personally, I feel that most of the upper classmen at Academy Heights could have produced a much better and certainly a much more relevant "study". I doubt that this document will meet the legal requirements of the study that is required to close a school.
Academy Heights Consolidation Study March, 2011
Geographic Assessment: The campus has buildings that date as early as 1934 with the latest facilities improvements made in 1991. Four mobile units serving the campus are 21 years old while one additional unit has a manufactured date of 2004. The property measures 5.9 acres which is far short of the 13 acres that are required for new construction of a school this size. The total enrollment of the school is capped at 265 students. Transportation Assessment: Two buses serve the student body with a morning ridership of 12 total students. The afternoon ridership is a total of 50 students. The total duplicated ridership is 62 students or 23% of the total student body. Study Conclusions: The year-round program at Academy Heights can be consolidated with the year-round programs at Southern Pines Primary and Southern Pines Elementary. The impacted students will have the opportunity to attend the schools in their designated attendance zones or the year-round programs at Southern Pines Primary and Southern Pines Elementary.
The consolidation of the programs will offer district wide year-round programs at two sites resulting in the elimination of duplicated services. Impacted schools have sufficient space to accommodate the students that will be relocated by the consolidation. The consolidation of the programs will constitute an estimated recurring annual savings of $500,000.00.
Clearview 2 years, 1 month ago
My question - why hasn't some investigative journalism been done on this topic? Why is it being brought up by a reader in a response? I'd be willing to bet money this "study" was written at midnight after the first informational meeting with Purser where parents asked about the state statutes and the study. It is insufficient to say the least.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
I certainly hope that the study is not a reflection of the general mentality of the professionals that are responsible for operating our public education system.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
It's really hard for me to accept that this document was presented for public consumption and to our board of elected officials by a professional. It's even harder to believe that any of the board members would find this acceptable performance from our school superintendent. A list of somewhat unrelated facts without a comparative analysis does not by any stretch of the imagination constitute a study much less a study that must meet legal standards.
peacemaker 2 years, 1 month ago
Sadly, you are probably correct.
iplay1515 2 years, 1 month ago
I agree completely. Our public education system is in shambles on a national scale, and the only way we will repair it is by electing officials who understand the value and necessity of education if our nation is to survive and flourish.
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
All are missing something important. With all the people out of work and those that don't want to work means less tax income going into US and NC budgets, all of which has been known for quite some time. In addition there are the illegals sucking the blood out of our nation and healthcare system. It is no wonder that the country is going bankrupt. Now that the day of reckoning has arrived, everyone is upset. The time is past to do much about it at all.
Going back in history a bit shows that the Progressive Party in the early 1900s was going to change everything for America. Then along came Teddy Roosevelt promoting those ideas and "the creature out of Jeckyll Island" that was the precursor of the FED. Woodrow Wilson was a flaming Liberal who ignored the Constitution when it didn't suit him and his wife was worse while running the country for 18 months while he was ill. Following that FDR caused 3 depressions back to back. Every other country in the world came out of the 1930 depression in 18 months, but the US thanks to FDR was stuck for 10 years and only got out due to WWII. I doubt you remember the Truman years when our Government was riddled with Communists and Sen MCarthy was crucified by Congress and the media for investigating them in the State Dept and Hollywood. His career was destroyed by the Good Ol' Boy network from Harvard and Yale and he was never shown to be right until after his death. Next there was Camelot and the beginning of a dynasty that thankfully never developed. After that Jimmy Carter and LBJ played large role in the socialist conversion of our government.Regan half way got things straightened out.but the electorate doesn't want a capitalist economy but WANTS a nanny state.
Just remember that the Democrats controlled congress when the Republicans tried to bring the housing industry problems under control and it was quickly swept under the rug. The collapse happened not because of subprime(less than 7% of defaults) but because of laws that were decided to be enforced to allow low income and low middle borderline on credit and income to purchase homes. It was supposed to stimulate the economy but has had the opposite effect with widespread foreclosures. Yet the politicians and media have blamed it on banks when the collapse came because those loans had to be made by law.
Until enough people speak up and don't blindly vote for Socialism, properly funded Education and a stable economy will not be reached. You can kiss your freedoms goodbye for which my ancestors fought. The next few years will be very difficult for those that are not prepared. The wolves are standing at the door while some people think that money, power and more things will keep them away, but the wolves will come anyway. Our country is already way, way behind because priorities for education are on the back burner.
placid 2 years, 1 month ago
The priority of education has fallen to the priority of ME, MYSELF and I......
slickwilly 2 years, 1 month ago
Bflat- you need to run fot the next seat on the BOE!!!
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
I'm not quite ready for that because there is something important that I have to do, Also, I'm studying the inner works of the political machine in the county that many don't seem to care about until issues like Education come up.
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
I'm a strong believer in helping the poor and less fortunate, and I do many things to help others in my community. This is the way I have been my entire life. Do not misconstrue comments about various politicians and laws that paved the way on welfare for those that are entitled to it. However there has been such corruption that has led to those things being used and abused. Look at what happened to Detroit and how that city is now. When things like that happen in the system that was supposed to be helping people, it has taken away from the budget and actually hurt many people. Now Education funding is getting out of hand with all the cuts and unless we step up to fix the problem before it goes further downward, we will not get the economy of the county back on track toward stability. Good education means better jobs, better housing and a better future for our children. It's very disconcerting that leadership had not planned for the shortfall they knew was coming when fed and state funds were going to be cut. It didn't just happen last night. NC has been low on the totem pole in Education for quite some time. Don't you get tired of hearing that teacher are not getting paid enough for the jobs they do? How are we going to keep good teachers without proper funding? How can things continue on the downward spiral that it is in right now without proper funds? It is all getting out of hand in the county and needs to be fixed before it gets worse. There is a serious need to start right now and work from the ground up and then get busy with the state and next with the Fed..