THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090417
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
As the State Board of Education looks at ways to dramatically cut the Department of Public Instruction, school superintendents are looking for ways to see that their schools still get the help they need.
Leading the drive is Joseph Peel, the superintendent of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank schools. He headed a delegation last week that recommended how a downsized department can still meet the needs of schools.
The department, headed by State Superintendent Bob Etheridge and having more than 700 employees, has been on the chopping block since the state Senate proposed halving the agency about a month ago.
The General Assembly on Wednesday made firm its target of a 50 percent cut and cleared the way for the State Board of Education to spend $100,000 in preparing a restructuring plan. A preliminary report is due at the end of the month.
Legislation is also moving through the General Assembly that would make the state superintendent, now elected, an appointed position, and increase the power of the appointed state board.
Lawmakers have promoted the package as a move to lessen the bureaucratic burden on local school officials, so those officials can concentrate more on the business of teaching.
A two-page proposal from superintendents statewide, coordinated by Peel and presented to the state board last week, said the appropriate reorganization of the department would ``change its mission from a regulatory agency to a customer-driven service provider.''
``The priority overall is to provide service to school districts,'' Peel said at his office Tuesday. ``That would be prioritized by doing it in some regional way.''
The department now oversees five regional technical assistance centers, whose employees serve as consultants and trainers for the local districts they serve. The Northeast Technical Assistance Center, which serves 20 area districts, has recently shifted to a more customer-oriented focus.
More attention on these regional service centers and other ways to empower local districts are among the preferences that state board members have been hearing from superintendents and dozens of other groups called upon to help in the process.
``Flexibility is a word that we've heard a lot about lately,'' said departing state board member William C. Meekins Jr. of Elizabeth City. ``The local folks should know how to do it better than anyone else.''
Peel said state efforts to reduce bureaucracy and bring educational services to a focus could be beneficial if they are carried out correctly.
``I don't know if they can cut 50 percent,'' Peel said. ``I don't know how realistic that is. The important thing to me and other superintendents is that we have the expertise in place to do what we are held accountable for, and to do what kids really need done for them.''
The state board will have to weigh the relative value of the education department's many services, said Weaver Rogers, executive director for the State Board of Education.
An example of a borderline service is boiler repair, Rogers said. It's a helpful service that school districts like, he said, but it points to a basic dilemma over what different government branches are responsible for.
``These are the kinds of questions that the legislature wants the board to look at,'' Rogers said. ``It's a very fundamental government issue about what kind of support should the state provide.
``I guess what we're hearing is, in general, to try to streamline the department and make it smaller,'' Rogers said. ``Generally people have asked for less paperwork and red tape.''
State department officials say it has been involved throughout the planning process and has spent a lot of time explaining its role to the state board. The two groups historically have not had good relations, but officials of both agencies say they are cooperating.
But the threat of being cut in half has affected department employees.
``There is a high level of anxiety, as you might expect, within the agency itself,'' said Deputy State Superintendent Roger H. Jackson. ``Folks are continuing to carry on. . . . We are seeing, though, some more increase in our vacancy list as people are looking elsewhere to find employment.''
Jackson said Public Instruction feels it has been taking steps in the past few years toward the changes the General Assembly is seeking, increasing local flexibility and moving support into the regional centers. The department has also been cutting staff even as other agencies are growing.
``Apparently in the eyes of some folks,'' Jackson said, ``we were not moving rapidly enough in that direction.'' by CNB