THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409230546
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Currituck County officials are asking state legislators to save more than $500,000 in badly needed school funding that's being jeopardized by the county's rapid residential growth.
The Currituck County boards of Commissioners and Education recently passed a joint resolution calling upon area General Assembly members to raise the student enrollment cap for small county supplemental funding to 4,000.
Currituck's public school system, which has seen dramatic increases in its student population during the past five years, will most likely surpass the current 3,000 limit by the next school year.
Current enrollment is 2,962 - just 38 students away from the cutoff for an equity funding program that the county has been receiving the past four years.
Given incrementally, that state fund provides $538,392 and could be lost next year in one felt swoop, the county's schools superintendent said Thursday.
``Even though we will go over the magic cap, that doesn't mean we don't still have the problems of a small school district,'' Dr. W.R. ``Ronnie'' Capps said. ``In spite of our residential development, we're isolated in terms of resources for students.''
The Currituck school system uses the small county supplemental funding to pay for 13 classroom teachers, 2 1/2 school nurses and computer equipment and instruction.
About 20 other school systems statewide receive similar funding, including Tyrrell, Hyde and Camden counties. But those three systems' student enrollments remain far below the limit, Capps said.
If the student enrollment cap cannot be raised, then Currituck officials are asking that the money be withdrawn incrementally, even though there is currently no provision for doing so.
``These circumstances will impose an immediate and harsh fiscal penalty on students attending the Currituck County Schools,'' the resolution reads.
The Board of Education just last week approved its $15.7 million budget, which represents about a 7 percent increase over last year and includes $4.5 million in local money.
If Currituck becomes ineligible for small county funding after this year, the shortfall will have to be made up elsewhere, such as a tax increase, Capps said.
Currituck ad valorem taxes already are expected to increase by at least 9 percent next year to pay for $16 million in school construction bonds approved by voters last November.
``How amenable they'll be to increasing the tax rate even more to replace these funds is a question at this point,'' the superintendent said.
Without that state money, the county's current 1-to-20 teacher-student ratio will likely increase and the level of support services will remain the same or go down, Capps warned.
Capps said he has written letters and memorandums to state Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, telling him about the critical situation.
Other state legislators also will be contacted for their support.
``We try to fight for every penny we can get for our students,'' Capps said. ``This is just one more round.'' by CNB