THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995               TAG: 9502050050
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines

SENATE PLAN FOR CUTS HAS EDUCATORS ON THE ALERT CUTTING THE STATE STAFF IN HALF COULD BE PARTICULARLY HARD ON SCHOOLS ON THIS AREA.

Local educators are keeping a close eye on Raleigh as legislation to reorganize and dramatically cut the Department of Public Instruction moves through the General Assembly.

``I have been following it with a great deal of interest and concern,'' said Carole Smith, Camden County Schools superintendent, Friday.

The state Senate this week passed a bill directing the state Board of Education to recommend by May the best way to halve DPI's staff. The House Education Committee will take up similar legislation this week.

Lawmakers have said their goal is to slice through bureaucracy in the department and increase local control of education.

But a reduction of state education resources is likely to hit smaller school districts - like many in the northeast - particularly hard, officials said. Systems with small staffs frequently turn to DPI for advice and assistance on educational, logistical and legal issues.

``We have a real fear here that we are not going to do things that we are required to do,'' Smith said, such as complying with laws governing exceptional children and workplace safety. ``We cannot hire specialists in all these areas.''

Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Superintendent Joseph Peel told local school board members this week that he is concerned about DPI's field offices, the five regional technical assistance centers that offer consultation and staff development to local school employees.

Peel has played a major role in reorganizing the Northeast Technical Assistance Center in Williamston and joining area educators, business leaders and parents under the center's guidance.

``We really are in trouble if those are cut substantially,'' Peel said. ``If we're going to significantly change schools in this state, we're going to have to have more expertise out in the field.''

Jeanne Meiggs, director of the center, said she's ``not yet'' nervous about the events in Raleigh.

``We've pretty much been through a lot of General Assembly sessions and know that plenty of things can change before anything is finalized,'' Meiggs said. ``We are certainly following the legislation.

``We feel pretty good about the services that we offer to our teachers and our principals and other school administrators.''

Because of the potential perils of DPI downsizing, local officials say they hope any changes are considered carefully.

``It's basically a foregone conclusion that there will be cuts,'' said Currituck Superintendent Ronnie Capps. ``It's crucial that they be very selective with the parts they do cut.''

New 1st District Rep. W.C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr., who serves on the House Education Committee, says he wants to hear all sides before taking a stand on the DPI cuts.

``My first reaction was that it was too much,'' Owens said Friday. But he added that he was surprised to learn that many state board members approve of the cuts.

``I want to hear more of the facts and figures,'' Owens said. ``I certainly concur with more local control and less state and federal control.''

Some officials speculated that the movements of the General Assembly are more ornamental than substantive, and that any actual changes may be less dramatic than current proposals. Historically, there has been no love lost between the Senate and Bob Etheridge, state Superintendent of Public Instruction and a former House member.

The northeast's center moved into a new building late last year and held a ribbon cutting attended by Etheridge.

In a statement to Senate members before the 50 percent reduction bill passed, Etheridge pointed out that DPI has been cut by 23 percent in the past six years, even as other state agencies have grown at higher rates. The department has 736 employees, 178 of which are federally paid.

Other bills afoot in the Senate would increase the state Board of Education's power over public education and make the Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed position. Etheridge, a Democrat, was elected to the post and took office in 1989. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Superintendent Joseph Peel said he is

concerned about possible cuts to the state's Department of Public

Instruction.

by CNB