THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605050068
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Candidates for the Board of Education in the state's smallest and poorest school system want to consolidate pupils from Hyde County's two old elementary schools and build them a new school.
Three candidates, two of them incumbents, are vying for two seats on the Hyde County Board of Education. All candidates are running at-large for the non-partisan, five-member board. The top two vote-getters from Tuesday's polls will serve on the board, because - unlike other elections - this race is not a primary but the final election for school board. Each seat carries a four-year term.
``We're building a state-of-the-art prison and our schools are 40 years old,'' said school board member Dick Tunnell, who is seeking re-election. ``That doesn't seem like the right priority.''
School board member Mary Lou Harris, who also is running to regain her seat, agreed.
``We have low enrollment at both elementary schools and we have property on the Lake Mattamuskeet School campus,'' Harris said. ``We could build a new, better facility on the same property and use the same buses, lunch room and maintenance program for all our students and facilities. That would save money in the long run and give the children a better building.''
The challenger, Serena Gibbs, also said she would like to see all of Hyde's elementary students ``brought together in a single, new school.'' Gibbs, 33, is a Fairfield resident who works with handicapped people at a county-run facility. A Hyde County native and mother of three, Gibbs said she decided to seek her first elected office on the school board because ``parents of students need to be more involved in the schools. And the board should reflect the cultural diversity of our school system.'' Gibbs is the only African-American school board candidate. The majority of Hyde County's public school students, she said, are African-Americans.
If elected, Gibbs said she hopes to move school board meetings to evening hours and different locations around the county so more parents can attend the public sessions. She also wants Board of Education members to visit the schools and talk to educators and students more often. And she says additional computers and technological equipment are needed in the classrooms.
``Ocracoke also is a little forgotten over there,'' Gibbs said, referring to Hyde County's Outer Banks island that has a K-12 school which consistently has one of the three smallest graduating classes in the state. ``I'd like to get over there more. If I'm on the school board, I want to talk to Ocracoke parents and see why some of them took their children out of that school and sent them to Dare County facilities. I'm really concerned about them. I'd like to get those children back in Hyde County schools.''
Tunnell, a Swan Quarter resident, has served eight years on the school board. The 43-year-old farm manager said that during his tenure the county's teacher-to-student ratio has improved. Also, air-conditioning has been installed in Ocracoke School's gymnasium. And that island school received a van to transport students to extracurricular activities off Ocracoke.
``We've added a band room and radio station at Lake Mattamuskeet School,'' said Tunnell - a father of two public school students. The school serves students in grades 7 through 12. ``And we've added block scheduling for the high school students and offered them college-level classes through North Carolina's Information Highway.''
If re-elected, Tunnell said he hopes to facilitate new construction at Ocracoke School so that students will no longer have to attend classes in trailers.
``I'd also like to see more parental involvement in our schools,'' Tunnell said. ``Schools can't fix all the problems unless the community gets involved.''
Harris, 63, is retired after serving as secretary at Lake Mattamuskeet School for 23 years. She also formerly worked at the Hyde County Sheriff's Department and helped implement the DARE anti-drug abuse program at local schools. She subsequently served as an inter-agency coordinator for the county.
``I was a strong supporter for getting a separate middle school within the high school at Lake Mattamuskeet,'' said Harris, who has been on the Board of Education for four years. ``It's real important that middle school students be contained within themselves and not have to compete with high school students. I was a big force in seeing that happen.''
Harris said she also has worked on improving the hierarchy in promotions and pay scale for school support personnel.
If elected, she said she'd like to work on improving access to technology for all Hyde County students. She also hopes to help push plans to build a large public auditorium - perhaps on the Mattamuskeet School property - that would serve as a gathering spot for all county residents.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA HYDE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
RACE by CNB