THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190387
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 89 lines
Currituck County's public school system will not be getting as big an increase in funding as officials and parents had hoped.
The basic real estate tax rate will remain at 65 cents for every $100 of valuation.
The Currituck County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a $17.5 million budget Monday night, which included a 4 percent increase for public schools, compared with the 7 percent school officials wanted.
Also included in the schools' request was additional funding for the reorganization next school year. The commissioners put off a vote on that until the reorganization - which is behind schedule - takes place.
The only county department to see a dramatic increase was the sheriff's department, where funding jumped 21.6 percent.
An extra $315,483 for the sheriff's department will add three deputies, a drug investigator and two jailers, and combine two part-time positions into another jailer position.
County Manager Bill Richardson said at an earlier meeting that the increases - on top of additional deputies last year - make the sheriff's department the mostrapidly growing segment of the county government.
No one spoke about the sheriff's budget at Monday night's public hearing. But all except one of the speakers urged commissioners to reconsider allotting more money for schools, which had asked for $5.2 million and received $4.86 million.
The approved sum includes $4.3 million for local current expenses, $406,000 for capital outlay and $150,000 for technology.
The school had asked for an additional $342,641 in current operating expenses. It received $63,000, with another $43,000 to cover a portion of the community schools recreation programs.
``We do look at things, we do look at children, and we do look at what's going on,'' Eldon Miller Jr., the board chairman, said just before the 5-0 vote.
Some, however, said prior to Miller's comments that they believed children were being shortchanged.
``Although the 1996-97 budget includes an increase, it is still not nearly enough for the children of our county,'' said Colleen Duffy, a teacher at Central Elementary School.
Others said they worried about programs having to be cut or classes combined to keep costs in line with expenses.
``I hope, as a teacher, to spend my personal money on the extras for my classroom and not the necessities,'' said Janet Rose, a parent of a preschooler who also teaches at Central.
Schools Superintendent Ronnie Capps drew the loudest applause at the public hearing that preceded the vote.
Capps, reading a speech on behalf of School Board chairwoman Mary Ellen Maxwell, accused commissioners of focusing ``on formulas, rather than the welfare of children'' when addressing the schools' operating budget.
After numerous budget sessions with the Board of Education, commissioners decided essentially to fund school operations by multiplying the current per-pupil expenditure by enrollment.
``To look only at the local per pupil expenditure is misleading because it does not account for the differences in state per-pupil allotments,'' he said.
``Four neighboring counties, for instance, receive from $571 to $2,116 more per pupil from the state than does Currituck County. This reality holds true in the case of federal funds as well.''
The board delayed issuing money for costs associated with a school system reorganization until a new high school was completed.
That completion date, originally scheduled for the fall, is now expected midway through the school year.
``I sense there's some things in the coming year that we need to talk about,'' Miller said. He later told schools officials to ``come back and show the board where you have these needs, and we'll address them.''
Before the budget hearing, commissioners passed a resolution asking the Board of Education to assess the system's local funding programs and report its findings by early 1997.
A couple of commissioners noted that only one member of the School Board, John Barnes of Knotts Island, attended Monday night's meeting.
The $17.5 million included in the 1996-97 budget can be broken down into the following:
12 percent for general government.
17 percent for public safety.
8 percent for debt service - namely on the Whalehead Club purchase and new high school under construction.
15 percent for human services, such as social services and the county health department.
38 percent on education.
10 percent on other services, such as recreation, library and economic development.
Major initiatives included in the new budget include a $5 million judicial complex in Currituck, the county's first recreational park - Airport Park in Maple - and $75,000 in improvements to an industrial park. by CNB