THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270207
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 91 lines
School grants that require local matching dollars have come under scrutiny in Currituck County.
The Board of Commissioners has asked the county school board to notify them of a grant's local match and longevity before it is accepted.
Commissioners say it will help ensure that they - and taxpayers - are aware of the local expense involved when grant-funded programs and personnel are introduced to the system.
The commissioners, responsible for disbursing school funds based on school board requests, wrote earlier this month to Board of Education Chairwoman Mary Ellen Maxwell, asking for a greater hand in the selection of grants.
``I was very upset when I got the letter because I thought it was micromanaging into our business,'' Maxwell said at a joint meeting of the two boards Thursday night in Currituck.
County Commissioner Eldon Miller Jr., who chairs the board, said his group needs to know of local commitments before they are made.
``When you go out and get a grant that requires local match money, you do not have that local money . . . that obligates us,'' Miller said during the two-hour-plus, sometimes heated meeting.
Added Commissioner Paul O'Neal: ``We're not against any of these grants. We just want to know the county's obligation.''
Commissioners recently passed a resolution asking the school board to provide an assessment of locally supported school programs to help determine which are effective and should be continued.
``Show us the benefit, the rationale, behind the program,'' said Commissioner Owen Etheridge.
The school grant request apparently was prompted, in part, by the A+ Schools program at Griggs Elementary School in Poplar Branch.
Griggs was one of 25 schools in North Carolina selected for a program to use performing and visual arts throughout the curriculum to make learning more fun and meaningful.
Two elementary schools in Gatesville also are involved in the four-year program and, like Griggs, have reported better attendence, higher staff and student morale and more parental involvement because of the program.
But the A+ Schools have had financial problems from the start.
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts in Winston-Salem agreed to give each school $25,000 in startup funds, to be matched with state and local funds.
The General Assembly in 1995 approved a third of the $1.5 million Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. had earmarked for the program. The same amount - $500,000 - is being requested this year in Raleigh.
Last year's shortfall in state funding led to less money from the Kenan Institute and a greater local burden.
Kenan and state contributions amounted to $17,500, rather than the anticipated $50,000. The county put in about $40,000. The total was used to hire a full-time art teacher and music teacher, said Fannie Newbern, principal at Griggs.
Other cuts had to be made to the A+ program because of the lower allocations, Newbern said. Funding for this year will again depend on state appropriations, she said.
Commissioner Miller also hinted that other schools' personnel and parents may resent the amount of local financial support being given to Griggs for its program.
``If A+ is so good at Griggs, why isn't it being implemented at the rest of the schools?'' Miller said, reciting public comments he's received.
Other topics discussed Thursday night included a 30-minute closed session to discuss a ``contractual matter'' concerning the new high school under construction in Barco.
No action was taken following the closed meeting.
In the open session, the boards also discussed Central Elementary School renovations, scheduled to begin in September. No demolition will take place until students are out of school next June.
Plans are to add three new classrooms and a media center, install technology systems, replace some roofing and windows and refurbish the gymnasium.
With a new bus loop, entrance canopies and faculty parking, the total for the project is expected to be around $1.8 million.
The boards very briefly discussed the possible condemnation of a yet undisclosed tract in Moyock to build a new elementary school.
Condemnation can occur when a landowner is unwilling to sell a selected tract to the county. The process, however, can take up to six months or longer.
In another matter, Associate Superintendent Bill Dobney provided an overview of a TV/Radio Communications Vocational Program at the high school.
Students would produce video and audio tapes of school events and county meetings to air on a local cable access channel.
``This really kills two birds with one stone,'' Dobney said. ``It gets commissioners' meetings taped, and a lot of school activities taped, and it also gives students a marketable skill.''
Startup costs for a teacher, travel and equipment would be around $44,818. After the first year, the cost to run the program would drop to about $36,000.
Dobney, representing a county-appointed public information committee, suggested funding come from local proceeds of a cable franchise tax. by CNB