DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997                TAG: 9704150516

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  168 lines

SCHOOL BOND PACKAGE OPPOSED FOES SAY TOO MUCH EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON ``BRICKS.''

(This is the second in a two-part series outlining the positions on the proposed $59.5 million bond issue, which will go before Dare County voters May 20. Today's installment looks at why opponents of the bond feel as they do. Last week, supporters told why they favored the proposal.)

Ken Johnson of Colington is a Marine Corps veteran and a father of three children, all of whom graduated from Manteo High School. He is also a teacher, certified in mathematics, chemistry and physics, who often substitutes in the system.

Uli Bennewitz of Manteo is a businessman who moved to the Outer Banks from England in 1980. The owner of the Weeping Radish restaurant and microbrewery, Bennewitz is the father of two and a member of the school district's PTA Council.

Both say the proposed $59.5 million bond package for school construction is flawed. They say a blue-ribbon panel of participants from across the county should sit down and hammer out a package that considers not only brick and mortar needs, but curriculum demands as well.

Supporters of the package say the bond issue is necessary to raise the quality of Dare County schools. But Bennewitz contends that the bond package was ill-conceived from the start, and is not about education but political power.

``I wish it was about educating children, because I think if it was about educating children this whole thing would be less emotional,'' Bennewitz said of the May 20 referendum.

``I think the reason it's so emotional is because it's a political issue rather than an educational issue. If it would be talking about education and how to improve education, I think it would be a wonderful, rational debate. ``But when you talk about voting power and re-shifting the political power in this community and redistributing the assets of this community through a building program, that's when it gets very emotional because you suddenly set Hatteras against the beach and the beach against Roanoke Island and the mainland.''

Bennewitz agrees, to a point, with bond supporters who say educational infrastructure must be improved to maintain economic growth and protect the tax base. But construction alone will not solve the problem, he says.

``Although there is clearly a correlation between quality of education and bricks, there is a correlation and that's all. This debate equated quality of education and the quality of life with the bond, meaning with bricks. The fancier the building, the better our education and the better our quality of life, the better the quality of people we can attract here. And that's where it goes wrong. If we talk about economic development, let's talk about economic development. But if we talk about quality education, let's don't talk about economic development and bricks.''

Johnson agrees that the school construction plan is flawed. His is a more nuts-and-bolts focus. He advocates construction of one comprehensive high school north of Oregon Inlet.

``I'm opposed to the school bond because I don't think two small high schools will be cost-effective,'' Johnson says. ``There are certain pros and cons related to high schools, particularly the high schools in this case. The first pro for one high school is less annual cost to operate a single high school versus two. One high school can give us a more comprehensive curriculum. And it will also give us more course scheduling flexibility.''

Johnson contends that more assets are available for one school.

``If you split your assets and require two high school-quality libraries and two advanced placement laboratory systems, you're dividing assets that could be used more effectively in one school.''

Johnson also points to intangibles, among them the division between various geographic areas of the county. That climate would be worsened by two high schools north of Oregon Inlet, Johnson says.

``There is an attitude that has persisted since I moved down here in 1982,'' Johnson says. ``It's this division between the beach and the mainland. schools would only make it worse.''

One issue that has been discussed in a limited fashion during the bond debate is ethnic diversity. Bond supporters say that the intent of a new beach high school is not to create racially segregated schools, but to give beach communities neighborhood schools. Johnson finds that argument tough to swallow. He says segregated schools would be a step backward.

``I do not think it would be good for Dare County to have the majority of black students attend a high school in Manteo and have predominantly white students on the beach,'' Johnson says. ``I think children learn more in a racially balanced school. And they learn how to work and operate in the outside world.''

Turning to the curriculum issue, Johnson says one consolidated high school could offer a wider curriculum than two smaller schools. The Dare County Board of Education and bond supporters say equal curriculum will be maintained. Johnson and Bennewitz are skeptical.

``I had three children in the high school in 1983,'' Johnson says. ``The curriculum was extremely limited because we had only 500 students at the high school. Right now, we're getting to the point size-wise where we can offer a perfect curriculum.''

Johnson cites the Manteo math program.

``Last semester, Manteo High School offered 15 different math courses that were taught by 11 different teachers,'' Johnson says. ``The important thing with having enough teachers and a wide curriculum is most teachers at most only have two different course they teach each day. they're able to concentrate on those two classes. From a teacher's point of view, that's pretty important to stay on top of curriculum.''

Bennewitz says the building program should be driven by curriculum, but he contends that the bond is curriculum being designed to fit buildings.

``If we are serious about a curriculum-based building program, then let's not forget that and work from the premise of how to improve the school's appearance, not the landscaping, not the gym facilities and not just the sports teams. But how do we improve the entire school?'' Bennewitz asks. ``That is, the teachers, the test scores, the overall involvement, and at the end of the day to churn a better product out of our schools. Not the other way around, which is the way it's being done right now.''

Bennewitz calls certain components of the school plan, like the proposed K-2 school in Manteo, ``Pork barrel politics.''

``This has nothing to do with curriculum, nothing to do with anything but political considerations,'' Bennewitz says. ``This was a bone that was thrown, we all know that. To call that a means of achieving better education for our children is a fraud on our children.''

Many bond opponents say the projected tax increase accompanying the bond will place Dare County residents on fixed incomes in peril. Bennewitz is concerned that the tax dollars will not be used most effectively on a building plan.

``There's a tendency in government - and every now and then it happens - where you spend a pile of money to create a building, even though you don't have an operating budget for it,'' Bennewitz says. ``And then you say, `Once it's built we'll find a means to fill this building.' I hope that's not the plan for our schools: `Let's just build the fanciest building we can get, and then figure out where the money's going to come from for what we put inside.' That's scary. The brick doesn't educate.''

He adds, ``We are building Cadillac buildings. I have a problem that we are pushing this too far one way and won't have enough money to educate our children.''

Bennewitz and Johnson have expressed concern over the rift in the county caused by the bond debate.

``I think any citizen would be troubled by this,'' Johnson says. ``We have so many things we need to do that we don't need to be continually arguing about this. I think what we need to do is sit down and look at all viable options, not just look at them and not pay attention. And if the basic population wants one high school for northern Dare County, then the school board needs to look at it.''

Bennewitz agrees that healing can occur. But he argues that a game of political football is being played with education, and it must stop.

``I think politically we can heal this rift,'' Bennewitz says. ``This is education, and everyone in this community has the same goal, which is good education for our children. What we've done is taken this goal and hijacked it into the political arena. Education has nothing to do with this vote at all. This is a purely political vote. The commissioners have said they'll look after the schools. Saying that we're not going to get anything if we vote down this bond is a political scare tactic.''

The solution, say the Citizens For Responsible School Planning, an anti-bond group, is a blue-ribbon commission.

``We want to create a commission from the various parts of this community to come up with a program acceptable to everyone. That's what happens in most communities,'' Bennewitz says. ``This is not an unsolvable problem.''

And what if the bond passes?

``The problem is about to begin, even if this thing is passed,'' Bennewitz says. ``The real problem will be when the rubber hits the road in Gov. Hunt's education initiative, it's going to require counties kicking in a lot of money in teacher's pay increases, teacher training. . . . We will have clearly exhausted the ability of this county to fund any additional education budgets that we need. Put that price tag on top of the bond price tag, and we're going to be in trouble.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

WHAT THE BONDS WOULD PAY FOR

The $59.5 million bond issue would cover:

A second high school north of Oregon Inlet

A new K-2 school on Roanoke Island

Rennovations system-wide to all county schools

Renovations at Cape Hatteras School, including a new auditorium

and a new two-story 28,000 square-foot building to replace the

1950s-era classroom building.

Capital improvements on all county schools

Money for land acquisition for future school construction