DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997             TAG: 9704160489

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: BARCO                             LENGTH:   71 lines

SCHOOL BOARD TO HOLD FORUM TO AIR CONCERNS FROM THE PUBLIC

Currituck County Board of Education meetings traditionally open with an ``upfront session,'' where people can speak on school issues.

But some say being upfront has created frustration.

The reason: The school board has a policy of not responding after people have said their piece.

``People have spoken in the past and have not gotten a response. They don't know if their needs have been addressed,'' parent and school volunteer Willo Winterling said.

``We do talk about them,'' responded school board chairwoman Mary Ellen Maxwell on Tuesday. ``Maybe it's not so much that we respond to people directly, but we do attempt to take care of it.''

Nevertheless, Winterling on Monday night asked the school board to arrange for a public forum.

``Regular board meetings do not allow for open discussion and responses to parents' questions and concerns,'' reads a letter she submitted at the board's regular meeting at Currituck County High School in Barco.

``We are asking you - the elected leaders of our school system - to attend a public meeting with parents to talk about problems we feel exist in our schools.''

Winterling said she initially planned to have a few others sign the four-paragraph document.

``But when word got out in the community of its existence, the response was overwhelming,'' she said. ``Thus far, over 200 parents and citizens have signed it.

``To me, that shows that there are many concerned people in our community - not just a few.''

A May date will be announced. When the public forum occurs, Knapp Junior High School is likely to be on the agenda.

Complaints about the lack of discipline and poor academic standards and instruction have been mounting in recent months.

On Monday, parent Linda Turner asked for the school to pay for a private tutor for her seventh-grade daughter, whose pre-algebra class is being taught by a substitute aftertwo teachers resigned last winter.

``These children are in serious trouble. They've had no instruction for a serious amount of time. How are they going to catch up?'' Turner said after the meeting.

Last month three other students from that same ``notorious pre-algebra class,'' as one person put it, withdrew from the school to attend a private school in Elizabeth City.

Some of those students' parents, who had spoken at last month's board meeting, were in attendance again to demand action on various issues.

Another parent, Bob Stockman, also asked if the school system would pick up the tab for a tutor if his son falls behind because of turnover and turmoil at Knapp.

Stockman also noted problems with students being transported by school bus. ``My son,'' he said, ``came home with a busted lip today because the bus driver got into a fight with a kid . . . and showed her maturity by slamming on the brakes . . .''

Stockman said a problem is the school administration's reluctance to suspend problem students. ``It's causing my kid to suffer. I don't think that's right,'' he said.

Knapp Principal Theresa Bateman has said she and her staff are working to improve conditions but perhaps not at the pace parents want.

The attention on Bateman prompted one parent to stick up for the principal during Monday's meeting.

``The criticism toward Mrs. Bateman has upset me,'' said Patricia Young, a mother of three. ``I think people should take more responsibility for their own children and not try to push it off on the school system.''

One recent development announced last week is the placement of a school resource officer, or policeman, in the junior high school next fall.

That person will assist with drug and alcohol education, resolve disputes among students and monitor student safety, among other things.

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