DATE: Monday, May 12, 1997                  TAG: 9705120069

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

TYPE: Letter 

                                            LENGTH:  251 lines

LETTERS TO EDITOR -- NORTH CAROLINA

A better tomorrow for children

I am a citizen and taxpayer of Dare County who has raised four children in various other parts of our country. Over the course of those years their education benefited by the passage of bond referendums needed to improve the quality of education and ease overcrowded schools. While these referendums resulted in increased taxes, they were deemed necessary to accomplish those goals. I was grateful to retired citizens who voted in favor of the bonds, not forgetting that their children's education was paramount also.

I do not object to my taxes being raised for the betterment of education. I am aware of the crowded conditions and the need for renovations and repairs needed to improve these Dare County schools. I know the difficulties my younger friends face because their teen-agers do not have a high school within a reasonable distance from home.

See this as an opportunity to provide today's children with a promise of a better tomorrow. Vote YES.

Myrna Hayes,

Kitty Hawk

PTA bond support not unusual

In 1988 the Kitty Hawk Elementary School PTA supported the facilities bond referendum of that year. As well, all of the Dare County School PTAs declared support for the bond referendum of 1988. According to the State PTA, this is an acceptable procedure for a local PTA.

Since passage of the bond, it has been the practice of the Kitty Hawk Elementary School PTA to continue to follow and support the development of facility plans which are needed for the future of Dare County's children. This is the mission of the local PTA; it is not an inappropriate process.

The PTA Mission states: 1. To support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community and before governmental bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children. 2. To assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children. And 3. To encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of this nation.

As a PTA, we intend to inform parents of the bond and encourage them to vote on May 20, 1997. While we do not intend to offend, we feel it is our responsibility to the children to get the facts about the bond referendum distributed to all parents as well as inform them of the position of the PTA.

1996-1997 KHES

PTA Executive Board

Curriculum Committee taking no stand

The article in The Virginian-Pilot on April 17 titled ``Split school builds steam for board as bond vote nears'' made it seem that the Dare County Curriculum Committee was in favor of this suggested high school split favoring two schools with 9-10 grades in one and 11-12 grades in the other.

Curriculum Committee members from MHS want everyone to understand that we have NOT made ANY suggestions concerning any high school configurations nor future curriculum plans. We simply completed a survey sheet which asked on what sub-committees we might be interested in serving. To date, this is ALL we have done as a committee.

With all the discussion surrounding the bond referendum, we wanted members of the school board, the community, our fellow staff members, and any other interested parties to understand our position: As a committee, we have taken NO POSITION regarding the bond or made any other recommendations.

Brian Finch

and 17 others

Shed anti-business sentiments

Throughout the last few years, I've witnessed the chaos from the outside. After being in the private sector as a restaurateur and Outer Banks homebuilder, the time has come to voice my opinion. The Kitty Hawk planning board's latest quagmire of business vs. anti-business sentiments transpires through every pore of this community.

In the latest turn of events, several members of the board have been arguing over a dog-grooming facility. With the pro-business faction arguing the client would be the person dropping off the dog, and the anti-business faction arguing the dog is the client. Using the analogy of the anti-business faction, then a lawn mower being dropped off for repair would be the client, not the owner of the lawn mower. My answer to this would be, who's paying the bill? Certainly not the lawn mower or the dog.

If you are a pro-business advocate, sometimes you get the feeling, at least in Kitty Hawk, that you are, in fact, the dog. It's time for Kitty Hawk to shed their coat of anti-business sentiments. The pro-business faction is doing a fine job; however, the anti-business faction might just need a flea bath.

Ed Janicki,

Kitty Hawk

Thankful Finn

My name is Mika Alapuranen and I'm a Finnish exchange student sponsored by PAX - Program of Academic Exchange. I arrived in Elizabeth City last August and I have been staying with the Trafton family and attending Northeastern High School.

As the school year will soon be over, I will return home to Finland. I am writing to you to express my thanks to everyone here who helped to make my experience in the United States so great! First and foremost, thanks must go to my generous hosts, Lance and Carolyn Trafton, who opened their home to me! They made me feel like their real ``son'' this past year, and to them, I will always be grateful!

Thanks to everyone at Northeastern High School, especially Principal Christenbury and counselor Martha Goodman, plus all of my teachers, who have helped me so much.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my PAX community coordinator, Franklin Kam, who arranged my placement here, finding my great host family and high school for me.

Finally, I'd like to thank the people of Elizabeth City, who welcomed me into the community, showed great interest and curiosity about me and my country, and did their best to make me feel at home - away from home. I hope that other PAX exchange students will have the opportunity that I have had here in Elizabeth City. You are very special people and I will always remember you!

Mika Alapuranen,

Elizabeth City

Frightening prospect

``Show us the money and trust us'' seems to be the only plan the school board has outside of construction - the rest of it keeps changing according to whose votes are needed.

The prospect of trusting $59.5 million to a group with such a history of misspending is frightening. One year they end up with a huge surplus, this year a large deficit. They denied negotiating to buy land when in fact they were. They have not kept up with warranties on schools so that repairs could have been made at builder's expense, including $250,000 to fix the roof of Manteo High, which the architect says can be done for $100,000, and could have been done for nothing. Also, should they decide on split grades between two high schools, it means nothing, as this board cannot set policy for the board that will be sitting when a new school is built. This was merely a carrot dangling for the Roanoke Island vote. They took away the only one they dangled at Hatteras, which is why there were no-shows at their meeting. They already have enough ``egg on their faces.''

``They'' say 58 percent of the cost of this bond will be paid by people who don't reside here. It is puzzling who is being insulted the most - the 58 percent who are facing budget issues where they live, or the 42 percent of us who do live here, especially those of us on fixed incomes. I feel betrayed. This is truly Robin Hood in reverse.

Every time a possible tax increase arises, whichever group wants it resurrects the overexposed myth of our low tax rate, and it has been frustrating to explain over again that we pay the most taxes because of the inflated evaluation.

We must vote NO on May 20, and let them know that the power is with the people. We must begin again, focusing on the needs of the children, set all ego trips aside, utilize the abundant local expertise, and produce an equitable school bond.

Becky Melton,

Kitty Hawk

Manteo Middle School favored

One of our Manteo High School students has made me aware of an inequality in curriculum that exists in Dare County. It is the middle-school children of the north beaches who have been at a disadvantage for the past six years. This former First Flight Middle School student has been mentioning that she would have liked to have had the same opportunities as her Manteo Middle School counterparts. These Manteo Middle students were able to take courses at Manteo High School while they were still in middle school because of the close proximity of the two schools. Because these high school courses were available to the Manteo Middle students who were ready for them, they are now at least a year ahead of their First Flight Middle counterparts in math, language and possibly other subjects. Both Manteo Middle and Cape Hatteras School have that advantage.

It seems quite ironic that the very crowd predicting woeful curriculum inequality has had curriculum superiority for all this time and has never mentioned it! It is, however, obvious to the students. This imbalance can be corrected by a ``yes'' vote on May 20th! Let's equalize Dare County.

Nancy D'Andrade,

Kill Devil Hills

Outspoken parents have good students

I'm sure many parents with children in Currituck County schools read in dismay the comments by Valerie Bogues.

As Ms. Bogues ponders over the parental dissatisfaction with our school system, she needs to be aware that the parents that have been outspoken over issues involving their children's education are parents of good students. These are not students that create havoc in the classroom and make your job impossible. They are not the students that bring drugs into your school. These are children who want to be taught in a class where teachers are allowed to teach without constant disruptions. These are children who want to be taught at the appropriate academic grade level.

Yes, Ms. Bogues, there are many parents who have not instilled in their children the values that are needed to live in today's society. There are many parents that are not involved in their children's education. I can tell you that these are not the parents that have been outspoken recently about the condition in our schools. And I personally take offense that you would advise parents to put their concerns to better use by volunteering in our children's school and supporting the PTA. Many of us are volunteers and are very involved in school activities. Should that be the limit of our concerns?

While lack of discipline and drug problems have made the headlines recently, there are many other issues that are just as important to many parents. We are concerned with safety in our schools as well as on the buses, poor test scores in many schools, lack of appropriate academic instruction, high teacher turnover, and the list goes on.

The public forum scheduled for Thursday, May 15, will hopefully be a first step in resolving issues and opening the lines of communication between parents and administrators. In order to have successful schools and successful students, there has to be dialogue between parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders. Without it, our children will be the ultimate losers.

Linda Turner,

Moyock

Two reasons to vote yes

I am so thankful to have two very personal reasons to vote for this bond referendum - James and Leanna. It's not that I believe only those of us with young children will benefit from these facilities, but without these incentives, I would not have attended three public hearings, two Board of Education meetings, and two workshops. I would not have heard the many supportive comments made by members of the public that were not quite as newsworthy as the opposition. I would not have witnessed this board we elected to serve as education decision-makers for our county arrive at this package, with members representing their respective communities, and then uniting to represent all Dare County students by adopting this plan with a 7-0 vote.

If I hadn't taken the time to look at the number of students in all of our schools, and the capacity, I wouldn't understand how desperately our county needs the facilities in this package. I might not understand that this referendum is not just about a high school, just as our needs in Dare County are not limited to a high school.

I might not have noticed in Dare County's Ten Year Statistical Summary of its annual report that the ``Board of Education'' expenditures in 1996 are only 20 percent higher than that same line item in 1988, while the number of students increased by 47 percent in that same time period.

Because I have these two wonderful children who will be in high school when Dare County is projected to have a student high school population well over 1,600, I followed up on some comments Ken Wells made (during an ANSWER session of the Board of Education) with regard to studies that have examined the effects of the growing size of schools. They overwhelmingly state ``Smaller is Better.'' Yes, in these terms, 1,600 is definitely large, with 400 to 800 identified as appropriate for a high school.

I wonder in a school of 1,600 if people would have talked me into keeping stats for the JV football team, and being a manager for the JV girls' basketball. I live in a town I've grown to love in a county that I'm proud of. I hope that pride will continue on May 20, when we do NOT become the first county in North Carolina to defeat a school bond referendum in two years.

Sandra Allen,

Nags Head

Speaking for the unborn

Our state legislature is considering passing two very important bills - HB 536, the Woman's Right to Know Bill, and SH 536, the Partial Birth Abortion Ban.

The first bill calls for doctors to provide information about the medical risks of abortion, the medical risks of carrying the child, the age of the unborn child, if the doctor has malpractice insurance, if the doctor has hospital privileges in the event of an emergency. Also, the availability of medical assistance for childbirth, AFDC, the father's liability to support the child, and other useful information. A 24-hour waiting period is mandated so the mother can reflect on the information before aborting her child and know there are other solutions to her problem.

The second bill would outlaw partial-birth abortion.

The human rights cause of our time is safeguarding children and their mothers from the cruelty of abortion. Let your legislators know how you want them to vote on these two bills. Remember, the unborn child has no other voice but yours to speak for him or her.

Mimi K. Weeks,

Hertford

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu