DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110692

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   83 lines

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SEEM PLEASED WITH NEW COMMISSIONER

The selection of construction and real estate executive Stan White to serve the remainder of Robert V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr.'s term on the county Board of Commissioners drew a positive response Tuesday from some members of the school board.

Owens was confirmed last month for a seat on the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

White, who was overwhelmingly chosen by Dare County's Democratic Executive Committee on Tuesday night, will face a school funding crisis as part of the Board of Commissioners upcoming agenda. The commissioners and the school board will meet Sept. 17 at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island to discuss finances.

Allen Burrus, who is on the Board of Education and the party executive panel, gave White high marks.

``I think the process was fair and equitable,'' Burrus said, arriving at the school board meeting after attending the Democratic Party meeting in Kill Devil Hills. ``I think he'll be a fine commissioner.''

Burrus said he had not discussed the school district's financial problems with White in the days leading up to Tuesday's vote.

``I intentionally did not do that,'' he said. ``I wanted to be objective and fair. But I think Stan is a natural leader. He'll bring that leadership to the process. He's said he wants to come into it with an open mind. I believe he'll do that.''

Board of Education Chairman Fletcher Willey was also upbeat about White's selection.

``Stan is a longtime friend of education,'' Willey said. ``We look forward to a cooperative relationship.''

In other education news, accreditation teams from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools will visit four Dare County campuses next week. First Flight and Manteo elementary schools, as well as Manteo High School and the Dare County Alternative High School, also will be evaluated.

Last spring, SACS teams visited Cape Hatteras, First Flight Middle School, Kitty Hawk Elementary and Manteo Middle School. All four were recommended for accreditation.

The association measures schools based on 250 minimum standards, including funding, per-pupil expenditure and teacher-student ratio. Also, North Carolina's new ABC initiative comes into play.

The ABC effort provides performance yardsticks for schools, and gives incentives to schools that surpass those standards.

``A school cannot be accredited if they fail to meet state standards,'' said Assistant Superintendent Ken Wells.

SACS is part of a national accreditation effort, Wells said.

``It's very important,'' he said. ``It amounts to a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for schools.''

If, as expected, the four remaining Dare County Schools are recommended for accreditation by the review teams, the entire SACS membership will vote on final approval at its meeting in December in New Orleans.

In other action, the Board of Education:

Took under advisement a compromise offered by the Theatre of Dare. Under a fee schedule that will be enforced by the financially troubled school district, groups like the Theatre of Dare will be have to pay a $75-per-day usage fee and $15 per hour for custodial service. Jim McCreery, a member of the theater troupe, said the fees would devastate the 5-year-old nonprofit group.

``We would be out of business in a year,'' McCreery said.

Under the theater's proposal, it would provide a $500 scholarship to a deserving high school senior interested in theater arts. The group would also provide equipment and expertise as a resource for the school system, in exchange for the waiver of fees.

Earlier this summer, Superintendent Leon Holleman said groups that had not been required to pay in the past would be required to do so, because of the impact on utility and overtime costs.

Learned that 98.2 percent of this year's senior class had passed state competency tests, while 95 percent of juniors and 92 percent of sophomores had passed the exam. Holleman said that after some remedial work, a 100 percent pass rate is expected.

Approved a resolution declaring Sept. 14-20 JobReady Week in North Carolina. JobReady is a state initiative that prepares students for the working world.

Heard a presentation from Lynda Midgett concerning the Town of Manteo's centennial celebration in 1999. Schoolchildren from throughout the county will be invited to design a logo for the anniversary. The winner will receive a $100 savings bond.

The school board's next meeting is a budget workshop at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Board of Education offices on Budleigh Street in Manteo.

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