Minutes - 19850311 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

o~~ and 24,000 students. Although all five (5) Boards have agreed with the r~rger there are qualifiers attached which need to be worked out. Dr. Spencer outlined the position of the Division of School Planning and the State Superinterr7ent on merger. He feels that the Department of Public Instruction can best serve the two Boards of Education through looking at merger implications rather than merger feasibility. He identified several changes among the school districts in North Carolina. They are as follows: 1. Citizens i.n rural areas have increased their level of expec- tations regarding schools where there is little difference between county and city school"systems. 2. There is still a tradition with city school districts for pro- grams such as art and music which may not be present in the county because of the lack of funds. 3. There is a growing belief that the total zesources of the county should support every child in the county. There is a belief in North Carolina that the education the child receives should not be dependent upon where that child lives. 4. Statewide, the tax base per child continues to grow in city administrative units faster than in the county. Aye reason is that the federal government provides money for water and sewer. 5. Student population is decreasing in most school systems, particularly at the high school and middle school level. Projections for the next five (5) years indicate that 30 out of the 42 special districts will decline faster than their host county. 6. there are eight (8) chartered school districts which have less than 2,000 students. Minority students are increasing in the school population. The decline in student population has caused an underutilization of facilities. Dr. Spencer distributed a report entitled "special Chartered School Districts in North Carolina" dated March, 1985' published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Division of School Planning. Ne highlighted certain areas of the report. (A Dopy of the report is on file in the office of Clerk to the Board.) Dr. spencer indicated there seems to be an assumption that merger will save money. From a study of six (6) school systems, four (4) spent considerably more dollars after merger than before; one system spent about the same, while one system spent fewer dollars. The conclusion suggests that following merger more dollars will be spent. Merger, in most cases, will give more education for each dollar. BREAK QUESTIONS AMID ANSWERS 1. Dr. Parish questioned the reason for there not being a stror~ advocacy position in the General Assembly and if a change may be forthcoming. Dr. Spencer stated that only in recent years has the State Department believed that education would best be served by 100 or fewer units. There is a growing concern about merger and how services are delivered. 2. Lirx3say Efland asked for comments on the statement that Orange County does not fit the mold. Dr. Spencer referred to the document that listed eight characteristics for city school systems. The only characteristic that fits Chapel F~.11 Schools is that they are projected to have a greater decline in enrollment than Orange County (which may or may not be the case).