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3a <br /> <br />Thursday, April 3, 2003 9:15AM EST <br />Board of education drops merger request <br />The Associated Press <br />RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -The state Board of Education won't endorse a proposal to merge remaining city school <br />districts with county districts. <br />The proposal was boosted in December by a report from the Gov.'s Commission to Promote Government <br />Efficiency and Savings on State Spending. <br />Under the recommendation, the state would pay for just one group of school administrators per county. The <br />recommendation would cut the number of school systems from 117 to 100. <br />During the first day of the board's regular two-day meeting Wednesday, the board said it is preparing a report <br />stating there is no specific funding formula that would guarantee mergers would save money. <br />The report will also outline ways that city and county school systems already pool their resources. <br />Board member John Tate suggested the state could reward collaborative efforts by allowing school systems to <br />keep 50 percent of the money they save. <br />Supporters of merger said it could save the state as much as $14 million. <br />Some board members contended that the cost to provide federal and state-mandated programs would just be <br />shifted to local governments. <br />"We've squeezed enough blood out of this turnip," said State Superintendent Mike Ward. "I don't want to <br />discourage efficiencies, but central offices have never been the bloated bureaucracies they are portrayed to be." <br />Asheville City Schools Superintendent Robert Logan attended the meeting and said he was pleased with the <br />outcome. He said that the Asheville and Buncombe county school systems already share transportation and <br />services for children with disabilities. <br />Information from: Asheville Citizen-Times <br />I~© Copyright 2003, The News & Observer Publishing Company. All material found ortrianale.com (including newsobserver.com, <br />carvnews.com, chaoelhillnews.com, smithfieldherald.com, and easternwakenews.com) is copyrighted The News & Observer Publishing <br />Company and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused without explicit permission from The News & Observer <br />Publishing Company, Raleigh, North Carolina. <br />The News & Observer Publishing Company is owned byThe McClatchv Comoanv. <br />BAC K <br />1 of 1 4/3/2003 3:02 PM <br />