School board meets for July

ELIZABETHTOWN – The Bladen County School Board met last Monday and they received brief updates on the Franklin Covey leadership program and pushed through their resolution in support for prioritizing public schools. The School Board unanimously agreed to table the Franklin Covey leadership program for pre k through eighth grade until they receive more details on the cost and what the district has to pay out of their pockets.

The Leader & Me Program centralizes around character education and this program has been used in several other counties across the state. The districts in use of the Leader & Me Program have been a mix of rural communities and the more densely populated urban areas. According to Superintendent Dr. Jason Atkinson these districts have reported positive results in behavior since the program has been implemented in their schools.

Federal Title One funding was discussed amongst the board on how to use the money and a debate on whether the funds should be used to fund this program was brought up in the conversation. The Title One funds is around $800,000 and it can only be spent on instructional materials for the following schools that meet the criteria.

Schools performance grade is one of the many factors that determine where the funds go and this automatically disqualifies the high schools in the county from benefiting Title One. However, Bladen County students in the pre k through eighth grade levels fall under Title One and can directly benefit from the federal grant money. The School Board plans to continue the discussions once more information is presented.

The privatization of public schools in NC is very real as State Legislators have planned to expand taxpayer vouchers to private schools, which could negatively impact the amount of funding public institutions receive. Dr. Atkinson read off a resolution that would support prioritizing public schools at all levels from students to teachers and he painted a bleak picture of what could be if public institutes had to share funding with their private counterparts.

Public Schools in NC could lose over $200 million in the first year alone if taxpayer vouchers were to be split and NC’s rural counties will most likely be affected the most. Bladen County could lose about $2 million in funding or 10 to 15 percent in state funding which could total to an $100 million dollar loss over accumulating years according to projections from Dr. Atkinson.

The resolution urges the NC General Assembly to prioritize teachers salaries with pay increases in hopes to retain and attain educators, allocating funding for early childhood development, placing a moratorium on tax-funded private school vouchers until public institutions are fully funded and ensuring taxpayer money is reinvested back into public education. Bladen County has already lost out on $700,000 in grant money over the past year and this issue can be exacerbated depending on what legislators decide.

The School Board unanimously agreed to vote on the resolution to be sent off to state representatives in Raleigh as a plea to put public schools first. The School Board also received updates on the progress of the maintenance at Bladenboro Middle before adjourning their meeting for the month of July.