Dare County Schools superintendent addresses ‘evolution of misinformation’ about early college high school plans

KILL DEVIL HILLS — “Our goal through all this…is to create opportunity for students,” Dare County Schools Superintendent Steve Basnight said of the school system’s proposed early college high school .

Basnight addressed the recent “evolution of misinformation” in the community about the project during his approximately hourlong presentation at a public hearing held the evening of July 10 at First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills.

Three school administrations dating back to 2015, and “actively since 2018,” have worked toward establishing an early college in Dare County, Basnight said.

Research on early college students in North Carolina shows the benefits of these public schools, formally called cooperative innovative high schools, he said.

“They have higher ACT scores, higher attendance rates, lower suspensions, lower dropout, higher enrollment in four-year universities, are more likely to vote and less likely to be convicted of a crime during late adolescence,” Basnight said.

The early college schools’ focus is on students completing either an associate degree or a trade certification along with their high school degree, he said.

Originally, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction outlined its targeted student populations as first-generation college students, English language learners, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, students who want an accelerated academic track, minority students and students at risk of not graduating, he said.

Those targets have been condensed into three: First-generation college-goers, students at risk of dropping out of high school and students who would benefit from accelerated learning opportunities.

“I don’t know any students who are left out of these categories,” he said. “That’s why it’s for everyone.”

The Dare County Board of Commissioners discussed the early college proposal in public meetings over several months this year and last year and was poised to vote on the project as part of its budget process on June 3.

But three Democratic county commissioner candidates spoke against the project and what they called a lack of public input on it.

Commissioners also received emails opposing the project, and they ended up voting on budget items except for the early college, choosing to wait for the board of education to schedule and hold a public hearing first.

Commissioner Ervin Bateman said during the June 3 meeting that he received 17 emails asking him to not vote on the project or to delay the vote.

“I used to belong to that entity,” Bateman said. He was registered as a Democrat until 2021, when he switched his party affiliation to Republican, according to an article in The Coastland Times.

“This is political, and that’s wrong,” he said vehemently.

Some of the emails opposing the early college, which The Pilot requested and received from the county, did come from Democratic candidates and registered Democrats. Others came from registered Republicans and independents.

About 80 people attended the July 10 public hearing, which both commissioners and school board members attended, and 14 members of the public spoke. Six public commenters expressed firm support, and eight shared concerns.

Joe Tyson, principal of First Flight High School, spoke passionately in favor of the early college. He called it “a gateway to boundless opportunities for students, [who] can earn college credits [and] invaluable skills, and develop a passion for lifelong learning — all before they even graduate high school.”

Kenny Brite, a Republican candidate for the board of education, also voiced his support. He said he’d talked to community members about it, including one Rodanthe man who said his son had registered for school with his mom’s address in Currituck County specifically so he could attend the early college in Currituck.

Aida Havel, a Democratic county commissioner candidate who spoke publicly June 3 and also emailed her concerns, said at the July 10 hearing that “there has been some suggestion that the opposition to the early college is political.”

Havel said she wanted to clearly share her concerns, noting, “I am not against the idea of early college.”

She continued, “I think it is fiscally irresponsible to build a $20 million building while not promptly taking care of what we already have; what message is that sending to our children?”

Several other speakers asked why the early college concept couldn’t be brought into the existing high schools.

“The early college program sounds wonderful for the kids that get to be a part of it,” said Jim Metzinger, a Manteo High School teacher. “Why can we not embed that model in our current high schools?”

Bobby Outten, county manager and attorney, explained toward the end of the meeting that the funding for the proposed early college, which comes from state lottery funds and “a portion of the sales tax fund,” could only be used for the construction and major repairs of school buildings.

The county cannot “redirect those resources into trying to implement the program” in existing schools because they are “capital resources,” Outten said.

He explained that the money could similarly not go toward teacher salaries, which Basnight also addressed in his presentation.

Several people who emailed concerns had been upset the proposed early college funding wasn’t directed to teacher salaries or to other school improvement projects.

Related Articles

• Local News | Dare County Schools teachers and staff get raises starting July 1
• Local News | Dare County moves forward with plans for early college high school

“This is not an either or,” Basnight said during his presentation, stressing that needed school repairs are not being ignored.

The school system’s ongoing capital improvements plan is a plan that is constantly in flux, he explained. He also thanked commissioners for recently providing funding to raise local teachers’ salaries , and he promised to return before commissioners to ask for more.