03/29/2024
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By: Bethany Stephens
Bladen County School Board September 2015
The Board of Education met Monday night for a long and heated meeting.  Due to a large number of community members and staff from Clarkton School and Discovery, Plain View Primary, and Booker T. Washington Primary being present in response to recent talk of school consolidations, the board moved the meeting from the Board of Education to the gym at Elizabethtown Middle School.  Several community members and staff showed their unity by wearing their school colors and holding signs they had made.  Though the group was not able to address the board directly since the possible consolidations were only known since this past Thursday, there were still several concerned and vocal community members present.  Kamillah Jones, one of the many parents present who is also a former student of Clarkton School of Discovery, and staff and teachers from Booker T. Washington Primary said that they had only just learned of the possible consolidations and had gotten the news out to the community via the “Parents Don’t Let Them Close Our Schools” Facebook group started by Sabrina Murchison.

Bladen County Schools may close

Brenda Clark, a community member with concerns about her grandson and the Exceptional Children Program in particular, addressed the board regarding her grandson, but she also ended up speaking on behalf of the many people present, too.  Clark told the board the salaries of several employees at the Board of Education and the administrative personnel in the District Office is very top heavy.  Instead of more positions being funded for administrative personnel, she felt that the funds to employ them should be given back to the schools to fund teaching positions and school operating costs instead.  Additionally, she was concerned about a twenty point drop in the county’s students’ SAT scores and the effect that the drop could have on bringing businesses into Bladen County.  She encouraged the board to really listen to the communities and to act accordingly.

We love Plain View at Bladen County School Board Meeting

Joseph Rozier Jr., President of Hollow Township Community Action Committee,  addressed the board also with similar concerns.  Rozier was concerned about large property tax increases being used by the County Commissioners to build a jail instead of those same funds going toward the schools.  He entreated the board to reconsider their position on consolidation and asked why the northwestern corner of the county was not allowed to have any of their community schools when other areas of similar size were allowed to keep theirs.

Later in the meeting, while voting on various action items, Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, addressed some of the concerns surrounding the possible school consolidations and outlined the possible advantages and disadvantages of choosing to pursue it.  Though Taylor and the board stated that there would be public forums to further discuss the issue with the community, they already have a tentative plan to carry out the consolidations if they decide to act.   Board Members Tim Benton, Gary Rhoda, Wilbur Smith, and Dennis Edwards voted against continuing with the plan, while Vinston Rozier, Bonnell Walker, Alan West, and Roger Carroll voted to begin the plan to possibly consolidate.  Chair Ophelia Munn-Goins broke the tie in favor of pursuing possible consolidations.

The approved consolidation plan was recommended by an ad hoc committee consisting of Ophelia Munn-Goins, Alan West, Gary Rhoda, and Roger Carroll.  The plan would consolidate Plain View Primary with Dublin Primary and Clarkton School of Discovery students with Elizabethtown Middle and Bladenboro Middle. Project Challenge students that are currently attending Clarkton School of Discovery and middle school students at East Arcadia School would both be moved to Elizabethtown Middle.  The public forums will be held throughout the county during October and November.  Following the forums through December, the board plans to create timelines for necessary construction, address consolidation costs and busing concerns, and will decide on the districting lines for students.  In January, facility upgrades would be approved and would begin to be carried out.  By July 2016 the consolidations would be completed, and the 2016 school year would begin in the fully consolidated schools.  Following the completed consolidations, the board would then finish the process of shutting down and re-purposing the remaining buildings.

Before the board moved the meeting to Elizabethtown Middle they recognized Allie Marsh, a Family Career and Community Leaders of America, student at West Bladen, for recently receiving a Silver Medal at the FCCLA National Conference.  Patti Nance, Cedric Mathis, Earl Miller, Mitchell Newkirk, Kathy Wilkes, Charlotte Davis, and Mary Todd, all Career and Technical Education Teachers, were recognized for having classes that achieved 100% proficiency on their subject’s state testing.  Two county I.T. employees were also recognized for earning A+ Technology Certification.

Sharon Penny, Finance Director, provided a financial summary for information purposes only.  Tanya Head, Assistant Superintendent, along with Kendall Graham, Taylor Locklear, and Sierra Griffin, College Advisors at East and West Bladen and Bladen Community College, all briefly spoke of their respective backgrounds and their hopes for the upcoming school year.  Jonathan Weiss and Tim Field spoke of an app that they have developed that is being implemented in other counties such as New Hanover.  If the board decides to use the app in Bladen County, it will be cost free to the county (though will be supported by advertisements), would streamline communication between the schools and the parents and employees, and give students education on app technology and how to build their own apps.

Valerie Newton, Grant Programs Administrator, presented good news concerning a grant that the board recently received.  The “Traveling Through Trash” grant was given through UNCW to help several of the county’s S.T.E..M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs.

Anthony Hinson, Testing and Accountability Director, presented preliminary testing results throughout the county’s schools and showed which areas were improving and which needed work.  Willa Dean Williams, Career and Technical Education Director, and Bridgette White, Instructional Management System Coordinator, spoke of their program’s certified CNAs and gave various updates on the Career and Technical Education Program.  In their presentation, White explained that in both 2013 and 2014 students that completed a 4 credit C.T.E. Pathway were over 10% more likely to graduate.  They did not yet have data for 2015.

A Partial Budget Resolution (to suffice until the state budget is completed) as recommended by Sharon Penny, Finance Director, was approved.  Two applications for lottery funds to fix the roof at Elizabethtown Middle and for two air conditioning units at Elizabethtown Middle were approved together.  Fundraiser requests from Tar Heel Middle School, West Bladen, and East Bladen were all approved as well as overnight field trips for state land judging competitions, Beta Club conventions, and for Skills USA.  An Exceptional Children Contract for Physical Therapy Services was approved to accommodate a personnel change as recommended by Reida Roberts, Director of Exceptional Children’s Services, and Title 1 Parent Involvement Plans were also approved.

Following the vote on consolidating the schools, voting on the Board of Education Nominee to Bladen County Board of Trustees was postponed until next month’s meeting.  School Advisory Councils and a policy concerning immunization and health requirements for school admission were both approved.  Following all of the above, the board proceeded to go into closed session to discuss personnel and legal matters.

Upon reconvening into open session, the board approved personnel lists as recommended by Antonia Beatty, Personnel Director.  Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, reminded the board of upcoming Ag Em Up day for students, board training, and discussed countywide roofing concerns in particular.  A group of teachers and staff still present at the meeting from Booker T. Washington spoke with Taylor specifically about falling tile and roofing concerns before and after the meeting adjourned for the evening.

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