Bethany Stephens
The Board of Education met this Monday night where they presented Dr. Tanya Head, Assistant Superintendent, a plaque in honor of her upcoming retirement on August 1st after serving in the education field for thirty-seven and a half years.
Sharon Penny, Finance Director, presented a financial summary for the month of June for information purposes only. Penny explained that the Capital Outlay balance is expected to increase after the school’s portion of sales taxes come in.
Lou Nelon, Maintenance Director, reported on various maintenance jobs happening across the county. Parking and drainage projects at Elizabethtown Primary are currently being put up for more bids and should be completed in the Fall. Nelon hopes the projects can begin by October 1st. The grant funded agricultural barn at East Bladen High School that was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of Summer has to have a little more work done before it can be completed. The board and Nelon discussed mowing schedules, and when asked if they could mow more often, Nelon explained that they did not have enough men to do so. Nelon hopes that in the future spraying can be done at several of the schools to help keep the grass down in higher visibility areas. Because of the timing of the growing season, it is currently too late to do so this year, but it can definitely be done next year at the start of next year’s growing season. Other general maintenance concerns such as press boxes, tennis courts, light bulbs, clock batteries, track and field related projects, and other drainage projects were discussed also. Berry Lewis, Board Member, asked Nelon why several projects previously expected to be completed were not following schedule. Nelon explained that frozen funds in the summer and trying to find small ways to complete projects more affordably is what most often causes the delays.
Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, and the board discussed requesting that a quarter cent sales tax be put on the November ballot. If approved, the small tax (that would be largely paid by people from surrounding counties visiting White Lake and the like) would generate close to a half million each year to help fund the schools. Some citizens had expressed fear that the funding would only benefit Elizabethtown, but the board discussed possibly addressing this fear by outlining some specific projects that the funding would be spent on across the county over the next 3 to 5 years. When discussing possible reasons why the tax had not been passed in the past, Berry Lewis, Board Member, believed that this was partially due to premade ballots being distributed at the polls. Roger Carroll, Board Member, and the board as a whole thought the word tax also caused the reaction. Carroll explained that though it is a tax, the tax would be very small per purchase, would be mostly paid by people outside of the county, and would be a fair and even tax for everyone and not just specific groups.
A consent agenda that was not read aloud at the meeting for fundraiser requests and overnight 
field trip requests was approved.
A ground lease agreement as recommended by Jason Atkinson, Technology Director, was approved. The lease will give the county ownership of already existing wireless towers and will hopefully earn the county revenue as they lease the towers out to various cellular service providers or by auctioning off the equipment. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department would be allowed to use the towers for the next 10 years or until the towers are dismantled.
Paydates for 2018-2019 were approved as well as a $300 sign on bonus for all teachers with 0 to 3 years experience. The bonus would help the teachers pay for tests and training that they are required to have. Following the above, the board proceeded to go into closed session to discuss personnel, student transfers, and legal concerns. Upon reconvening into open session, the board approved two action items as recommended by Antonia Beatty. Personnel Director.
Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent, also gave the board expected numbers of students transferring to local charter schools. Emereau had initially reported 180 expected transfers, but, currently only 68 record requests have been made though this number could fluctuate. Currently, the 68 students are made up of 14 students from Bladenboro Primary, 6 from Bladen Lakes Primary, 1 from Clarkton School of Discovery, 7 from Dublin Primary, 4 from East Arcadia School, 11 from Elizabethtown Middle, 22 feom Elizabethtown Primary, 1 from Plain View Primary, and 2 from Tar Heel. Sixteen of the 68 students are students that previously would have gone to Booker T. Washington Primary.
The board hopes to have a joint meeting with the County Commissioners soon to rebuild their relationship and to discuss moving forward. Convocation for next school year will take place at 1 :00 p.m. on August 22nd at West Bladen High School. Following the above announcements, the board proceeded to adjourn for the evening.
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