By Charlotte Smith
Safety concerns for Bladen County Schools’ students and staff are increasing, according to recent reports. During the latest Bladen County Board of Education meeting held on Monday, security and safety were brought to the floor numerous times. Before closing, in a split decision, the board passed a motion involving funds totaling $63,000 for a security consultation.
First, a local parent, Angie Parnell, addressed the board about an incident involving her daughter, another student, and their bus route. Parnell discussed the issues she has with bus safety, policies, and procedures during her time before the board.
Parnell claimed her daughter and the other Bladen County student was put in imminent danger last week.
“I’m just a disappointed parent right now, and I want to know what the policies are. When the policies are not abided by… by a bus driver, a principal, a superintendent, and whoever, what are the consequences? Are we enforcing the consequences?”
Next, Kimbrie Esters, Bladen County Schools Program Director, shared some of the challenges students face with Student Services in Bladen County and some of the local resources in the area.
She said, “Parents send us the very best that they have, and their best include students with academic challenge, attendance challenges, behavior challenges, mental health challenges, social, emotional, and personal challenges.”
Esters gave a list of the available resources offered at the schools. She listed the following resources: school-based counselors, school mental health professionals, two behavioral specialists, school-based outpatient therapists provided by a State grant, a day treatment program offered by Coastal, and a peer group connection at the high schools.
Alternative learning programs are also offered at the two high schools.
“So basically ISS (In-School Suspension) and the alternative program are the same,” Bladen County Board of Education member Alan West stated.
“We have students that are being disruptive, but they are not in the alternative, why is that,” fellow board member Gary Rhoda asked.
A referral has to be made; first, Esters explained.
Currently, there are a total of five students in alternative programs at the two high schools. However, power school lists about 400 students in Bladen County identified as high-risk, according to Cheryl White-Smith, Bladen County Schools’ Exceptional Children’s Director.
After Esters gave her presentation, the board members addressed some concerns about students with behavioral problems.
“I’m privy to East Bladen, I am not privy to West Bladen, I don’t have anybody in that school, but I’m privy to East Bladen, and there’s a problem,” board member West stated.
“There is a problem at West Bladen too,” board member Rhoda added.
“Well, we just need to do a better job doing what it is we are supposed to do.” Glenn C. McKoy, Board Vice-Chair, stated.
“It all sounds good, but if you send them to ISS and ten minutes later, the teacher sees the student walking the hall causing trouble… I mean, that’s a little thing right there, and it would probably take care of a lot of the problems that are going on in the school,” West said.
Dr. Robert Taylor, Bladen County Schools Superintendent, explained to the board he has met and will be meeting again with East Bladen staff about the behavior issues. He also sited funding as an issue in addressing the behavioral issues.
“I don’t want to say money is something that is going to hinder us, but money should not hinder us, but from a fiscal standpoint, what we do for kids, goes hand and hand with what we are physically able to pay for, fiscally able to pay for, I guess,” said, Taylor.
After Ms. Esters’ presentation, the Safety Request proposal was on the list for a vote. The board heard from Bladen County Schools’ Maintenance Director, Russell Worley, about safety proposals.
The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office was contracted in 2016 to oversee and consult Bladen County Schools with all safety concerns. Since 2016, Bladen County Sheriff’s Sergeant Gary Turlington offers safety consulting services to the schools, but Dr. Taylor suggests the Schools need a more “holistic” approach. Therefore, the Board of Education requested safety study proposals.
According to Worley, there were 18 bids submitted about the safety study. The committee working on the safety proposal request narrowed the offers down to Rice Security out of Fayetteville, NC, with a bid of $63,788, according to Worley.
“What the company is proposing is to go to each school and interview different stakeholders,” Worley stated. The proposal is for the company to do an investigation and then come back with an action plan for the Schools, according to Worley’s report.
The board was reminded if the board approved the committee’s proposal of education; the recommendation would go to the Bladen County Board of Commissioners for approval.
Before the vote, West asked if the contract was still in place with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office.
Dr. Taylor answered, “Yes.”
West then asked, “How is this going to affect that?”
“That’s the realization we’ve come to, that we look at the Sheriff’s Department and their expertise in coming in and handling active shooter situations. So what we recognize is we are not safety experts that look at everything in a school system holistically. They are not the experts to attend to those issues except for school lockdown or active shooter type situations,” Taylor responded.
Dr. Taylor added, “What we want to do is bring in professionals to come in and assess all the safety things in our schools.”
He added the board’s first duty is to recognize the issues and then address those issues with the commissioners.
Board of Education member, Dennis Edwards, spoke up about numerous emails he has received from Sgt. Turlington with the Sheriff’s Office about safety issues. According to Edwards, Turlington’s emails address many different aspects of all the schools’ safety measures. Turlington’s emails mentioned doors not working, missing keys, and lighting as some of the safety concerns to the schools.
Another safety concern was brought up during the discussion. Board member Gary Rhoda brought up the mold issues at Bladenboro Middle School as another safety concern that needed to be addressed.
Board member Cory Singletary asked what the point was of getting someone else to review security when Sgt. Turlington and the Sheriff’s Office is already providing the service.
Dr. Taylor said Sgt. Turlington was only concentrating on lockdowns. Worley said the proposal presented to the board on Monday, “would do a lot more than the Sheriff’s Office is doing.”
“It’s looking at sporting events, and domestic violence and things like that too,” Worley said.
In a split vote, the board voted to approve the Safety Request proposal from Rice Security for $63,000 contingent upon the Bladen County Board of Commissioners’ approval for funding. Board Vice-chair, Glenn McKoy made the motion for the support of the proposal with the county commissioners’ approval stipulation, and fellow board member, Vinston Rozier made the second for the action. Board members, Chris Clark, Alan West, and Chairperson, Roger Carroll all voted in favor of the motion made McKoy. Corey Singletary, Dennis Edwards, and Gary Rhoda voted against the proposal. Fellow board member Berry Lewis was not present at the meeting.
Related article:
https://bladencounty.org/bladen-county-schools-superintendent-releases-statement-on-coronavirus-disease-2019/
https://bladencounty.org/students-fighting-bypass-bladen-county-schools-code-of-conduct/
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