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The meeting many have been waiting for left parents with still more questions than answers. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is proposing three schools to be closed in Bladen County.
Ken Phelps with NCDPI said, “We have a two prong recommendation.”
Phelps did stress, NCDPI only considered the facility needs in their investigation into consolidation. Issues such as bus routes, staff assignments, and school performance were not considered and is not reflected in the NCDPI consolidation proposal.
DPI agreed with the school board’s previous findings in reference to the primary schools, according to Phelps. Plain View Primary and Booker T. Washington are the two primary schools NCDPI recommended closing.
Phelps said the suggestion from NCDPI is to move the students from the two primary schools that will close to East Arcadia and Bladenboro schools.
The two prong recommendation came into play when NCDPI made the middle school consolidation suggestion, according to Phelps.
Clarkton School of Discovery or Tar Heel Middle School are the two middle schools NCDPI brought to the table for a decision for school consolidation.
Phelps said, “If you leave either one of these schools open I recommend you look at the needs list. I also realize there may be some financial constraints with closing Tar Heel [Middle School] because of agreements with the county.”
According to Phelps, Tar Heel has more mechanical issues and Clarkton has more electrical problems.
Bladen County Board of Education member Ophelia Munn-Goins said, “Now, if something happens, we as the board will be held accountable because we have the list of the needs.”
The focus of NCDPI was on things that are code violations, safety violations, and health violations, according to Phelps.
The report reflects the same findings the board was presented with about 10 years ago with a cost then of $60 million, according to Dr. Robert Taylor, Bladen County Superintendent.
“We know these things need to be addressed,” Taylor said. “What was $60 million 10 years ago may be $85 million today,” he continued.
Dr. Wilbur Smith, chairman of the board, said, “This will be one piece of what will impact what we want to do.”
Audience member Phyliss Miller asked the board if she could ask questions of Phelps about his findings. Miller and a number of other citizens followed Phelps out of the meeting asking the consultant questions about his report.
The board will take some time to look over the NCDPI investigation, according to Smith.
Read the full report from NC DPI Bladen County Schools Investigation into Consolidation
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