Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Oct. 15, 1992, edition 1 / Page 12
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Candidates Address Accountability Response To Parents BY SUSAN USHER A demand for greater account ability to parents and to taxpayers in general ? from every level of the ed ucation system ? dominated ques tions posed to all six candidates for the Brunswick County Board of Education Tuesday night in Southport. The candidates fielded questions before an audience of about 80 peo ple at a forum sponsored by the Southport Elementary School PTA. Moderator Johnnie Simpson, vice president for instruction of Brunswick Community College, drew at random from a envelope parents, educators and community residents. Seated alphabetically by last name, the candidates took turns an swering questions instead of all re sponding to the same questions. Responses were limited to two min utes each, with each candidate al lowed a 114-minute summary at the close of the forum. Up for election on Nov. 5 are the District 1 , 3 and 4 seals on the five member board of education. Candidates run from the districts in which they reside, but are elected at large by all county voters in a parti san contest. Each member will serve questions prepared in advance by a two-year term. Calabash Asked To Form Joint Sewer Authority BY ERIC CARLSON The town of Calabash Tuesday was asked to consider joining Sunset Beach in forming a Southwest Brunswick Regional Sewer Author ity to enhance the town's eligibility to receive grants and loans for a pro posed joint sewerage project. Appearing at the regular meeting of the Calabash Board of Com missioners, Engineer James Billups of Powell Associates, North Myrtle Beach, S.C., said the formation of such an authority "on paper" would move the project up on the ranking lists for Farmers Home Admin istration funding. The sewer board, with members appointed by each town, could be formed solely for the purpose of seeking funding without granting it any powers cm- spending authority, Billups said. He urged the board to adopt a resolution of intent to create the sewer authority. Sunset Beach Town Attorney Michael Isenbcrg last week advised his town board to consider such a resolution and agreed to present a draft at that town council's Nov. 2 meeting. Calabash Commissioner George Anderson said he felt the town would be "jumping the gun" to form such an authority before taxpayers are told how much the joint sewer age project would cost. He noted that estimates have ranged as high as S25 to S30 million. He suggested the question first be put to a referendum first. Billups said a referendum would be premature without a firm cost es timate to present to voters. He said has "no ballpark figure" of costs be cause funding sources have not been established. Forming the sewer authority will increase the projects eligiblity for grants and loans. He said that by phasing in the project, it might be made completely self sustaining, paid for entirely by user fees and de veloper contributions. One of the first components of the proposed project would be the pur chase of the Carolina Blythc sewer system which serves several devel opments near the state line. The sys tem's owners have agreed to sell it on a purchase contract basis, allow ing the utility itself to serve as loan collateral without increasing the town's tax burden, Billups said. Project engineers hope to attract federal grant funding through the Farmers Home Administration and to qualify for low-interest loans from the state Division of Envi ronmental Management. But only a "management entity" such as a county or city government or a sewer authority would be able to go incur debt for the project. Forming a regional authority would enhance the chances that Calabash and Sunset Beach would be ap proved for funding. And if either town were approved, the entire pro ject would benefit, Billups said. Anderson said he still had reser vations about "forming a paper cor poration" and suggested the town wait until it has more public input Calabash Town Attorney Michael Ramos said, "there would be ab solutely no risk to the town" in forming the authority. "You decide what its powers are. You don't have to give it any mon ey. You don't have to give it the au thority to do anything. But it gels you higher up on the totem pole for funding. And you can dissolve it if the funding doesn't happen," Ramos said. Commissioner Ray Card said he was not opposed to the sewerage project, but said he was confused about what areas it would serve, how much it would cost and how it would be paid for. The board agreed to schedule a special meeting Oct 20 at 7 p.m. to have Powell and Associates give a presentation of the project and an update of current funding options. In other business, the board tabled consideration of a revised garbage ordinance, a new off-street parking ordinance and the revision of several administrative ordinances until its next meeting Oct 27. Brunswick Plant To Test Sirens At Full Volume Some Brunswick County resi dents will hear the alert notification sirens around Carolina Power & Light's Brunswick plant tested at full volume on Thursday, Oct. 22. The sirens will begin sounding at about 3:30 p.m. Residents within a 10-mile radius may hear the sirens for about three minutes several limes. Residents should not be alarmed by the sirens, a company news re lease states. Full-volume siren tests are conducted annually to ensure the siren system is functioning properly. The Emergency Broadcast Sys tem will not be activated during the Correction In an Oct. 8 article headlined, "Local Man Charged In Bat Attack On Fisheries Officer," it was incor rectly reported that a warrant drawn by Gary Mclntyre attributed a state ment to Danny Joseph McDaniel that was allegedly made by the de fendant, Robert Franklin McLean Jr. The warrant on file at the Bruns wick County Clerk of Superior Court office stales that McLean threatened Mclntyre by "saying to Danny Joseph McDaniel If he is the one I will kill him (after asking McDaniel for Mclntyrc's name)." The Beacon regrets the error. LEARN TO SHAG! Great fun! | 'Small groups taught ?No partner needed 5 lessons $25 per person Call: 842-8930 test, and radio and television stations will not interrupt their regular broadcasting. Activation of the sirens are never a signal that the public should evac uate, the release states. The sirens are to alert residents to listen to ra dio and television stations for infor mauon and instructions from the EMB during a declared emergency. The rotating sirens are atop tall poles at 34 locations throughout the 10-mile radius of the Brunswick plant The Oct. 22 test will be the annu al full-volume test of the sirens. Low-volume or "growl" tests are conducted every three months to en sure the sirens are working. Silent testing is done every two weeks. Clarification The Kristi Bellamy listed in the Oct. 8 Brunswick County District Court roundup is not the Kristy Julenc Bellamy who lives in the Cedar Grove Community of Supply. COMPLETE INTERIOR DECORATING SERVICE ? Carpet ?Vinyl ? Ceramic Tile ? Winaow Treatments ? Wallcoverings Ruby Floyd Ocetut Hwy. 904. #3 Seaside North 579-6091 fMf MUNIWCK MACON Seeking the District 1 scat arc Thurman Gausc, Democrat, and Janet Pope, Republican, both of the Grisscttown area. District 3 candi dates are William D. Carter, Democrat, of Yaupon Beach, and William Fairlcy, Republican, of Southport From District 4, the can didates arc incumbent Donna Baxter of Boiling Spring Lakes, Democrat, and Pete Barnctte, Republican, of Leland. Bamette responded to questions about the board's job description, parental involvement, what his pro posal would be for a water-related curriculum and key factors in deci sion-making. He described the board's role as "that of policy makers and imple mented to the degree of passing on to administration with administra tion responsible for procedures..." DISTRICT 1 Thurman Gause Gause was asked what he would do about cleanliness of the schools, how to bring closcr to the communi ty a school board that "has separated itself from parents and the commu nity," his view of tenure in light of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's decision to do away with tcacher tenure, and who he would involve in curricu lum-rclated decisions. Gause said he first would need to know procedures used for cleaning the schools. Beyond that, people are needed who are good at the job and like it, he said, becausc otherwise it is hard to get them to do a good job. "Most of our schools arc well taken care of," he said. To bring the school board and community and parents closer, he advocated a better communication network starting with the superinten dent and extending to the student and parent levels. Parent-teacher or ganizations are good in that regard, he said. "I'm willing to dp anything to pull parents into the school system," said the retired longshoreman and current president of the Brunswick County Citizens Association. He said he would involved teach ers, principals and students as a "team" in making curriculum deci sions. In his closing remarks, Gausc blamed "stupidity" of some county commissioners on the school sys tem's proposed budget getting cut, and said county residents should have demanded its inclusion in the budget. "The same thing with the school board. People should speak up," he said."If we don't do something now, we'll pay for it later." Janet Pope Pope answered questions on ex tension of a pre-kindergarten pro gram to all county lower schools, al lowing county PTA representatives to sit in on both open- and closed door sessions of the school board, parent access to the budget, and what "renewal" she thought Brunswick County would gain through President Bush's proposed system of school choice and vouch ers. Pope, a self-described parent ac tivist and student advocate, said she supports anything that gives students a good foundation and jcou vs>ucs and increases their opportunities for the future. She would study any pro gram and is "not adverse to imple menting it if it shown to be advanta geous to our children." No county business would contin ue in business, she said, "under the same rate of success and production of inferior products" as the school system or its "refusal to allow voting members information about its oper ations and expenses." While not advocating automatic provision of a copy of the budget to every parent. Pope said a copy should be available on request to any interested party, with a "mini mal fee" charged to cover costs. She suggested holding a workshop for interested taxpayers to explain where their investment is going and where the returns are. "1 don't think you can have too much openness," she said. She echoed the same theme re garding board meetings. While she said executive sessions arc provided for in state law, she leans toward making them as open as possible, rather than as closed as possible un der the laws. "I would welcome the PTA (council) to be a part of that process," said Pope. In her concluding remarks, Pope said the school board is responsible to both students and taxpayers and must be "willing and able to be held accountable to them." "I think the critical issue is tmth she said. DISTRICT 3 William D. (Billy) Carter Carter responded to questions about how to promote parent in volvement in various aspects of school system decision-making, what his plan would be to unite the county school districts to move in unison, handling of tenured teachers who are not effective in the class room, and whether he would take "assertive action" to resolve a prob lem or "move it from one school to another". A supporter of parental involve ment in the schools. Carter said par ents need to keep their elected board members informed of their opinions on all issues. "1 cannot see how we can have any success without parental in volvement," he said, while noting that people arc hired to do jobs and cannot do that without support As for a plan to bring the "inde pendently operated" West, South and North schools into unison. Carter said it would be "the plan our superintendent will have." "If a superintendent is willing to make a contract based on improve ment we should be willing to see what that plan is and to back it." The superintendent also shoulders the responsibility for dealing with tenured teachers who are not effec tive in the classroom. Tenure laws don't prevent the dismissal of teach ers, but provides due process to pre vent their unjust dismissal, he said. Carter suggested the alternative is to get them to improve their perfor mance. "Leadership leads to its own success," he said. "Teachers can be developed." If a problem exists at a school. Carter said he believes in dealing with a problem when it occurs, and in the manner prescribed by law. "I never believe in passing on a prob lem. If you don't solve it when it presents itself it becomes a bigger one." Pminfu Altv 1VUIVU *-?? uttu ?? ?V? manager is a former member of the Bladen County Board of Education. In his summation. Carter said he thinks it is important for the superin tendent, teachers, principals, support staff, parents, students and particu larly board members to understand their roles and to perform them. "One of the most important tasks for the board," he said, is talcing the local (county) appropriation and ap plying it to the school system in a way that produces results for that in vestment Bill Fairley Fairley 's questions dealt with his willingness as a board member to negotiate with tcacher representa tives on issues such as local supple ments and work conditions, whether he would advocate taking a program that has worked well in one school based on test score results and ex panding it into other schools, how he would go about getting the S4 00,000 county commissioners cut from the school board's budget re quest what steps he would take to make a principal accountable for job performance if he had evidence the principal was ineffective. Fairley advocated local decision making for schools, saying that the administration of each school and its faculty should decide what is most appropriate for the children in their charge. "I don't think bureaucrats or board of education members arc ap propriate persons to decide that," said the local attorney. His approach for trying to in crease county tunaing for the scnooi system would be to stress to com missioners the importance of infus ing funds into the schools now to provide growth in the future, and that that's their responsibility. Fairley said his first inclination regarding negotiating with teachers on wage and benefit issues is that it would be inappropriate. "1 realize teachers deserve decent pay," he said, but if taken to its possible lim its, such negotiations could result in teacher strikes, he said, hurting stu dents. "And that's not what we are about" Another approach to boosting low teacher morale, he suggested, is to give teachers more freedom in the classroom. "I believe teachers would gain more self-respect and satisfaction if they are allowed to do their job the best they arc able to do it. They should not be dictated how to teach as long as we are sure they are per forming what they are supposed to be performing." If Ik had evidence a principal were ineffective, Fairley said he would not get personally involved as a board member, but refer the matter to the superintendent. "It is the superintendent's job to deal with the day to day operation of the schools," he said. "It is my feel ing that the board has spent too much time dealing with operation of the schools when it should be deal ing with policy...It seems inappro priate for a board member to be dealing with performance." Fairley closed by suggesting vot ers need to look at candidates' abili ty to respond to problems that will arise in the future "based only on the needs of your children," and without bringing any "political baggage into office." DISTRICT 4 P?ff Barn tip Bamette, who is executive direc tor of the not-for-profit Brunswick County Volunteer and Information Center, said he supports parental in volvement in the schools and sup ports encouraging more such partici pation on campus, in classrooms and in working with students off cam pus. He also supports efforts to make parents more responsible for their children's behavior. When a student is late for school, for example, he said, "The parent can help it. I believe the parent can be and is responsible." In making decisions as a board member, Barnctte said the single most important factor should be the students, whether the result is some thing that will help shape them into "productive, contributing members of society." As for a plan to incorporate swimming, water safety and addi tional water-related elements into the curriculum, Barnctte said he would not be adverse to considering any "well-thought plan that is feasi ble and practical." In closing, Barncttc said he be lieves that every educator, student, parent and volunteer on campus has the right to "a safe, drug-free envi ronment." He cited among his top concerns disrespectful behavior, and misunderstanding of students la beled as "miscreants" when in fact they arc not. Donna M. Baxter Baxter was asked what she would do upon learning that an administra tor was not properly documenting an employee's pooi job periunnance, what she feels is the single-most im portant issue facing the board and how she would address it, what she planned to "do for teachers" as a board member in terms of work con ditions, pay and other incentives, and what she would do about the slow implementation of two com puterized information management systems, TIMS, for transportation, and SIMS, for student data. If poor documentation were called to her attention, said Baxter, she would take that information to the superintendent to follow through on. "I would make sure that the peo ple in question are being dealt with in regard to board policy," she said. More staff development for veter an educators is a top issue facing the school system now, Baxter said. 'They need help with new skills they need today, then we will be able to stay aheaid of the game." A four-year veteran of the board of education, Baxter is serving her second term as chairman. She is pro ject administrator with EC Corporation at Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal in Southport. As a board member, she said her job is to set policy and to hire a su perintendent who has in mind some of the concerns of teachers. Also, she said, a system is in place for teachers who feel they aren't being dealt with fairly. As for the student and trans portation information management systems, Baxter said the school sys tem should be up to date in both this school year, meeting timetables set by the state Department of Public Instruction for their full implemen tation. In her closing remarks, she stressed the importance of a board member being a group member. "You may have great ideas but if you can't get members to work with ynu_ in follnw vnii you won't suc ceed." To serve students well, board members need to have vision, to be strong advocates and to have the ability to build structure on the board itself, she concluded. OCT. 24-25 MYRTLE BEACH CONVENTION CENTER BUY -SELL- TRADE Guns, Knives & Militaria Saturday 9-5 & Sunday 10-5 ADMISSION $4.00, UNDER 12 FREE iiftZVrSULTS Use the Use the whether you're buying or selling. THE BRUNSWICK^BEACOM 754-689(1 ? ?
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 15, 1992, edition 1
12
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