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WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2011
Serving All of Person County Since 1881
Copyright The Courier-Times inc. 2011 All Rights Reserved
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Our 129th Year — No. 42
Roxboro, North Carolina
Two Sections — 22 Pages
www.personcountylite.com
Commissioners may restore some funding
for public schools, PCC, fire departments
By TIM CHANDLER
Courier-Times Editor
tchandler@roxboro-courier.com
Funding levels for Person County
Schools (PCS), Piedmont Community
College (PCC) and volunteer fire depart
ments in the county will apparently be
restored to levels received last year after
action by the Person Board of County
Commissioners Monday night.
Commissioners met for their first
budget work session Monday and had
very few items to discuss concerning
Manager Heidi York’s recommended
budget for the upcoming fiscal year,
which begins July 31.
The topic that drew the most discus
sion was the restoration of the funds
for PCS, PCC and the volunteer fire de
partments, which would total $257,851.
York proposed a 2.5-percent reduction
in funding from last year for each of the
three organizations.
Commissioner Sam Kennington pro
posed restoring $221,539 to PCS, along
with $24,792 to PCC and $11,520 to the
volunteer fire departments for a total
of $257,851.
In his motion for the restoration of
those funds, Kennington proposed elimi
nating a proposal by York to implement
a new merit pay program for county
employees in the coming year, which
was budgeted at a cost of $260,390.
Kennington’s motion also included a
provision that PCS, PCC and the volun
teer fire departments provide an outline
to York by Tuesday, May 31, of how the
additional funding would be spent.
Kennington’s motion, which was sec
onded by Vice Chairman Kyle Puryear,
passed by a 4-1 vote, with Chairman
Jimmy Clayton casting the lone dis
senting vote.
Commissioner Ray Jeffers noted on
the record that he was not voting for
any funding increase to “the schools...
See COMMISSIONERS back page
Budget cuts
lead to BOE's
approval of
reductions
in force
By GREY PENTECOST
C-T Staff Writer
greypentecost@roxboro-courier.com
The Person County Board of Educa
tion approved reductions in force in
several areas of employment within
Person County Schools (PCS) Monday
due to budgetary constraints.
Schools Supt. Dr. Larry W. Cartner
pointed out that the school system was
facing a reduction in budgets for both
certified and non-certified personnel. He
said the school board’s preparation in
previous years for budget cuts prepared
the school system for everything except
the “massive cuts in non-certified allot
ments.” Car tner added that while he was
not devaluing any group of employees,
he believed that “as a learning organiza
tion” the school system could not place
priority on non-certified positions over
certified positions.
Cartnerpresented the board withfour
options concerningteacher assistant po
sitions, noting that no local funding was
allocated to teacher assistant positions.
PCS staff held a voluntary meeting with
teacher assistants on Friday, during
which the options being discussed were
explained to them. During Monday’s
board meeting, Cartner denoted option
A as the PCS staff recommendation.
This option outlined a movement to an
hourly wage for a standard work week
of 37.5 hours, and a reduction of the
term of employment to 180 student days
and 18 paid benefit days, representing a
17 percent salary reduction for teacher
assistants. The option would allow the
schools to fund 36 teacher assistants,
which would require the elimination of
one position, since the district currently
employs 37 teacher assistants.
Option B amounted to a 10 percent sal
ary reduction and funding for 33 teacher
See BOE back page
INSIDE Wednesday
Agenda
Classified
Do You Know
Entertainment....
Inside NASCAR..
Lifestyle
Movies
Sports
A2 Business
. B8-9 Commentary
A3 Editorial
. B2-3 Extension Notes..
A9 Legal Notices
. B4-5 Mini-Page
A2 Obituaries
. A6-8 TV Listings
..AID
A5
A4
A10
B7
All
B6
4 8 7 9
0 8 6 9 6
Phyliss Boatwright / C-T
MEMORIAL
SALUTE IN
TIMBERLAKE
The annual Timberlake Memo
rial Day Parade was held in the
heart of Downtown Timberlake
Saturday morning. The annual
event has appeared to grow in
participants and spectators in
each of the years it has been
held. In the photo above, the
Rougemont Ruritan Club en
tered a patriotic float in the
parade. In the photo at left,
members of the Person High
School JROTC proudly march in
uniform with flags displayed.
For more information and pho
tos on the Timberlake Memorial
Day Parade, turn to page B1 of
today's edition.
Sewer hike
eliminated,
water increase
reduced in
city's budget
COLA approved for employees
By PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT
C-T Staff Writer
pboatwright@roxboro-courier.com
City of Roxboro employees will likely
get a two percent raise next year, and
residents won’t face a 14 percent hike
in water rates, if the latest version of
the city’s fiscal year 2011-12 budget is
adopted June 14.
On Monday, Roxboro City Council
met in a second budget workshop, after
directing Interim City Manager Tommy
Warren to revise his budget proposal
to reflect the cost of living adjustment
(COLA) for employees and a lower water
rate increase. He was also directed to
remove a proposed sewer rate increase
of two percent from the budget.
Warren presented his initial budget
proposal at the regular May meeting two
weeks ago, but council members asked
for minor revisions before they would
give final consideration to Warren’s
suggestions.
In his initial budget, Warren did not
propose any COLA for city employees,
but council member Ralph Clark said
he would like to see a two percent raise
included in the budget.
Clark also opposed Warren’s sugges
tion to raise water rates by 14 percent
and sewer rates by two percent, which
was lower than the 16 percent water
increase suggested by a study the city
had done several years ago.
Clark asked that Warren look at not
raising the water and sewer rates.
Mayor Samuel Spencer was not ini
tially in favor of giving city employees
a COLA, citing the tight economy.
Mayor Pro-tem Merilyn Newell sug
gested finding “a happy medium” on
Clark’s suggestion to not increase water
and sewer rates.
Regarding the COLA, Newell said she
would like for the city to find the funds
to give employees a modest raise, but
did not want the effort to cause budget
problems in the future.
The latest budget proposal submitted
by Warren totals $14,672,589. His initial
proposal was for $14,723,761, a 0.64 per
cent decrease over last year’s figure of
$14,818,899.
The budget now under consideration
is balanced and uses capital reserve
See SEWER back page
'I'm pedaling pretty fast'
Davis serving as interim principal at North Elementary
By GREY PENTECOST
C-T Staff Writer
greypentecost@roxboro-courier.com
North Elementary School will wel
come a new principal - Annitra Leigh
- for the upcoming school year, but for
the few remaining weeks of this school
year, former Person County Schools As
sistant Superintendent Sandy Davis is
filling the position as an interim.
Davis’ services were requested after
former North principal Aisha Howard
took a job at a school in Durham. Her
last day was Friday, and Davis shadowed
Howard during her last three days in
order to learn the ins and outs of North.
Davis, who retired from her position in
central office in September of 2009, as
sumed the responsibilities of principal
on Monday.
“1 have certainly enjoyed every min
ute of it,” said Davis of her interim work
thus far. “1 have found that the teachers
and the staff here are just wonderful in
terms of being supportive of me and
helping me.”
Prior to becoming interim principal
at North, Davis had been working part-
time since August of last year as a men
tor for beginning teachers at Northern
and Southern middle schools and Person
High School.
She recently completed those duties
and said the experience was “very re
warding,” and that it helped her to “recall
and reminisce” about her own first years
of teaching. She said she was reminded
of how challenging it is to be a teacher,
with all the skills and knowledge the
position entails.
Davis served her last year as a prin
cipal in 1990. She allowed that there
were still many things about how to “do
school” that remain the same as when
she was principal, including the impor
tance of having caring and dedicated
teachers and staff, which she said she
sees continued at North Elementary.
However, Davis has noticed some dif
ferences. For instance, she hasn’t quite
gotten used to taking a walkie-talkie with
Grey Pentecost / C-T
See SANDY backpage Sandy Davis is serving as interim principal at North Elementary School.