The Pamlico News
Vol. 16, No. 23
20c per copy
USP 782-460
Wednesday. June 8, 1983
Stonewall High School’s Classes
of 1929 and 1930 held their reunion
in Oriental on Saturday, June 4.
Attending from the class of 1929
were John M. Ewell; Tina Tuten
Henries, Morris Daniels, and his
wife Muriel; Abbott Sawyer, and
wife Ola Belle; Lennie Daniels,
and wife Helen. Class of 1930 -
Tillman Woodard, and wife
Virginia; Affie Whorton Dawley
and husband Clarence; Hazel
Woodard Guilford and her guest
Lucille Gatlin. 1930 class member
Louise Potter Gooding was unable
to be present.
A packed gymnasium watched
Saturday night, June 4, as Aurora
High School seniors received their
awards and then became alumni
n* AHS
The Pamlico County Board of
Education presented its budget re
quest for the 1983-84 school year to
the Board of Commissioners on
Monday night, June 6. Superinten
dent George Brinson said that the
majority of the budget’s increase
was in salary expense, 5 percent
raises had been included in the
event the state approved an in
crease in salaries. --
“We have trimmed a lot of
areas; we’ve cut out a lot of areas
to keep (the budget) at the level it
currently is,” commented Brin
son. The schools are requesting
$522,074 in county funds. For the
current year they received a little
over $504,000.
Several areas of revenue have
decreased in recent years, said
Milton Day, finance officer,
specifically fines and forfeitures
and interest revenues, while costs
have continued to rise.
The uncertainty of continued
Revenue Sharing funds is making
the budgeting process difficult for
both the county and the schools. In
the past, the county has turned
over a significant portion of the
Revenue Sharing monies to the
schools, relying on it as a source
for part of the county’s financial
support of education. However,
with it unknown still for several
months whether or not the pro
gram will be continued, the county
is not sure as to where the money
for all its programs as well as the
schools’ will come from.
Brinson told the commissioners
that funds were needed for roof
repairs and to complete the air
conditioning project begun last
year. All of the regular
classrooms are now air condition
ed, he said, and “teachers and
students and parents are very ap
preciative.” Still to be air condi
tioned are several shop areas and
perhaps the high school band
room. Also needed is some dit
ching, landscape work, and place
ment of gravel on all campuses, as
well as at the school bus garage
and administration building, and
the carpet in the 5th grade
hallway at Pamlico Junior High
School needs to be replaced. The
carpet, which was installed in the
early 1970’s, will cost about $9,000
to replace. The carpet is "in dire
need of replacement,” Brinson
said. “It cuts down on noise con
siderably,” added school board
chairman Lenwood Spruill. Then
requests also included $4,000 for
classroom furniture and equip
ment. With a student desk costing
between $30 and $40, that figure
“will only scratch the surface,”
Brinson said.
The schools have had several
decreases in funding from various
sources in recent years, said Brin
son, which have led to a depletion
of the schools’ fund balance. Fines
and forfeiture revenues, as men
tioned earlier, have declined and
the schools, year before last, lost
about $70,000 per year when drop
ped from the Impact Aid pro
gram. Also, this year the state re
quired that expenses be cut by ap
proximately two percent. With the
cut coming about halfway through
the fiscal year, It “left us with a
two percent cut on eight percent of
9
our budget (the cut did not affect
salaries which comprise 92 per
cent of Pamlico’s state appropria
tion)... so the two percent came
out of four percent which really
was a fifty percent cut,” said
Brinson. And this year, he added,
the schools did not anticipate an
increase in state funding.
The school system has approx
imately $7,000 left in the capital
outlay fund balance, Brinson said,
but that will probably be used soon
to help offset the costs of repairing
the high school gym roof.
The board took no action on the
budget but will consider it further.
As of Monday night’s meeting,
the commissioners had cut
$100,113 from county budget re
quests, not including the schools’.
This year, $2,516,621 in requests
were submitted, however,
revenues totaled only $2,145,609,
leaving a deficit of $371,012 which
would have to be reduced.
In looking at possible areas of
reduction, Commissioner Brad
Rice first suggested that the 2 3
percent increase in commis
sioners’ salaries be deleted, and
suggested cutting travel expenses
in county departments. Comjnis
sioner Rice pointed out one,••in
stance where it appeared, to him,
that the employee was being sent
to school where he received more
training so that he could come
back to the county and request a
higher salary because of that
training. He said he believed that
the county should pay the educa
tional costs for an employee to
enable that employee to perform
his current job more efficiently
but that in the case mentioned
above, that the employee should
be responsible for pursuing the ad
ditional training at his own ex
pense on his own time.
Commissioner Rice said that it
seemed that the county had three
choices regarding the budget:
either cut the budget further by
decreasing the specific line items,
to go ahead and assume that
Revenue Sharing will be available
and work the estimate into the
budget or to raise ad valorem pro
perty taxes. “And I've heard at
least three (commissioners) say
they weren’t going to raise taxes.''
he added.
County Manager Bill Rice said
he could go through the budget
and pull out the travel and train
ing from each department, requir
ing all to be approved by the com
missioners on an individual basis
or could dictate that there would
be no more than a five percent in
crease in each line item over the
current year’s appropriation.
Some line item expenses are man
dated by state or federal agencies,
explained Rice, and the county
would have little leeway in chang
ing those.
Commissioner Rice and Bill
Rice were scheduled to meet
Tuesday in order to look at the
budget line item bv line item.
In other business, the board:
-approved supporting a bill which
would assess taxes only on per
sonal property and improvements
to real property, not the land
itself, for (he purpose of financing
fire protection.
-approved supporting a house bill
which, if passed, would consider
unsold subdivision acreage as
underdeveloped for tax purposes,
-received a report from the
C r a V e n P a m ! i i: o - C a r t e r e t
Regional Library. in response to a
request made at last week's
meeting, stating that 17,022 books
and magazines were checked out
through the bookmobile last year.
Request For ‘Honor Cords9Denied
A group of parents met with the
Pamlico County High School prin
cipal on Tuesday, May 31, in an at
tempt to persuade him to reverse
the decision not to allow the Beta
Club students to wear “honor cor
ds” at graduation ceremonies on
June 13. Although a compromise
which would provide honor cords
for all honor students (students
with a cummalative average of 90
or above) was discussed, that, too,
was denied.
When contacted Monday, June
6, Pamlico County High School
principal Ben Potter said that the
request was denied for several
reasons and was unanimously
agreed upon by the senior spon
sors. The request was denied
primarily “due to resentment
among other students, groups and
clubs” who had also hoped to be
able to wear symbols of their
organizations.
Potter met with the nine parents
and three students and discussed
the request for about two hpurs
Tuesday morning, May 31.
Superintendent George Brinson
was also present.
Brinson said that he had been
approached by one student and
two parents and had indicated to
them that this was a decision to be
made at the school level. “The
Board of Education doesn’t even
dictate that they wear caps and
gowns (at graduation),” he com
mented. “I want to see the seniors
happy about the situation...but
there have to be some guidelines.”
Anne Autry, parent of honor stu
dent Melanie Autry, who was also
present, suggested that “we get
away from the Beta Club” and
discuss “academic recognition.”
Potter explained that each
honor student received a gold tas
sle, instead of the usual black one,
to wear on his graduation cap. He
continued saying that not all honor
students, for one reason or
another, were members of the
Beta Club. “We really respect the
members of the Beta Club...but it
is just another club.” He added
that all honor students were
denoted as such on the graduation
program plus Beta Club members
were allowed to have a gold seal
affixed to their diplomas. When
called to receive their diplomas,
the students’ names were called
“with honors.”
Parent Mary Alice Hudneli ask
ed if it was tradition that the cords
not be allowed. Potter replied that
cords had not been used since he
had been at the school and that he
had received numerous similar
requests in the past from other
clubs and organizations.
Parent Lois Alexander com
mented that the group should
focus on the present, not past,
situation. “We are honoring our
children for four years of hard
work,” she said.
Potter, who had commented
that the policy had been set
several years ago, said that once
one group was allowed to depart
from the policy, other groups
would have to be allowed to do so.
“We want to provide a uniform,
dignified and respectful gradua
tion for them all,” he said, “not
take away from any student.”
Mrs. Richard Greenwald said
that there is a “substantial dif
ference between the Beta Club
and the other clubs” in the school,
referring to the Beta Club’s high
grade average requirement.
“They are striving for academic
achievement,” she added.
Student Karen Alexander said,
“You’re supposed to remember
your high school graduation and,
frankly, this year it's going to be a
disappointment.” Melanie Autry
commented that it was going to be
“total chaos” with parents trying
to get down from the bleachers in
order to take photographs. Added
Karen, “Why don’t you just give
the diplomas out the last day of
school? Parents wont be able to sit
(where they) can hear their
child’s name called (at gradua
tion) and Lord knows, don’t go
down to take a picture because
you might get in somebody’s
way.”
Potter said again he would
discuss the matter of the cords
with the class advisors and of
ficers. The seating arrangements,
he told the group, had already
been discussed with the senior
class). Concluded Melanie, “Mr.
Potter, it’s your job to say no but
it’s the faculty’s job to sa^ yes...is
that how it goes?”
Student Wendy Fulford said to
Potter, “When I asked you (Mon
day) if we could have a
photographer (at graduation),
you said it was our gradua
tion...well, this (concerns) our
graduation, too.”
Potter then said that perhaps
the group could look at having all
Wendy Fulford displays the
graduation gown as the honor
students would have liked to have
worn. The honors cord around the
neck of the gown is the article
Potter Gets Six Months Active
Orien Potter of Lowland, found
guilty on May 25 in Pamlico Coun
ty Superior Court on two charges
of assault with a firearm on a law
enforcement officer, was sentenc
ed on Monday. June 6, in Craven
County Superior Court.
According to District Attorney
David McFadyen, Potter received
a sentence of two consecutive
sentences of two years each and is
to serve a six months active
sentence beginning October 1.
Following his release, he will be
on five years’ probation. Potter
must also pay a fine of $25,000.
Potter was convicted of the
charges in connection with an Oc
tober 23, 1982 incident in which he
assaulted Wildlife Enforcement
Officers Royce Hamm and Gary
Norman with a rifle after he found
them on his property. Hamm and
Norman testified in court that
they had been on Potter's land
checking for hunting violations.
No information was available at
press time as to whether Potter
would appeal.
County Bought Used Computer
It was recently learned that the
computer system purchased last
year by Pamlico County is, in
part, formed of used equipment,
Bill Rice, Pamlico County
Manager, informed the commis
sioners at their meeting last week.
In a later interview with Rice,
he said that the equipment, which
was purchased from Continental
Wayne, a company that has since
filed for bankruptcy, had been us
ed previously by the City of
Washington, except for a printer
( See COMPUTER page 9)
which was in contention. The gold
tassel on the cap also denotes the
student as graduating with
honors.
honor students wear the cords.
One student commented that
when that idea had been mention
ed to Potter before, he had said no.
The parents and students agreed
that it would be an acceptable
cofnDromis
(See ‘CORDS’ page 9)
AREA MEETINGS
-Bayboro Town Board - Tuesday,
June 14, 7:30 pm. Town Hall
-Minnesott Beach Town Board
-Tuesday. June 14, 7:00 pm, Town
Hall
-Aurora Town Board - Monday,
June 13, 7; 30 pm, Town Hall
—Beaufort County Board of
Education Tuesday, June 14, 8:00
pm. Administration Building,
Washington
-Pamlico County Board of Com
missioners, Monday, June 13, 8:00
pm, Courthouse Annex, Bayboro
' - 4
School Board Makes Budget Request