THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 62, No. 15
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C.,
Thursday, May 13, 1993
35 Cents
ence
Hunter, Old Timers
prove they still have
right stuff: Pages
Commissioners must trim county budget
Kids comment on landfill
m,
M.
1
Students in Joan Hoggard-White’s third grade class have
been involved in environmental studies with assistance from
Juanita Bailey, home economics extension agent, 4-H. The
study culminated with a play titled Be a Sport, Trash Sort,
based on decisions regarding solid waste management pub
lie officials in Perquimans County must make. The play was
presented at PTA last Thursday, and again for Hertford
Grammar School second graders on Monday. (Photo by Su
san Harris)
Summit costs were covered by grants
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
EcKof_ _
The Perquimans 2000 Edu
cation Summit held April 30 and
May 1 gave parents, educators,
government leaders and county
residents the opportunity to
come together to learn more
about education in the next cen
tury. And none of the expenses
of the two-day event came from
county coffers, according to
schools superintendent Dr. Ran
dall L. Henion.
Henlon said Monday that the
schools received a $10,000 state
grant to defray costs of imple
menting the 2000 plans. The
grant was matched by donations
from Apricot Inc., Carolina Tele
phone Company, Centura Banks
me., Hardees me.. NationsBank
Inc., North Carolina Celebration
None of the costs of the Perquimans 2000 Education Summit came
from local funds, according to schools superintendent Randall L.
Henion.
Foundation, Wal-Mart Corpora
tion, Weyerhaeuser Corporation
and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foun
dation Inc.
Summit costs included just
over $3,000 for three speakers,
$2,000 for food and about
$5,000 for printing booklets and
brochures available during the
summit. Henion said the book
lets and brochures will continue
to be used over the next one to.
three years or more for promo
tion and recruitment purposes.
The superintendent said that
businesses were contacted about
financial support for the program
and were aware of what the
funds would be used for. He said
the approximately $10,000 left
Grom the grant and donations
“will be put to good use.”
Henion said he is considering
making a video highlighting the
school system to use for teacher
recruitment and to help the
county obtain regional, state and
federal funds for school im
provement and facilities needs.
Although he was disap
pointed at the attendance at the
summit, Henion said he felt it
was a positive first step for the
Perquimans 2000 program.
“It stimulated thinking”
about education and the direc
tion in which Perquimans
County must move to become a
world class school system, he
said Monday. It also gave the en
tire community an opportunity
to meet to discuss issues perti
nent to education and to become
more involved in the process.
What he’d like to see now are
some of the questionnaires in
the Perquimans 2000 booklets
come back in to his office. He
nion said the schools are anx
ious to receive input from the
community.
Students take first state end-of-grade tests
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
week in taking North Carolina's
new end-of-grade tests.
The new tests are much more
challenging than the California
Achievement Tests given in the
past, according to the State De
partment of Public Instrutlon.
End-of-grade tests require stu
dents to use higher-level think
ing skills and to apply what they
have learned.
All students in grades 3-8
will be tested in mam. reading
and social studies. Third, sixth
and eighth graders will also com
plete a science test .
The tests are composed of
two types of questions, multiple
choice and open-ended. Open
ended questions require descrip
tions, analysis, comparison or
other written explanation.
Items in the math, science
and social studies areas are re
lated to situations and problems
encountered in everyday living.
L For example, students might be
tasked to determine how long it
/would take to ride a bike from
point A to point B at a certain
rate of speed. In addition, the
question might require first de
to-mining if sufficient Informa
tion is given to calculate the
answer.
Reading Items are based on
stories, poems, articles and pas
sages appropriate to each grade
level. The open-ended question
at the end of a passage might re
quire a student to consider and
explain the emotions of the
writer or a character in the pas
sage.
The tests were signed to en
sure that studetns are taught the
higher-level thinking skills es
sential to school Improvement
and preparing students to enter
the rapidly changing technologi
cal world.
According to Information pre
pared by the State Department of
Public instruction, the new tests
will answer four Important ques
tions for parents:
To what extent has your
child learned the basic knowl
edge and skills for his or her
grade level?
Can your child apply what
has been learned to solve prob
lems?
Can you child approach
tasks in a variety of ways? 1
Can your child organize and
communicate thoughts by writ
ing them down?
Test preparers warned that
students may not perform as
well on the test this year be
cause it is very different than
previous achievement tests. It is
also Impossible to cram for the
tests. But they added that they
believe the tests will be invalua
ble to the school improvement
process. ‘
initial test results should be
available to the school system
before the end of the year. Re
sults of the open-ended portions
of the test are expected by the
time school opens next year.
They will be graded by specially
trained educators during the
summer.
s.‘ Test scores will become a
part of the annual report cards
issued by die state to show pro
gress in each school system.
$5.5 million requests
outpace revenues
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Perquimans County commis
sioners will have to use an ax.
not a paring knife, to whittle
1993-94 departmental budget re
quests enough to avoid a sharp
tax increase.
Budget requests approach
$5.5 million, far less than the
$4.8 million county manager
and finance officer Paul Gregory
anticipates the county will col
lect at the present tax rate. The
commissioners must either trim
requests by close to $690,000.
or raise ad valorem taxes by 18
cents per $100 valuation.
Requests from all depart
ments contain a 5 percent raise
for county employees. Last year,
the commissioners cut salary in
creases included in budget re
quests.
The biggest slice of the bud
get pie, over $1.4 million, has
been requested by the school
board. The schools have asked
for $1.1 million In current ex
pense and $432,500 in capital
outlay. While it does not show
up directly in the schools’ bud
fet, the county will also pay over
136,000 on the bonds sold to
renovate Perquimans High
School.
The schools received
$994,730 in current expense
and $73,500 in capital outlay
last fiscal year. The additional
amounts asked for this year are
to cover air conditioning Hert
ford Grammar School
($225,000), a 3 percent salary
increase ($10,516), other salary
/supplement increases
($19,073), fringe benefits and
miscellaneous ($13,224). repair
and maintenance on buildings
and equipment ($11,500) and
plant operations ($58,180).
When the school board pre
sented their budget to the com
missioners, the commissioners
requested that the school sys
tem provide information on the
federal and state portions of
their operating budget. Chair
man Leo Higgins said he intends
to meet with schools finance of
ficer Fiances Hammer to go over
specifics before the commission
ers scrutinize the local request
more thoroughly.
me Department oi oociai
Services submitted a budget con
taining almost $200,000 in in
creases. The department has
asked for three new employees,
step raises for some present em
ployees and new equipment be
ing required by the state.
The social services request
tops $1.4 million. Subtracting a
$700,000 state grant the depart
ment expects to receive, the
county would have to fund
$741,000 if the budget request is
approved as submitted.
The sanitation department
could cost the county $240,000
next year. That cost includes the
operation of the convenience cen
ters and transportation to the
landfill and recycling facilities,
but does not include the cost of
operating the landfill itself. Land
fill operation is covered by die
solid waste management fee
charged to all residences. The fee
has been $25 for the past two
years, but county officials expect
that it will go to $75 or $100 this
year due to the costs of closing
the landfill.
Albemarle District Jail has
asked the county for $197,962,
which includes the county's
share of a new administrator ap
proved and hired recently by the
jail commission.
The tax department wants
$264,705. Although the depart
ment request is $50,000 over
last year’s budget, there is a
$55,000 carryover in the map
ping line item, putting the re
quest for new money at less than
the 1992-93 level.
The sheriffs department
asked for $261,495, which In
cludes die cost of a new vehicle
and two new deputies. The de
partment will transfer about
$15,000 out of Its drug fund to
cover the car. The county also
Board hacks
its budget
The Perquimans County
Commissioners have already
pulled out the red ink pens,
starting to chisel away at
budget requests. In a move
meant to show that everyone
will have to share the cuts,
board vice chairman Mack
Nixon recommended a pay
cut for commissioners.
Nixon said the per meet
ing stipend of $65 received
by commissioners should go
back to $50. The decrease
takes commissioners' pay
down to the amount they re
ceived three years ago. and
equals that received by the
board of education mem
bers.
“We've got to start at the
top." Nixon said on May 4 at
one of the budget
workshops.
Heads nodded in
agreement around the table
as the group put the first
red marks on the budget
package.
The commissioners also
cut back their travel ex
pense budget from $5,000 to
$4,000.
Board chairman Leo Hig
gins said the commissioners
are meeting once or twice
each week for budget
workshops until June 3.
when a public hearing will
be held at 7:30 pan. The
budget will be on the com
missioners' agenda at their
regularly scheduled June 7
meeting. Higgins said if a fi
nal budget is not passed by
the commissioners on June
7, the board must either call
a special meeting prior to
July 1. or approve an in
terim budget.
All budget workshops
are open to the public.
anticipates receiving a $25,000
D.A.R.E. grant to cover the cost
of one of the deputies. Subtract
ing the $15,000, $25,000 and es
timated $29,000 the sheriffs
department receives Grom fees,
the county would have to fund
just over $200,000.
It will cost about $263,163 to
keep up the county's buildings in
1993-94.
The Emergency Medical Serv
ice needs a new ambulance,
which pushed its request up to
$195,194. Ambulances cost
around $53,000. Gregory said.
The department takes in an esti
mated $30,000 in revenue, leav
ing just over $165,000 that
would have to be funded by the
county.
With all departmental budget
requests presented to the board
and finance officer, the next step
of the budget process is begin
ning. Gregory is now reviewing
the requests of each department
and making his recommenda
tions. He is required by law to
submit his budget proposal for
all departments to the commis
sioners.
The commissioners will study
department requests and Grego
ry’s recommendations, and fi
nalize the budget. When the
commissioners have prepared a
balanced budget public hearings
will be advertised and held to «d>
low input from county residents. |
A balanced budget must be '
approved by July 1. ;