December 21,1995
12 013165 08/17/1996 20
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 63, No. 51
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Schools need $17M for capital improvements
No. 1 need is
replacing Central
Grammar School
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Needed: $20 million, give or
take a million.
That’s how much the North
Carolina School Capital
Construction Study
Commission estimates it
would take over the next 10
years to meet the facility needs
in the Perquimans County
Schools.
Looking at student enroll
ment, current facilities and
projected needs, the state put a
$17,133,839 price tag on its pro
jections for Perquimans
County. That number rises to
$18,434,809 with inflation fac
tored into the equation. And
schools superintendent
Randall L. Henion told board
members Monday night that
those numbers do not include
the $500,000 needed to replace
the transportation garage, nor
the $500,000 for technology
infrastructure.
The largest facility need is
replacing Central School.
Long-range plans calls for tear
ing down the existing struc
ture, which does not meet state
building codes, and replacing
it. Including demolition costs.
furnishings and equipment,
the project would cost over $7
million.
If Central School could be
replaced, it would become
Perquimans Primary School, a
facility designed to house pre
kindergarten through second
grade students.
The new facility would
replace the present mobile
units with permanent facili
ties, ease current crowding
and accommodate projected
enrollment.
Priority number 2 is the
renovation of Hertford
Grammar School, called
Perquimans Elementary
School on the report. With a
current capacity of 378 stu
dents, Hertford Grammar is
serving 450 pupils.
The proposed renovations
would up the school’s capacity
to 473 with four new regular
classrooms and four new small
group/ resource rooms. The
plan also calls for a new media
center, a multipurpose area
and administrative areas.
The price tag at Hertford
Grammar School is over $3.6
million.
Currently, storage closets
are being used as classrooms
at the site, as well as mobile
units.
Perquimans High School
also has needs, according to
the study. The single most
costly project on the high
Fa-la-la-la-la/Kinder-carolers
Kindergartners in Mrs. Ward’s and Mrs. Lothian’s classes
enjoyed a holiday outing iast Wednesday, when they waiked
PHOTO BY GINGER LIVINGSTON, THE DAILY ADVANCE
around downtown Hertford spreading Christmas cheer as
they sang songs of the season.
Howell said schools in good
shape on his recent visit
School board member
Wayne Howell gave a positive
report on his recent visit to aU
the schools Monday night.
Howell said all the schools
were quiet and orderly.
Hertford Grammar School was
exceptionally clean, he noted.
There was also no water stand
ing between the main building
and the back building,
although it was raining on the
day of the visit. Howell said
the drainage project at the
school has had a positive
impact on the schools’ former
drainage problems.
Howell also said he was
pleased with the improve
ments being made in the high
school gym.
Howell then addressed the
attire of boys high school bas
ketball players at a recent
away game. He said some play
ers were not dressed in compli
ance with the athletic policy
dress code.
Board member Walter
Leigh said his main concern is
that it is the responsibility of
the coach and the athletic
director to make sure that the
players know the rules and are
prepared to play. Part of prepa
ration to play means learning
to follow the rules, Leigh said.
Howell said that athletic
director Harrell Thach was
taking names for possible sus
pension for rules violations.
Another board member,
Wallace Nelson, said he was
concerned with a weekend
newspaper article that men
tioned several technical fouls
called against one varsity play
er already this season.
Howell said he was not ask
ing for board action, but
thought board members
should be aware of how the
players were dressed because
it is a reflection on the school
system. He said he knew from
past experience that when a
concern was taken to the
superintendent by a board
member. Dr. Randall Henion
would address the issue.
The board also reviewed a
sample contract for non-facul
ty head coaches. Although the
system hires no non-faculty
coaches at present, Henion
said he wanted the board to
review the sample contract in
the event that the system need
ed to hire someone not on staff
to serve as a head coach.
Henion said that a non-fac
ulty head coach would be
hired only if no faculty mem
ber could be contracted.
The board reviewed five
policies dealing with long
term suspension/expulsion for
weapons violations, disruption
of meetings, and public com
ment. The second reading of
the proposed policies is sched
uled for the January meeting.
Bah, Humbug!
^ (
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
The Perquimans Middle School Fine Arts Department cel
ebrated Christmas with its presentation of “A Christmas
Carol”, and concerts by the school chorus and bands.
school list is a new gymnasi
um, the cost of which is pro
jected to approach $1 million.
Classrooms, administrative
space, demolition of the King
Street Annex, site develop
ment and computer infrastruc
ture were also listed as needs.
It would cost over $6 million
to complete the proposals.
Having received a $2.6 mil
lion facelift two years ago,
Perquimans Middle School has
few needs. The study lists the
purchase of 10 acres of land at
a projected cost of $200,000 and
$10,000 in site development as
the facility’s only needs.
The needs listed on the
assessment were provided to
the state by the local school
system. Information was based
on a previous assessment per
formed by architect Mike
Ross. The information was
checked by the staff of the
state School Planning
Department.
The board accepted the
report and authorized Henion
to set up a time when school
board members can meet with
county commissioners to
review the document. The
commissioners must approve
the survey for submission to
the School Capital
Construction Study
Commission, or the county
must submit its own survey to
the state commission.
Schools report
card arrives
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Perquimans County Schools
received their annual report
card from the North Carolina
Department of Public
Instruction.
In reading, 62.6 percent of
Perquimans County students
in grades 3-8 tested at profi
cient levels on the state end of
course tests.. The number rose
to 63.6 percent on the math
tests.
Less than 30 percent of high
school students tested on the
core curriculum scored at pro
ficient levels. In 1993, 36.3 per
cent scored at proficient lev
els. In 1994, the number
dropped to 26.9. It did show a
slight gain to 28.3 in 1995.
Schools superintendent
Randall L. Henion said depart
ment chairman at the high
school are looking at ways to
try to raise the scores on the
tests.
“Perquimans performed
pretty well,” Henion said.
Next year, individual school
report cards will be issued
with an emphasis being placed
by the state on accountability.
Henion also told the board
that Perquimans has the third
best dropout rate in the state
at 1.20 percent. The system has
held that rank for two years.
Assistant superintendent
Jake Boyce addressed board
members’ questions about stu
dents in one class at
Perquimans High School
receiving pass/fail grades
rather than the traditional
number grades.
Boyce said eight students
signed up for statistics, a class
offered on the distance learn
ing network through the N.C.
School of Science and
Mathematics. Two dropped out
soon after school began.
Toward the end of the first
nine weeks, several others
wanted to drop the class
because they were concerned
about their grades and more
particularly, what a poor
grade might do in terms of
their class rank.
In an effort to keep the stu
dents in the advanced class,
high school principal Elaine
Pritchard offered the students
a pass/fail grade in the class.
When the grades came out
for the first nine weeks, the
students actually did well, and
school administrators
“thought everything was
okay,” Boyce said. But as the
end of the next nine weeks
approached, students - and
parents - again expressed con
cern over grades and class
rank.
Pritchard,. Boyce and media
specialist Victor Eure set up
an on-line meeting with the
statistics teacher. The teacher
told the Perquimans staff that
the course is challenging. The
local staff asked that he pro
vide more feedback and slow
down to allow the local stu
dents to catch up.
Boyce said the parents of
four girls in the class were
quite concerned, saying that
their daughters “were on the
verge of nervous breakdowns”
because of the stress of the
class.
'The decision was made to go
back to pass/fail because it
was offered in the beginning
and administrators wanted the
students to stay in the class.
Boyce said one of the
ironies of the situation is that
some of the parents concerned
about the grades and class
rank have requested that more
challenging courses be taught.
Because of the situation,
any senior having a problem
in a class may request a
pass/fail grade in one class.
The pass/fail option will be
allowed only this year, Boyce
said. He added that the system
is in transition with the
Information Highway and dis
tance learning. Plans call for
drafting policies to deal with
these courses in the future.
At least three board mem
bers said they were aware of
the situation, but did not know
the whole story until Boyce
addressed it Monday night.
Outside
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