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The Kings Mountain Board of
Education celebrated gains in
student performance on ABC
state exams at four schools and
presented them red and white
banners and bonuses to teach-
ers at three exemplary schools
Monday night.
Last Thursday the state's new
ABC Public Education scores
rated four of the six schools in
the Kings Mountain District
Schools - Bethware, East, North
and West as having met expect-
ed growth; three schools, East,
North and West as exemplary
and West School as a School of
Distinction.
Jean Thrift, Director of
Student Services, said 84 per-
cent of West Elementary stu-
Enrollment up
on first day
of school
School enrollment is up this
year but most growth is occur-
ring at Bethware and Grover
~ Elementary Schools, Supt. Dr.
Bob McRae told the Kings
Monday night.
- Grover, with 529 students on
opening day Monday, regis-
tered 485 students last year.
Bethware, with 616 students
pening day Monday, regis-
d 526 students last year.
owth :
| em. This year East
ool registered 310 students,
compared to 299 last year; West
School registered 308 students,
~~ compared to 295 last year; and
North registered 403 students,
compared to 390 last year.
McRae said that the system
installed two mobile units at
East School this year for first
graders. Three mobile units are
Fa in use at the Grover plant.
Middle School enrollment
: a was also up, from 901 last year
to 914 this year and the Kings
Mountain HIgh School enroll-
ment was down, from 1,048
last year to 1,025 this year.
A total of 4,126 students re-
ported to classes Monday, up
from 4,035 last year.
McRae said the first day of
school was a smooth operation.
"Students and teachers are al-
ready about the business of
learning," he said.
In other actions, the board:
Set the date of September 8 at
6:30 p.m. to honor new teachers
at a reception in the Teacher
Center prior to the regular
board meeting.
Awarded teacher contracts to
Jennifer Roper, Smart Start
Grover; Jeanine Heafner, first
grade North; Kamie Champion,
See ENROLLMENT pg.3
Mountain Board of Education
‘schools in
dents performed at or above
grade level.
Kings Mountain Schools tied
for second place among the 17
Southwest Region systems in
the state for percentage of
schools reaching exemplary sta-
tus.
"We had growth at every
grade level in reading and math
throughout the system and we
feel that's an accomplishment in
itself,” Thrift said.
Thrift explained that stu-
dents took the same state tests
they always have: reading and
math test for grades three
through eight and writing ex-
ams for grades four and seven.
But the new test results empha-
sized this year how much test
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scores improved instead of just
how high they were.
Bethware Elementary met its
growth plans but fell short of
the extra points needed for ex-
emplary status.
Even Grover Elementary and
Kings Mountain Middle School
- the two district schools not
meeting their projected growth
standard, got praise for signifi-
cant growth from administra-
tors.
Thrift said Grover exceeded
its growth standard in math for
third and fifth graders. Grover
and KM Middle, she said, came
within tenths of a point of meet-
ing their growth plans.
Thrift credited the success to
the inspiration of the teachers
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and staff to meet the No. 1 goal
set by the Board of Education
this year.
"We are proud but we don't
want to forget that every school
in our system showed growth
and they narrowly missed the
expected growth rating by
small percentages,” said
Chairman Ronnie Hawkins.
"Fourth grade is more diffi-
cult for kids and it's harder to
make gains," said board mem-
ber Connie Allison, a retired
principal.
"Our folks are right on track,"
said Dr. Jane King, Assistant
Superintendent for Public
Instruction.
Board member Billy Houze
said students should concen-
FUN AT KINDERGARTEN - Katie Cudd and Ashlee Keller take their turns using earphones in the
Listening Center on the first day of school Monday at East Elementary School. A total of 4,136 stu-
dents went back to school for the fall term in Kings Mountain District Schools.
City Council reduces cemetery fees
By vote of 5-2, City Council
Tuesday set cemetery fees for
opening and closing of graves
at Mountain Rest Cemetery at
$200 for inside-city residents
and $300 for outside city resi-
dents in the Kings Mountain
School District. :
The original proposal pre-
sented in the 1997-98 budget
was $400 for inside city resi-
dents, from $125, and $450 for
outside city residents, from
$150.
The new fees represent a 50
percent decrease for inside city
residents and a 33 percent de-
crease for outside city residents.
The new proposal was pre-
sented by Councilman Jerry
Mullinax in a substitute motion
seconded by Councilman Ralph
Grindstaff. Also favoring the
new fees were Councilmen Rick
Countdown to Crusade
Pre-Crusade youth rally Wednesday
(Ed. note - This is the ninth in a series of arti-
cles on leaders of the Jay Strack Crusade to be
held August 24-28 at John Gamble Stadium.)
Shane Doty, the energetic youth minister at
First Baptist Church, is a natural for his role as
chairman of the youth committee of the upcom-
ing Jay Strack Crusade.
Doty is shooting for 800-1,000 kids at a pre-cru-
sade youth rally August 20 on the field between
the natatorium and tennis courts at the high
school from 6-8:30 p.m.
"The area will be transformed into a carnival
with games, three on three basketball, a skate
board ramp with tricks, fun stuff including cari-
cature drawings and plenty of cotton candy and
popcorn,” said Doty.
Jimmy Rhea from Age of Faith will lead a
praise and worship service and Scott Grissom,
evangelist with the crusade team, will kickoff the
rally.
Gearing up youth for the crusade is the respon-
sibility of Doty and his committee, all youth min-
isters in the area who say that the crusade
promises to be an experience for both Christian
Is are we going to be there to work with Him,"
Murphrey and Phil Hager and
Councilwoman Norma Bridges.
Councilmen Dean Spears and
Jerry White voted against the
proposal. Earlier, Spears had
made the motion to take the
original recommendation by
staff, seconded by White.
In his motion, Mullinax asked
the city manager to review the
fee structure each year at
budget time.
During the citizen comment
part of the meeting, Elaine
Jackson suggested that Council
leave the decision on fees for
formal meetings other than
work sessions and Jim Norris
suggested that a 5 percent in-
crease every year in cemetery
fees beginning with 1984-85
year would be in order.
Council voted 6-1, with
Mullinax voting against, to re-
and non-Christian young people.
"Barbara Fulton at the ARP Church, Chet
Andrews at Bethlehem Baptist, Jimmy Black at
Oak Grove Baptist, Patrick Washburn at Second
Baptist, Curtis Williams at East Gold Street
Wesleyan, Greg Moore at Christian Freedom,
Lawrence Meadows at Central Methodist, Kevin
Bolin at First Wesleyan, Philip Burton of Family
Worship Center and Lynne Lynch at Macedonia
Baptist are all just as excited as I am about this
crusade and are working hard to get youth excit-
ed and in on the action,” said Doty.
crusade.
Other challenges for the youth leaders will be a
youth pizza blast, free to all young people, on
Tuesday, August 26 at 6 p.m. prior to the crusade
and again on Thursday, August 28, prior to the
"We have no idea how much pizza we will
need but the food will be here and we hope the
crowds will come," said Doty.
Young people will also be treated to messages
by Strack at assembly programs in the schools.
On Monday, August 25, the popular evangelist
will speak to youth at the Middle School and at
the high school.
See CRUSADE page 5
duce by five percent the newly-
set commercial rates for
garbage collection.
Murphy said fees for both
commercial pickup of garbage
and cemetery fees were "a little
high" and said the city was in
good financial shape and the
board should consider giving a
break. He suggested that the
city match the selling price of a
local franchise dealer. City
Manager Jimmy Maney said
that the city had lost $19,000 in
sanitation revenue because the
rates had not been in place. "We
need to get in the business or
out," he told the board.
Maney said he would follow
up on a licensing charge for
persons coming into the city to
offer a similar business to the
city's 112 customers. He also
See CEMETERY page 4
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Schools celebrate gains in student scores
KINGS MOUNTAIN DISTRICT SCHOOLS
percent of students at or above grade level
grades 3-5 and 6-8
SCHOOL MATH WRITING ~~ READING. COMPOSITE
BETHWARE 85.9 56.3 73 76.7
EAST 87.4 54.1 73.3 77.2
GROVER 75.1 50 64.2 66.7
KM MIDDLE 75.9 68.3 72.8 73.5
NORTH 87 40.3 76 75.8
WEST 95.7 47.2 86.3 84
trate more on reading and said
he was confident that higher
marks would be made next
year.
In Cleveland County with its
three school systems, Kings
Mountain was the big winner
on the ABC report card.
Thursday's results identified
Washington Elementary in
Waco in the Cleveland County
Schools as an exemplary school.
Shelby City Schools had no ex-
emplary schools.
Thrift said all the certified
staff in the district's three exem-
plary schools will receive a
bonus. Noncertified staff will
receive half of what the others
See SCHOOLS pg. 8
KM City Council kills
4-year term proposal
Terms of Kings Mountain
City Council will remain two
years.
By 5-2, City Council Tuesday
night killed a proposal to
amend the city charter to
change their terms of office
from two to four year staggered
terms. :
Ward 3 Councilman Ralph
Grindstaff's substitute motion,
seconded by Councilman Jerry
Phil Hager
Councilwoman Norma Bridges.
Councilman Dean Spears made
the motion, seconded by
Councilman Jerry White, to
adopt the ordinance subject to a
vote by the people.
"I feel like we need to take no
action until we get a petition
signed by 10 percent of the reg-
istered voters and then we
would call for a vote as we did
two years ago,"said Grindstaff.
"Let it stay as is until a peti-
tion comes," he said.
Hager agreed that action
should come from the voters. "I
think staggered terms would be
better," he said.
City Attorney Mickey Corry
explained that the board could
adopt the ordinance amending
the charter without a vote of the
people or by put it to a vote by
the people on November 4 at
the municipal election. He said
that because a charter change
must be approved by the U.S.
Justice Department that strict
guidelines apply and that one
of the guidelines is that the
board should act on the resolu-
tion 60 days after public hear-
ing on the matter.
"The public hearing has been
held and that's why the items
See TERMS pg. 3
YOUTH READY FOR CRUSADE - Pictured are four of the young people of First Baptist Church
Linwood area
won't be annexed
City Council voted 4-3
Tuesday night not to annex 15
families in the Linwood section
but unanimously voted to take
in a large area on US 74 West
Business and the Country Club
golf course area.
Councilman. Ra rindstaff
and Jerry White spoke against
the proposed annexation of the
Linwood area.
White, a former county
deputy, said policing the area
would be a problem for Kings
Mountain police because they
would have to deal with two
court systems, Gaston and
Cleveland.
Grindstaff, who resides in
East Kings Mountain, said the
area already has a problem with
getting emergency service and
taking the area into the city lim-
its "would only compound the
problems for residents."
Frances Sarvis and her
neighbors protested the annexa-|.
tion in a petition she presented
to the recent council meeting.
Mrs. Sarvis said many of the
residents are on fixed incomes
and can't afford to pay for more
services.
The annexed areas would
start receiving city services June
30, 1998.
Voting with White and
Grindstaff were Councilmen
Phil Hager and Jerry Mullinax.
Voting to annex the area along
with the other two areas under
consideration were
Councilwoman Norma Bridges
and Councilmen Dean Spears
and Rick Murphrey.
O40
with Youth Director Shane Doty who chairs the youth activities for the upcoming Jay Strack
Crusade. Front row, Michael Ormsby, Justin Boheler and Tyler Falls, right. Bck row, Preston Cole
and Doty.