OPINION
Page 4 Sction A
Kings Mountain Herald
March 5, 1998
Bob McRae
Superintendent Kings |
Mountain Schools
KM Schools working hard
to achieve testing success
As we move into the last three months of the
school year, we begin to make final preparations for
our state testing program. We are now in the sec-
ond year of the ABC’s program for our elementary
and middle schools. Kings Mountain High School
is in its first year under the state’s high school ac-
countability model. If we do not do well, it will not
be for lack of focus nor for lack of effort.
I am very pleased with the work which has
gone on in our schools this year to enable our stu-
dents to do their best on state testing. I realize it is
much easier for you to see the results of efforts such
as our athletic contests and our cultural arts pro-
grams. As important as things like that are, no work
- we do is more important than what we do in the
classroom. You need to hear more about that.
Each of our schools has developed a for-
mal plan to address ABC requirements. Numerous
strategies to accomplish the goals have been put in
place. As1 visit our schools I am struck by the strong
work ethic and desire to use available time wisely.
Research tells us that there are several keys to do-
ing well on the end-of-grade and end-of-course
tests. We try to emphasize them daily.
One key is for schools to follow the Nort
Carolina Standard Course of Study. Our state test-
ing program is criterion referenced testing. That
means that it is based on specific material which
should be taught rather than as in norm referenced
testing where a broad cross section of students are
compared to each other. Our students are each
judged individually based on how they do on the
specific test taken. Our teachers are very familiar
with the Standard Course of Study, and it guides
their lesson planning.
Strong instructional leadership by princi-
pals is another key to success. Our principals pay a
great deal of attention to the instruction which goes
on in their schools. They frequently are in the class-
room, plan with teachers, and monitor what is hap-
pening in regards to learning. Our assistant princi-
pals do the same.
High expectations for all students is another
key. I think we have made great strides in this area
in recent years. Yet, this is the key towards which.
we still have the most work to do. We must move
beyond the “sort and select” mentality. Our mission
is to bring out the best in regards to each of our stu-
dents.
Another key to success is a focus on the
basics of reading, writing and mathematics. There
is no question in my mind that there is such a focus
in our school system. Under the careful direction of
Assistant Superintendent Jane King, our schools
give the significant part of the day to these subjects.
They are constantly seeking improved strategies for
succeeding, and our system is putting more re-
sources than ever before in these particular pro-
grams.
A fifth key is a safe and orderly environ-
ment. I believe our schools are safe. Each of them is
currently completing a formal plan for attending
even more closely to this issue as required by the
state. While we have had some problems over the
years - all systems do - I think we can feel comfort-
able about the safety of our children when they are
at school.
A final key is that planning in successful
schools is data-driven. All this means that success-'
ful schools study the results of previous efforts and
plan strategies which specifically address improv-
ing weak spots. Our schools are very attuned to this
through school wide and teacher specific planning
efforts.
I think our schools will do well on this
year's testing. It is what we are all about, and I think
we have the people in place to accomplish great
things. Great things take time - our scores this year
will not be completely where we would like for
them to be. However, I think we will see another
strong step in the right direction thanks to the con-
certed efforts of our students and employees and
the level of cooperation we find from our parents.
Wish us luck! |
Published every Thursday. ¢ Periodicals postage at
East King Street at Canterbury Road, NC 28086
USPS 931-040 by Republic Newspapers, Inc.
Postmaster, send address changes to:
P. O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Phone (704) 739-7496 Fax (704) 739-0611
Office: 824-1 East King Street,
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
E-Mail: NEWS@SHELBY.NET
Publisher
Editor
News Editor
Marketing Director
Advertising Manager
Business Manager
Debbie Welsh Production Manager
Shelley Campbell Graphic Artist
Republic A Newspapers, Inc.
ASSOCIATION
Mail Subscription Rates Payable in Advance.
All Prices Add 6% NC State Sales Tax.
Wes Grooms
Gary Stewart
Elizabeth Stewart
Aron R. Goss
Stacy Cobb
Sarah Griffin
1 Year
$18.02
$20.14
$23.32
Gaston & Cleveland Co.
Other NC Counties
Qutside NC
$10.60
$11.66
$13.25
Helping homeowners save money
Synopsis: Legislation recently passed the Senate
that will give homeowners the ability to cancel their
private mortgage insurance once they reach certain
equity levels. Senator Faircloth was instrumental in
ensuring that homeowners are given informative
disclosures of their rights and are protected by hav-
ing their private mortgage insurance automatically
canceled for them.
Single mother Cathy Cole of Greensboro makes
monthly payments on a mortgage that is more than
80 percent of the cost of her home. Because of the
ratio of her down payment to the cost of her mort-
gage, Cole’s loan carries something called private
mortgage insurance.
Most homeowners don’t know much about pri-
vate mortgage insurance or even if they have it.
More puzzling to people is how they can go about
getting it canceled. The net effect is that
homeowners continue to pay expensive PMI (pri-
vate mortgage insurance) premiums long after they
are necessary. Some have even paid premiums over
the entire life of the loan - that would be $50-$100
month for 30 years or $18,000-$36,000! Legislation
that I help pass in the Senate would make sure that
this never happens againtochomeowners.
“PMI is a property instirarice line that protects lend-
ers from mortgage default risk. Itis used extensively
to facilitate “High-ratio” loans or loans in which the
loan-to-value ratio (“LTV”) is more than 80%, i.e.,
the borrower makes a down payment of less than
20%. Traditional underwriting principles for resi-
dential mortgage lending dictate that a lender re-
ceive 20% down. Such a requirement creates a “stake
in the venture” for a homeowner; a homeowner that
has a 20% investment in a residence is highly un-
likely to walk away from that investment.
The requirement of an 80% LTV often prevents
many cash-tight but creditworthy homeowners
from purchasing a home. PMI enables these would-
be homeowners to purchase a home without the
20% down-payment required by traditional under-
writing standards and most mortgage lenders. PMI
makes high-ratio lending possible by protecting
lenders who make such loans from the risk of de-
fault and foreclosure, and consequently, has ex-
panded the opportunity for home ownership, par-
ticularly for middle-class and first-time home
buyers.
Clearly, PMI is a legitimate financial product that
has enabled many consumers to achieve the dream
of home ownership. However, there comes a time
when the protection is no longer needed - when the
homeowner has paid enough equity to give the
Lauch Faircloth #
ai
£3 a
Senator,
North Carolina
lender sufficient assurance against default. Yet, in
most instances, homeowners are never informed of
their right to cancel PMI and those who have tried
have faced all kinds of impediments.
“The Homeowners Protection Act of 1997” passed
unanimously by the Senate on November 9, 1997
prohibits life-of-the-loan insurance coverage. It al-
lows home owners to initiate cancellation when the
person has accumulated 20 percent equity in the
home. The home owner would only have to have
paid his or her mortgage on time for the past two
years and show that the value of the home has not
declined since it was purchased. In the event that
either of these are not satisfied, PMymusebeiautos
matically terthinated Wheénctiiere is22 percenteq-
uity.
Home buyers will be given a payment schedule
or amortization schedule at the closing which will
show them:
1 - at what point they will pay down to 20 percent
equity and be able to initiate cancellation, and
2 - at what point they will pay down to 22 percent
equity so it will be automatically canceled for them.
Any premiums that have been paid to the home
owner beyond that equity level must be returned
immediately
No longer will we see a person who is paying his
or her last monthly mortgage payment and is still
required to include a PMI payment. Home owners
will know that they have private mortgage insur-
ance and they will know with a good degree of cer-
tainty when it will come off. Private mortgage in-
surance is a valuable tool but no one wants to pay
for it when it is no longer needed. If it’s up to me,
help for home owners is on the way. Or as Ms. Cole
stated at a press event on the legislation last year,
“Anything that simplifies my life like this, I'm all
for.”
(Lauch Faircloth, a farmer and businessman, is
the junior U.S. Senator from North Carolina).
Dick Newsome
Pastor, Kings Mountain
Presbyterian Church §
D.C. Paysour was a treasure
I'had never seen such a thing. Brilliantly shining.
Remarkably glistening with every slight change of
position. So as my family loaded back into our sta-
tion wagon, I tucked my jewel under my arm and
carried it to the car for the long ride home. After all,
even though the hills of North Georgia were cov-
ered in it, our flat, uninteresting ground in Western
Kentucky held no such treasure. And once home, I
savored my piece of mica as if it were the world’s
largest diamond.
My enthusiasm would soon die away, however.
Arriving home from school one day, I discovered
that my prize had been desecrated. Looking to cover
a place in the backyard where our dog had “done
his business,” my father had used by jewel
unsuspectingly like the most common rock. And
even though my tears moved him to rush outside
and wash it clean, the damage had been done. I
would never see it the same way again.
Looking back on that episode, I believe that it
taught me a valuable lesson. So often the tension
and frustration which pulls people apart is not a
product of aggression or ill will but a simple negli-
gence to understand and value each other’s trea-
sures and delights. What hurt me was not some
damage to my rock. It was the same unharmed rock
in the end as in the beginning. What hurt was the
realization that I was alone in my discovery. I
wanted others to value my treasure, too. But that
was not to be.
To that end I have discovered one of the greatest
and most affirming attributes to be a caring heart
and listening ear, a willingness to hear and celebrate
others’ small but very significant discoveries of the
sacred and holy in the common flow of life. And
among the many figures who have carried that qual-
ity well is a man whom I will miss, D.C. Paysour.
D.C. and I worked together in my four years in
King Mountain. And in his recent passing, all of
the qualities and faithful ways of this terrific man
flooded through my mind like a swollen river. But
uppermost among them was a gracefulness of heart
large enough to put others first. D.C. found some
measure of good in every person he encountered.
Though he might have disagreed with them on
some finer point or two, he never allowed his dif-
ferences to close a relationship. Instead, he listened
“and valued the good that was there to be ‘discov-
ered. And each time a person walked away from an
encounter with him, they did so feeling on top of
the world.
Thope to be more like D.C. And I hope for a world
filled with D.C.s of every size, shape and creed.
Because in such a world, the grace of God will run
rich and deep.
LETTER POLICY
The Herald welcomes your letters to the editor
for publication in each Thursday’s paper. We ask
that you use the following guidelines:
Keep letters brief and to the point. Letters in ex-
cess of 600 words will not be published. Type and
double space them, if possible; if not, write legibly.
Letters must be signed in ink and include the full
name, address and telephone number of the author.
The Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
spelling, good taste, libelous or slanderous state-
ments or any other reason; and the Herald reserves
the right to reject letters for any reason.
Mail letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 769, Kings
Mountain, NC 28086; fax them to (704) 739-0611; or
bring them by the Herald office on East King Street
at Canterbury Road.
By Elizabeth Stewart
Darla Bridges
Student
Yes. Because the schools
need money to fund special
projects and to give everyone
an education.
in other states.
Jeff Heinbach
SATA Freight Employee
No. Instead of another tax I
think the legislature should
support a lottery with the
money to go for schools. The
lottery works for education
SIDEWALKSURVEY
Savannah Clarkson
Homemaker
No. We are taxed enough by
‘the supplemental school tax
and still have to sponsor
PTO events to raise money.
Dr. Larry Muench
Retired Doctor
Yes. I would support a state-
wide levy for education. Sur-
veys rank N.C. public schools
48th of the 50 states.
Do you support an additional one cent sales tax for schools?
Hazel Parker
Retired
Yes. More money is needed
not only in our area for
schools but across North
Carolina.