HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93009_0868 (2)MAR 2 31995 042
point is they need to get pass the stage of pointing fingers at
each other and try to look at solutions. The county commissioners
have spent about $20 million in the last three or four years. We
are talking about Phase III.
Commissioner Boone said he had tried very hard to be fair to
all geographical parts of the county. He thinks the school board
has tried to be fair to all geographical parts of the county and
has accomplished that.
Commissioner Madison asked why the I/S School Board did not
issue a policy statement tonight that they were going to encourage
mutual exchange. Chairman Long said the way he felt is that they
granted them mutual exchange when they grandfathered in 450
children at $4,000 each. What started the whole conflict on mutual
exchange was the Mooresville Graded School District had satellite
annexed areas and when the county granted the 3 cents for schools
and gave Mooresville their share, they collected the three cents
from the county plus their 9 cents on the graded school district
for the satellite annexed areas. The Mooresville Schools agreed
this money was the County Schools' money, but it has not come back
to the County Schools, Long said.
Chairman Long said they had offered a settlement and went back
and forth several times. The last conversation that Long and
Register had with Carrigan and Fields was that they agreed to
disagree because Long and Register said they would not come back to
them again.
Commissioner Boone said when the Mooresville Schools come to
the commissioners about their budget, he is going to be just as
hard on them as he is on the I/S schools, and he is going to ask
them how many students they have coming to their schools from
Mecklenburg County. He thinks that is a legitimate question to ask
them, and he also thinks it is a legitimate question to ask the I/S
Schools if their schools are overcrowded, why don't they permit
students to transfer to another county is they wish to go.
Commissioner Boone referred to an example from last year when a
student wanted to transfer to another school system and was not
permitted to do so.
Dr. Register said they released a lot of students and he could
not talk to the board specifically about a certain case, but he
would talk privately to the commissioners about this particular
case. They have a board policy about releasing students.
Commissioner Boone said he thought that was a philosophical
difference; he believed in giving parents as much control as
possible over the students rather than the school having the
control.
Commissioner Johnson inquired as far as anything being left to
bargain with Mooresville, is the I/S school system "against the
wall"? Chairman Long said they were through; it's over as far as
I/S is concerned. The option is Mooresville's now. If they annex
in our district, we are going to seek legal action.
Commissioner Madison inquired if they take legal action, where
will the funds come from for the lawyers? Chairman Long said it
would come from the taxpayers through the local current expense.
It will be a lot less than the 4,000 X 450 children lost to
Mooresville.
Commissioner Madison said, "So it comes down to money."
Chairman Long said, "No, I don't think it comes down to money; it
comes down to law." What the law says, and the law says you go to
school in your district.
Commissioner Boone said so you come down to what the school
district is. Chairman Long said he knew what the school district