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two presidents who didn't follow this philosophy, but the intellectual establishment and
majority in Congress has been of this persuasion and we have reached disaster. I'm not
blaming this board, it's not your fault. This has happened nationwide. Hopefully, with the
elections last November, we may be able to tum some of this around. I hope we will, but
this system has been a victim, to a large extent, by state and federal mandates. I think what
the committee did was try to pinpoint some specific things that could be done to improve
education with the system we have to work with. I'm hearing to some extent that you are
agreeing with some of this. This is a good start. I know it's not your fault, but I wish you
would fight a little harder sometimes. I know you have your hands tied in many areas. As
far as SAT scores go, IT make one comment. There was an article in The Charlotte
Observer last year for 1 I counties in the Metrolina region. Iredell was one, but seven of
these counties had higher SAT scores then we did. Out of these, five of those had less per
pupil expense funding, so I don't think you can see any correlation between SAT scores and
current expense funding.
Long: Why are you bringing up SAT scores?
Boone: Because someone mentioned this earlier.
Long: Let me make a comment on SAT scores. These are good for the students trying to
get into colleges and universities. The colleges don't look at Iredell-Statesvitle's scores and
say, "Hey, let's not admit this person." I don't know why we keep talking about this.
Boone: Well, I guess because the school system keeps talking about it. Your public
relations office keeps talking about it. I have the figures on this and I expect the figures at
the end of the year to show more or less the same relationship. This is something that was
brought up earlier. When they increased two years ago, the school system put a lot of
emphasis on them When they went down the next year, there was a whole lot less said
about them.
Long: We are state average. We are actually above state average.
Boone: Yes, you are slightly above state average. Another area I would like to mention is
the progress mentioned about reading recovery. I have some disagreements with these
programs. They are not a phonics program. They incorporate a few elements of phonics, I
have the recovery manual and it says if a student comes to a word that he doesn't know to
look at the picture and sound it out. In conclusion, I appreciate the work the committee has
done, and I appreciate Mr. Long's motion to accept the report.
Johnson: I would just like to say that I feel very strongly about this. IT say unashamedly
that I base my opinions about public matters because of the Christian world we're in. When I
was 27 years old, I made a commitment to Jesus Christ. I believe our society has been
dominated by the liberal idealogy to the point that Christian thought no longer influences
public debate. I read a report by lames Kennedy the other day that said that 63% of the
people actually believe the words separation of church and state appeared in the Constitution.
IT give anyone $100 if you can find it. The man who wrote the separation clause was named
Fisher Ames. He was given that duty and he was the primary consultant in Congress to write
it. When he retired he urged Congress to stop the proliferation of textbooks in public schools
because they were leaving too little time to study the scriptures. Anyone who is well
qualified to interpret the fust amendment should be the person who wrote it. There were 55
signers of the Constitution and 53 professing Christians. I say this unashamedly, it's not that
I don't have a philosophical or historical basis for these statements. They are historically true.
They have been the basis of our civilization for the past 500 years. If we are to correct these
problems, ladies and gentlemen, we must return to our Christian moorings. Failure to do so
will bring about further wreckage to our society. It will devastate the lives of our children.