HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93009_0746 (2)etc., and how that affects the schools' budgeting process.
Skip McCall said there are some things beyond the control of
the school board, and they must operate within their circle of
influence. Those things they can influence and they can do it in
a positive way and have a positive impact on education. They have
to continue to look at those things and see where they can
influence education on a local level. As a school board, they try
to focus on where they can control and influence, Mr. McCall said.
Commissioner Johnson recommended that Mr. McCall call
Representative Frank Mitchell and express his views, which could
make a difference.
David Boone talked about the Limited Choice with high school
students taking courses at the community colleges. This is a bill
that may be introduced in the General Assembly this year, Boone
said. The students would get both high school and community
college credits, and the dollars "would follow the students," Boone
said. He asked the school board for its comments.
Bill Long addressed the need for planning for the student
enrollment so the schools would know how to plan for students'
activities. School officials have to know how many students they
can count on, he said. That would be a problem with having
students go from one school or another.
Commissioner Boone said he thought this would take planning.
Mr. Long used the illustration of feeding students, etc., on how
the schools have to plan. This is a huge fixed overhead, Mr. Long
said. He asked if he had ever heard of the state coordinating
something like this. He used the illustration of the test scores
and the delay that is involved that creates problems for them in
using the results of the test scores.
Skip McCall said any idea is worth considering if it improves
the efficiency in education and reduces the cost. These things
have to be the litmus test for anything we do, he said. He said it
would be difficult for him to respond to Limited Choice without
studying and knowing the details of the bill and how it is going to
impact the areas of efficiency and cost reduction.
Commissioner Madison said he thought children were going to
have to be educated in the most efficient manner that they could
come up with. He thinks that is what the people want. Monopolies
have never been efficient, never been noted for their efficiency in
business or anywhere else. They tend to grow and add cost without
benefit and tend to become ------- That is what he feels they are
confronted with and he thinks there will be major changes in
Washington and Raleigh and maybe in Iredell County as a result of
November 8th. He thinks it would be foolhardy and presumptuous to
think that we are going to maintain the status quo for the next
couple of years, because he thinks there are going to be changes
whether we like them or not. We, as boards, need to be looking,
not only philosophically, but from practical planning in coming up
with contingency plans. What are we going to do?
Bill Long said they are already doing that. Our In -Service
Maintenance was a huge step in reducing cost and improving the
buildings. That was purely the result of the state's change in
custodian salaries. They were trying to get more bang for the
buck, Long said.
Commissioner Madison said he thought they were going to see
some form of a voucher system before long. The reason for this is
that the capital needs all over the state for over $200 billion for
the wish list. Why should the tax payers continue to be taxed to
fund these when the private sector will do it for nothing? If you
were confronted with a voucher system in the next year, what would
you do? There needs to be some thought given to this if it would
DEC 13 look
727