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School district urges fight against legislation
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Published: April 3, 2009
Mooresville Graded School District officials are encouraging parents and community leaders to join them in opposing state legislation that could force city school districts to combine with county schools.
Addressing about 50 business and education leaders Wednesday night, MGSD Supt. Mark Edwards and Board of Education Chairperson Karen Hart presented the audience with an overview of N.C. Sen. Tony Rand's latest legislation and what the bill could mean for Iredell County's only city school district – and 14 others across North Carolina – if approved.
"It's not called a merger bill," said Hart as she began her comments. "It's called a 'funding one LEA (local education agency) per county' bill."
Senate Bill 265 is Rand's third attempt at passing legislation that would direct "the State Board of Education to provide funds for only one local school administrative unit per county." He introduced similar legislation in 2005 and 2007.
Although the bill does not state that school districts would be required to merge, MGSD officials said the 15 city school districts in North Carolina would find difficulty in maintaining the same level of education without proper state funding and would likely be forced into mergers.
Edwards said it is possible the MGSD could continue despite a significant cut from the state allotment. However, for most city school systems, "it would result in the devolution and they would not exist."
Rand, a Cumberland County Democrat, brought the legislation to the Senate Education Committee on March 25, predicting an $11 million savings to the state if the bill were to pass.
However, the MGSD officials and community leaders – representatives of the town and the Mooresville chapter of the NAACP – who attended that Raleigh meeting argue that Rand failed to disclose how that figure was calculated.
Edwards said a study of the funding of state schools has been issued, but has yet to occur. "We very much welcome the study," he said. "We believe there is no evidence that would support the ($11 million) savings."
He added that reports from other city school districts in the state, such as Asheville City Schools and the Alamance-Burlington School System, have show no savings if districts merged or an inherent cost to combining schools under one county umbrella.
"If that is the primary reason to do that (legislation), quite frankly, I think we can refute that," the superintendent noted.
The Senate Education Committee did not vote on the legislation or hear public comments at the March 25 meeting, said Hart, who noted each of the 15 city districts were represented.
"It could have been defeated that day," she said. But because it was not, "now we think it's time to let … folks know where (the bill) is and what's going on with it."
MGSD officials called Wednesday night's meeting at the Charles Mack Citizen Center early Tuesday afternoon "to discuss the recent activity in the legislature regarding the proposed funding bill" with community leaders and the district's Parent Advisory Committee.
Parents, district representatives and local business leaders were in attendance as well as most of the town's commissioners and officials from the NAACP, Mooresville Downtown Commission, civic clubs and other groups.
Guests were provided with several key points the MGSD has compiled regarding the bill and why they believe city school systems should remain.
Noting a "detrimental impact to economic development," Edwards said the MGSD has served as "an asset to the community" as some people move to this region for the school district.
"The MGSD supports downtown events to create a sense of community," he added. "We're all woven together and if you take away that piece, you've changed the climate, the culture, the community."
Edwards noted that the district has received local support from several business leaders as well as the MDC and Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce in fighting Senate Bill 265. Additionally, Lowe's, he added, is providing a letter of support for the MGSD to be presented to the legislature.
Despite the impact the loss of city school districts may have on towns across the state, Edwards said it will be the classrooms that suffer most.
Sixteen percent of students – more than 200,000 – in North Carolina would feel the effects of the legislation, he said.
Mergers "do not happen overnight," said Edwards, and the process of redrawing attendance lines, aligning schools and staff members, etc. could take several years, causing disruption within the learning environment.
Some programs within the MGSD and other city school systems that specifically focus on "disadvantaged students" could also fall victim to any merger resulting from the legislation.
"Much of the funding for Title I, ESL (English as a second language) and vocational/technical studies could and would be lost with this proposed funding bill," notes a handout provided to meeting attendees.
In a merged system, the number of students who need funding such as Title I would decrease, thus the funding for those programs would also diminish.
MGSD officials also noted various district initiatives, such as their Digital Conversion project, that would suffer as a result of a merger.
If consolidated with I-SS, Edwards said it would cost $5-7 million for the county district to upgrade their digital infrastructure to continue providing students with the same technology utilized in the MGSD.
Following a mention that education is not about completing the job through the most cost-efficient means, Edwards said "the goal of public education is to provide the best possible opportunity for our students to be prepared" in their adult lives. Ridding the state of "some of the finest school systems" does not accomplish that goal, he added.
"If you have a district with thousands and thousands and thousands of children, it's easier for children to slip through the cracks," he said.
The superintendent urged the audience to become involved in this particular legislation and help keep city school systems like the MGSD alive in North Carolina.
"I was a superintendent for 10 years in a district with 70 schools," he said. "The quality of what we can provide here outweighs (there) significantly."
MGSD officials asked meeting attendees to contact state senators and express their personal concerns about the legislation and potential consolidated system.
"The communication to senators should not be a one and done, but a sustained effort," he said.
Hart noted that the 15 city school systems in the state – which the MGSD has been in consistent contact with due to their participation in a City Schools Consortium against one funded district per county for the previous two years – "don't want (the legislation) to get to the House. We want to deal with it on the Senate level."
Mayor Bill Thunberg addressed the audience with advice about having their Senate letters noticed among the thousands each senator likely receives.
"It's like marketing because you've got to get your message to that person," he said, noting that utilizing a colored envelope for a mailed letter would allow it to "stand out from the rest."
Thunberg also advised attendees to focus more on the children than the finances of Rand's bill.
"The money issue is something that is driving the issue right now," he said. "But you need to change the issue to students."
He added, "We need to spend whatever amount of money it takes to serve those children."
Town Commissioner Frank Rader agreed, saying that correspondence with government officials should look at the impact this legislation could have on the classroom.
"Right now the selling point for Rand is this will save money and have no impact on the classroom," he said, adding that the legislation will likely move "very quickly" toward a resolution.
Additionally, Rader suggested that audience members make themselves available to attend meetings about this topic in Raleigh. "Your physical presence can speak volumes even if you're voice isn't able to."
Edwards said those state meetings could be called on "very short notice," but the MGSD plans to keep all attendees regularly informed of the developments taking place in regard to Senate Bill 265.
He added that a plan for notifying parents district-wide would be discussed with school board members at Thursday night's Board of Education meeting.
While nearly a dozen audience members spoke in opposition of Rand's bill, nobody commented in favor of the legislation despite Edwards' acknowledgement that people with differing opinions than those of the MGSD may be in attendance.
Added Hart, "We're very proud of our district. We've been in business for over 100 years and we'd like to remain in business."
Rand could not be reached for comment on his bill. To view it in its entirety, visit www.ncga.state.nc.us. To contact a North Carolina Senate member, visit www.ncleg.net
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