School Redistricting

Hello Lenoir County. Welcome to another discussion on Lenoir County Schools redistricting study.

Lenoir County Board of Education member Rita Hodges will meet with the public to discuss Lenoir County Schools redistricting efforts. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Here is some background information on the redistricting committee.

Sept. 2, 2008 - Lenoir County Board of Education votes to proceed with a redistricting study.

Oct. 20, 2008 - Redistricting committee meets for the first time at central office. Both objectives and the scope of the project are discussed.

Nov. 12, 2008 - Redistricting committee meets again to discuss the history on the organization of Lenoir County Schools.

Dec. 10, 2008 - Redistricting committee meets again to develop maps for elementary, middle and high schools.

Jan. 30, 2009 - Redistricting committee continues to examine how to redraw attendance lines for students.

Feb. 18, 2009 - Mike Moseley, redistricting committee chairman, informs committee that he asked Superintendent Terry Cline to bring study back before school board on March 2 for their consideration.

March 2 - Lenoir County Board of Education scheduled to decide if committee should continue to study redistricing issue.

Nearly 40 people are in attendance for tonight’s question and answer session with school board member Rita Hodges. School board member Billy Davis is also here tonight.

7:30 p.m. The meeting has started C.L. Braxton is introducting Hodges to the audience. Braxton serves on the redistricting committee.

7:35 p.m. - Hodges is addressing the crowd. Wants to make sure public’s points are expressed at March 2 meeting, she said. “It’s a volatile situation,” Hodges said. “Great misconception out there ( about study), I think there is a significant group of people inside Kinston that believe redistricting will equalize demographics at all the schools,” she said.

7:38 p.m. -Davis is now talking to the audience. Committee has never said what is best for children for Lenoir County, Davis said. Best thing for child is for child to go to closest school to him or her, Davis said.

7:40 p.m. - Audience member asking about Northwest, Bynum and Southeast Schools. Students are leap frogging over Rochelle Middle into Frink and then to North Lenoir High. Adminstration is totally blind to what is happening, audience member said.

7:50 p.m. - C. L. Braxton now talking about Rochelle. Several parents really involed in education pulled children out of Rochelle Middle in past because not satisfied with school. “I remember when that happened,” Braxton said.

7:51 p.m.- Hodges said a school two years in a row that doesn’t meet growth goals labeled low performing school. Lenoir County never had low performing status schools until two years ago until Bynum and Kinston High now Southeast is labeled low performing, Hodges said. She added something needs to be done to correct problems.

7:52 p.m.- Hodges asked about March 2 meeting. Decision whether to continue study cannot be made in closed session, she said.

7:55 p.m. - Braxton said a problem with redistricting study is that the committee members are not allowed to discuss freely what is going on only allowed to review maps provided by consultant Jeff Tsai.

8 p.m.- Audience member said there are too many people absent from committee meetings who are assigned to attend. Claimed that nearly 30 people assigned to committee routinely do not show.

8:05 p.m. - Audience member said she doesn’t want to see board take a vote on redistricting because the capacity figures have not been accurate.

8:06 p.m. - Business owner downtown said he hears from public Kinston High has bad reputation. Heard there is a discipline problem at Kinston High School.

8:09 p.m. - Cannot accomplish a task this large in a couple of months, audience member said. “We feel like it’s being rammed down our throats,” she said.

8:15 p.m. - “All the redistricting commitee is trying to do is give Kinston (High School) numbers, that’s the bottom line,” Braxton said. “The study is flawed. It’s an attempt to get more population in city schools.”

8:20 p.m. - Audience member said that Davis and Hodges are “flies in the ointment” for other school board members. Alot of rubber stamping by other five school board members going on at board of education, he said.

8:30 p.m. - Questions about Lenoir County Schools deficit are asked. Hodges said the school district has mismanaged its funds. The deficit over two years reached about $5 million in the school district.

8:40 p.m. - More general discussion about student transfer policy. Audience member said students at Southeast Elementary should have been required to transfer to Teachers Memorial after students from Teachers go to new Northeast School. “Southeast is in a bad area,” Braxton said.

8:45 p.m. - Another redistricting committee member at tonight’s meeting, Suzanne Nix, said she disagrees with Braxton on one issue. The redistricting study is not an attempt to build up Kinston High School’s population, Nix said.

“People are getting upset about nothing,” she said. “Nothing has been decided.”

9 p.m. - Hodges is addressing the audience. Said she is glad to have the opportunity to meet with public tonight. Davis said not enough people in Lenoir County know what is going on with the redistricting study.

9:02 p.m. meeting is now over. have a good night.

The Lenoir County Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, March 2 at the central office. Bye for now, Chris Lavender The Free Press

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.