Editorial: Vote YES for School Bond on Nov. 7
A vote of "yes" for the bond means that you want to have the cheapest and most accountable way to provide funding for the seats that we need in this rapidly growing county. Seats for our students are needed now, and Wake County is required by law to provide them. The $970 million bond will build 17 new schools, renovate 13 existing schools, provide technology replacements and upgrades, and fund land and start-up design for 13 additional schools. With more than 7,500 new students joining our schools each year, the need to build schools and maintain our existing facilities is clear. Here are five key things you need to know about the bond:
- Bonds are the cheapest way to pay for school construction, saving more than $50 million over other options.
- The Education Lottery only gives $9 million to Wake County for building schools – less than the cost of one elementary school.
- Money from the bond is kept in a restricted account and cannot be spent on anything else.
- Wake County has set up a Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee to oversee the construction of schools.
- With this bond, property taxes will go up 4.7 cents per $100 of valuation, which equals $70.50 per year on a $150,000 house. When the 1999 bond failed, property taxes still had to be increased by 10 cents to pay for schools that had to be built to accommodate the rapid influx of students.
The Wake Education Partnership Board of Directors and Board of Trustees have unanimously endorsed the bond as the best way to pay for growth. We encourage you to vote YES on Nov. 7!
PTAs, Mayors Support Bond
More than 50 Wake County PTAs have passed resolutions expressing strong support for the Wake County Public School System's $1.056-billion building program, $970 million of which will go before voters for bond referendum approval on Nov. 7, 2006. Additional PTAs are voting this week and next week. For a complete list of schools and a copy of the Wake PTA Council's resolution, visit http://www.wakeptacouncil.org and scroll to the bottom of the page. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister and Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams, as well as the Raleigh City Council and the Cary Town Council, have also endorsed the school bond.
School Bond Makes Headlines in N&O
As the Nov. 7 election approaches, the school bond referendum continues to make headlines in The News & Observer. Click on the following links for additional information about these stories.
1. Martin advises Wake on schools: Republican former Governor Jim Martin spoke at a recent N.C. Policy Watch forum titled "Financing Our Children's Future: The School-Construction Crisis." Martin is leading the school construction effort in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, after voters rejected a $427 million public school bond issue last year. "You've got to move forward," Martin said at a Raleigh forum on paying for public schools. "You can't handicap a county by not providing the schools it needs. You get more overcrowding, more year-round schools, more unhappiness about growth and more dissatisfaction with the school system."
2. Renovations in bond cause controversy: Bond supporters believe renovations included in the Nov. 7 bond proposal are badly needed to ensure safety and equity in schools across the county. Bond opponents see the renovations as spending that doesn’t create enough seats for incoming students. Renovations, which typically account for about half the money spent, represent about one-third of the district's building program with this bond. The $380 million would be spent on major renovations at 13 schools, smaller repairs at 100 schools and new computers. WCPSS says 86 percent of the renovation money would be spent to correct heating, ventilating and air-conditioning problems so the schools are safe, healthy places for teaching and learning.
3. Voters respond to bond poll: An October poll of 600 likely voters found that 54 percent said they will vote against the bond issue, compared with 35 percent who said they will vote yes. Many no voters cited opposition to tax increases and a loss of confidence in the Wake school administration. Most voters also oppose impact fees or a real-estate transfer tax to help pay for school construction. The poll, conducted for The News & Observer and WRAL-TV, conflicted with other recent surveys showing the bonds would be approved.
Year-Round Group Sets Meeting for Parents
Parents, students, school leaders, PTA representatives and year-round specialists are invited to a support group meeting about making year-round schools work for families. The group, entitled Year-RoundTable, will hold its first meeting on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. to discuss the mission and vision of the support group and brainstorm creative ideas to reach out to families in need of answers as they prepare for the transition. The second meeting on Jan. 27 will be a Track-Out Opportunities Fair where parents can learn about year-round programs. Year-RoundTable meetings will be held at Right Track Academy (8340 Bandford Way, Suite 001, Raleigh). For more information, call 919-846-1866.
Wake Students Take More Advanced Placement Exams
For the second year in a row, the number of Advanced Placement exams taken by Wake County Public School System students increased by more than 800 over the previous year and the number of WCPSS students taking the exams to receive college credit increased by more than 400. In the past eight years, the number of WCPSS students taking AP exams has more than doubled to 3,621 in 2005-06 from 1,798 in 1998-99. The number of exams taken increased to 7,176 from 3,471.
While the number of students and the number of AP exams increased, the percent of students who scored 3 or higher on the exam was 74.7 percent in 2005-06. The average exam score last year was 3.30. Students earn a grade of 1-5 on the exam. With a score of 3 or higher, students can often obtain course credit from the colleges or universities they attend. The 3.30 exam average of WCPSS students is higher than the 2.90 worldwide exam average and the 2.76 exam average of N.C. students. While 74.7 percent of WCPSS students who took AP exams scored 3 or higher, 54.8 percent of N.C. students scored 3 or higher.
WCPSS Names Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year
The Wake County Public School System named Jamee Lynch of Hodge Road Elementary School the 2006 Principal of the Year and Gloria Jones of Centennial Campus Middle School the 2006 Assistant Principal of the Year.
Lynch has worked with Wake County for seven years and has been a principal for five years. She was named to her current job as principal of Hodge Road Elementary in 2001. Prior to that she was an assistant principal at Vance Elementary School. Earlier she served as a middle school assistant principal in Johnston County and was director of Student Media at Methodist College in Fayetteville. She started her education career as a teacher at Garner High School in 1995. Lynch will go on to compete in North Carolina Regional and State Principal of the Year competitions sponsored by Wachovia Corporation.
Dr. Jones has devoted her career to the Wake County public schools. She was named to her current position as assistant principal of Centennial Campus Middle School in 2000. Prior to that, she was assistant principal of East Millbrook Middle School. She started her education career as a teacher at Zebulon Middle School in 1988.
New Standards Show Drop in ABC Scores Across State
Test results released Wednesday showed that more than a third of North Carolina’s 2,353 public schools fell short of expected gains in student achievement in 2005-06. Triangle school districts mirrored the statewide trend, with all but Orange County showing a decline in the percentage of schools meeting state standards. The Wake County Public School System had 59 schools recognized as Schools of Excellence or Schools of Distinction, including 11 of the 69 schools in the state recognized as Honor Schools of Excellence or Schools of Excellence.
The decline in school performance was expected. The state made changes to the ABCs accountability model in 2006, including new formulas for calculating growth; new math End-of-Grade assessments that align to the latest curriculum revisions; and the addition of writing assessments results for 4th, 7th and 10th grade in the performance composite. The higher math standard also widened an achievement gap between white and minority students that had narrowed in previous years. In Wake schools, 52 percent of black students in 3rd through 8th grades met the tougher math standard in 2006, compared with 81.4 percent in 2005. For more information, visit The News & Observer and WCPSS online.
Seminar to Examine N.C. Tests
The Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African-American Children will host a seminar about the N.C. computer skills requirement and the N.C. writing test on Nov. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Martin Street Baptist Church (1001 East Martin Street, Raleigh). Parents, educators and other interested persons are invited to hear guest speaker Dr. Donna Hargens, Chief Academic Officer for WCPSS. Please RSVP to Calla Wright at cccaac@nc.rr.com by Nov. 11.
Districts Offer Top Pay for Top Teachers
Some Guilford County teachers will earn an extra $10,000 or more this year. Mecklenburg County will offer $15,000 signing bonuses and higher salaries to attract teachers to poor-performing high schools. Rockingham County's school system is one of three chosen for a pilot program that pays an additional $15,000 for each of 10 math and science teachers in middle and high schools. While compensation for some teachers is changing dramatically, the change does not affect most teachers in most North Carolina school systems. That means local initiatives intended to strengthen instruction could do as much harm in some places as good in others, unless the state spends enough money to improve the quality of teaching in all counties. For more information, visit the Greensboro News & Record online.
First Lottery Dollars to Reach Schools Soon
Ninety-five million dollars of lottery proceeds were transferred to the state last month, marking the first installment of funds earmarked for school construction. The $95 million payment was smaller than originally estimated, but lottery officials predict that new games that are coming on line will increase revenue in coming months.
While school officials welcome the construction dollars, a number of counties are criticizing the distribution formula which penalizes counties with below average tax rates. The formula results in large differences in construction revenue. Wake County, as an example, is a below average tax rate county and will receive $2.3 million from this first installment of lottery revenue. In contrast, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, with roughly the same number of students, will receive $4.3 million because of its higher tax rates. The formula was established by the General Assembly and some are predicting that it will be debated again during the upcoming 2007 Legislative Session.
MAKE AN INVESTMENT
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Dec. 5 : Wake Regional Education Roundtable from noon to 1:30 p.m.; hosted by the Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon Chambers; discussion topic will be high school improvements.