The real issue is school improvement, he said following today's Halifax County Board of Commissioners meeting, in which he addressed the panel earlier on the results of the statewide report card released last month.
In addressing the board he dismissed merger as the goal of the coalition and continued to urge study of the Evergreen Solutions report. “The issues are not about districts merging, but utilizing limited resources and spending capital wisely,” he said near the end of his talk to commissioners.
In his talk under a Community Issues section of the meeting, he said, “Last fall the (state) Department of Public Instruction ranked two Halifax school districts in the academic basement and one occupied 71st place (38th percentile). February's inaugural report card graded individual schools with a single letter A-F school performance grade based on 80 percent academic proficiency and 20 percent student growth.”
The result, Hodge said, was the 19 schools in the county received seven Fs; five Ds and 7 Cs. “Approximately one in three of our schools earned a passing grade while two-thirds of North Carolina public schools received As, Bs, or Cs.”
Hodge told the board there is a link between the performance of economically-disadvantaged students and failing schools. “Schools with at least 80 percent of students eating subsidized meals predominantly received failing D or F grades. Conversely, schools with only 20 percent of their students eating subsidized meals received honor roll A and B grades.”
Halifax County Schools had the highest percentage of qualified students in the state at 93.5 percent. Weldon ranked six at 85 percent and Roanoke Rapids had 60 percent, just above the 56 percent state average, he noted.
“A small number of schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students earned As and Bs on their report cards,” he said. “Poverty should not be an excuse for underachievement.”
Instead, he said, “Poverty must be viewed as a hurdle, difficult to jump, but not a permanent roadblock.”
Speaking of recently released DPI improvement strategies critical for improvement of low-performing schools, he said the department specifically notes the following:
• Teacher quality and continuity — high teacher turnover rates are damaging, especially for struggling students.
• Access to quality preschools enables the youngest students to be ready to learn.
• Expand summer programs and year-round school calendars to address the loss of math and reading skills for low-performing students.
• A coherent individualized system of assistance is needed for each struggling school.
Said Hodge: “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize it exists. Commissioners should understand the issues. Latest data just focuses on individual schools and spotlights causation issues.”
The Evergreen Report, he said, “Listed $11.5 million of cost saving recommendations over a five-year period and roughly $2.5 million annualized savings. Today, not one of the 39 recommendations has been addressed two and a half years later. This is a pot of gold which needs to be mined — yesterday.”
Hodge recommended organizing a countywide ad hoc committee to study the issues in the report.
“The children of Halifax County need your leadership,” he said. “Three of the commissioners have years of experience attending board of education meetings. They understand both county and school board politics and could initiate collaboration between the groups.
“Commissioners could use their power of the purse strings to initiate an active working relationship with the three school boards. The issues are not about districts merging but utilizing limited resources and spending capital wisely.”
Noting seven suggestions in the Evergreen Report, Hodge said, “If the seven recommendations … do not come to fruition, $2.6 million will not be saved to spend on improvement programs. Of course, commissioners could raise taxes by approximately 8 cents, but that would be very expensive mining.”
Board Chairman Vernon Bryant said his recommendation would be to discuss the Evergreen Report at either the second meeting this month or in April.
Commissioner Rives Manning said Roanoke Rapids spends around $8,600 per student while Halifax County spends slightly more than $11,000 and Weldon $12,000. “We're accountable for our money. It's their responsibility to educate the children.”
Commissioner Carolyn Johnson said she is aware of school improvement discussions around the state. “We need to take this to the commissioners, the community, the faith community, come together and resolve our concerns.”
Bryant said the state Association of County Commissioners will be lobbying legislators to reinstate the 40 percent share of lottery funds it was receiving after it was cut to 20 percent. “If you want to truly help, move forward and talk to the General Assembly members. This board is very concerned about public education.”
