Halifax County Commissioner Vernon Bryant is running for re-election for his at-large seat.

Why are you running?

I am seeking my second term on the Halifax County Board of Commissioners to continue the priorities of my first term and they are to focus on jobs, education, senior citizens, public safety and maintaining low property taxes.

Are you for or against school merger? If you are against school merger please explain why?

I am opposed to a merger of the three school districts currently operating in Halifax County for the following reasons:

A. As it relates to students, I have seen no data to prove a correlation between merging schools and an increase in overall academic achievements or a reduction in the drop-out rate for students. Merging schools would lead to larger classroom sizes, longer bus rides for students as well as longer commutes for parents to visit their child's schools. Higher performing students would continue to perform at a high level in honors and AP classes, while lower-performing students would continue to struggle in classes tracked for low performing students.

B. As it relates to taxes, the voters of the Halifax County School District voted down a supplemental school tax by a margin of almost three to one which would have raised county taxes for education to levels currently being paid by the residents of Weldon and Roanoke Rapids School Districts. Weldon and Roanoke Rapids decided years ago to make education a priority and in, doing so they chose to raise taxes and make the financial sacrifices to fund their children's education. In 2012, 72 percent of the voters in the Halifax County School District decided they were still not ready to pay more in taxes, even if it will benefit our students of the county. I am not going to overrule their decision by supporting a merger that would force them into paying more in taxes.

Although you may have answered this question, please explain what you find the economic advantages or disadvantages to merger are.

One of the main disadvantages of merger would lead to school closings as well as major layoffs of teachers, other staff and administrators. Our county needs more jobs, not less jobs. I will not support any action that puts Halifax County citizens out of work.

Do you feel there are any alternatives to merger that could be explored?

Yes, I feel there are other alternatives and options that can be explored to improve education and save money. The Evergreen Report identified several recommendations that could save dollars if implemented and would make the systems more efficient.

Which report do you feel is more valid, The UNC Center for Civil Rights Study or the Evergreen Report. Please explain why?

The UNC Center for Civil Rights Study report viewed the three systems from a historical civil rights perspective. The Evergreen Report was commissioned by the Halifax County Board of Commissioners to examine ways to improve education in the county and provide information to make improvements. I think we should examine any reports presented very carefully. However, because Evergreen

was requested by the Commissioners and addresses student improvement as well as monetary savings for the county, it should be used as our guide.

The county's fund balance has dipped dangerously low. Please explain how you think this happened. Please explain what needs to be done to get it back up to acceptable levels.

I think the reason for the fund balance dipping so low has to do with the recent recession the country has experienced. Halifax County has also experienced high unemployment, cuts in federal and state funding, as well as less money in local sales taxes with not much economic growth.

In order to improve our fund balance, the economy will need to improve and we need to continue to look for ways to cut county costs while preserving county services. I feel that we have economic development projects that will soon come to fruition later this year and in 2015 that will provide a major boost to our local economy.

Some governments enact small tax increases each year to keep up with the cost of doing business. Would you be in favor of this? Why or why not?

I'm opposed to any tax increase. If a tax increase should need to occur, I feel the discussion should be centered around a sales tax and not property tax.

Discuss any other issues you feel are important for the betterment of Halifax County and what you would do to improve them.

I truly believe that the only way the county will move forward would be for the citizens to earnestly work together for the betterment of our county. This would require people to agree to disagree but continue working together on issues to make things better for all the citizens in our county. Accept the fact that no one person or group knows it all and by maintaining communications and working

together to do the right thing, Halifax County becomes better. I strongly feel that more parental involvement is needed to enhance education for all the children in our county. The upcoming election stands to be one of the most important elections in Halifax County's history and I encourage all eligible voters to vote on May 6.