THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120343
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3B EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In what could be the first step on the road to a new high school, the Dare County Board of Education plans to hire a consultant to determine its future needs.
Nearly 100 people turned out at Kitty Hawk Elementary School Tuesday night, and many urged the board to push ahead with the study of the system's building requirements.
Board member Donna Buxton, chair of the board's bond committee, said the plan will address the need for a beach high school as well as the role of the existing schools.
``This is a complex issue,'' Buxton said. ``This is not just about a beach high school. It will address the needs at Cape Hatteras School and Manteo. We can't give everybody everything they want, but we want to give the them what they need.''
Members of the board were given a petition urging support for the new high school, and were urged to complete the facilities study as quickly as possible.
Next month, state officials will hold hearing in Edenton concerning capital funding for schools in the region. Buxton urged parents to attend the meeting.
``We have to get our 2 cents in,'' Buxton said. ``We have to be very aggressive. The more aggressive we are, the bigger piece of the pie we're going to get.''
In other action, the board's policy committee reported that a portion of the new attendance policy dealing with suspensions is in compliance with state law.
Last month, the board adopted a new policy, which counts days in which a student is suspended as an excused absence. That policy has come under fire.
Board member Sam Twiford, chairman of the board's policy committee, said Dare County consulted with the North Carolina Board of Education and attorneys for the North Carolina School Boards Association, and found the policy is legal.
In other business:
Board member Allen Burrus has been appointed to the board of directors of the North Carolina School Board Association.
Manteo Middle School mathematics teacher Dallas Gray has been selected as Dare County's Teacher of the Year. Gray is a Stumpy Point native. by CNB