THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601130307
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: POPLAR BRANCH LENGTH: Long : 123 lines
Elementary students from Bells Island and Church's Island will be among those children attending different schools this fall if the Currituck County Board of Education approves a new zoning proposal.
A redistricting plan for four mainland schools was unveiled at a Thursday night work session at Griggs Elementary School in Poplar Branch.
The school board will hold a public hearing at its Feb. 12 meeting to solicit comments on the proposed changes. A final vote is expected in March.
``We're trying to get on this as early as possible and make this as smooth as possible,'' said Currituck Schools Superintendent W.R. ``Ronnie'' Capps. ``And also give parents plenty of notice.''
Under the plan, an expected 474 children living north of N.C. 168 at the Ferrell Mill bridge and the junction of Old Tulls Creek and Tulls Creek roads would attend Moyock Elementary.
Other boundaries would be the Virginia line to the north, Camden County line to the west and Gibbs Woods to the east.
The projected enrollment would leave an additional 124 openings for new students in what is now the most rapidly growing section of Currituck County.
After a new high school in Barco opens this fall, Currituck County High School will become a junior high, and Knapp Junior High will be converted into an elementary school.
School officials at this point are planning to pull 318 children from an area between Tulls Creek Road and N.C. 168 at Bells Island Road for the new Knapp School.
Bells Island, now part of Central district, also would be a part of the Knapp School.
Knapp children within those areas include Rowland Creek, Beechwood, Tulls Bay Colony, Brayview, Launch Landing, Tice Road, Baxter Estates and Wedgewood subdivisions.
Other Knapp neighborhoods would include Currituck on the Sound, Brumsey Road, Buckskin Creek, Poyner Road, Chatman-Etheridge Road, North Currituck Road, Dozier Road and Courthouse Road.
The new Central boundaries are from Bells Island Road to U.S. 158 at Church's Island Road and include those children living on Church's Island who previously went to Griggs Elementary.
The communities of Snowden, Gum Corner, Shawboro and Gregory would fall under Central lines, as would Woodard Acres, Coinjock, Barco, Maple and Ponderosa. Central's enrollment is projected to be 282 students.
Children living south of Church's Island Road would continue attending Griggs Elementary, which would have a projected enrollment of 465 pupils.
Room for additional students was worked into each of the new districts to accommodate future growth.
New elementary schools also are planned for the next several years in Moyock and Jarvisburg. Additional space and remodeling are also scheduled at Central Elementary.
``This is just a proposal at this point,'' Capps told the school board, school officials and parents who attended the reorganization session.
As the population of Currituck County continues to grow, school lines may also be continually redrawn to prevent severe overcrowding and mobile classrooms, which have been prevalent in recent years.
``Hopefully, we won't have to change it for a couple of years,'' said Mary Ellen Maxwell, who was re-elected school board chairwoman at Thursday's regular meeting. Janet Taylor of Moyock was named vice-chair.
School board member Sam Walker mentioned that the county's ``liberal'' student-transfer policy may need to be reexamined.
Too many exceptions to the redistricting could undermine school officials' efforts to reduce overcrowding, Capps said.
Knotts Island Elementary School would not be affected by the changes.
Children living on Currituck's Outer Banks are now either transported to Knotts Island or mainland schools or attend Dare County schools.
C. Michael Ross, the Virginia Beach chief architect of the new high school under construction in Barco, said Thursday that the project is about 40 percent complete.
Ross said the contractors are two to three weeks behind schedule of an Aug. 26 opening. ``We should know, I would say, by mid-July whether we will make it or not,'' he said.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the board authorized a less expensive roof for the Central Elementary School renovations, which are expected to cost about $1.6 million.
A low-slant, rather than steep-pitched, roof on the media center will cut costs by $20,000 to $30,000 without affecting drainage, Ross said. The savings could be applied to an entrance canopy, gym bleachers, bus loop or new ceiling.
Board members Garry Owens, John Barnes and Maxwell favored the change, while Sam Walker and Janet Taylor were opposed.
``I just have a problem changing something without talking to the people that it's going to affect,'' Taylor said.
In addition, a recent audit indicates the school system is in sound financial shape.
Currituck schools had $22 million in general fund assets. Almost $21 million of that was in fixed assets, such as buses, desks and other capital outlay. The schools had an undesignated fund balance of $629,128 as of June 30, 1995.
Peter Catalfamo of Catalfamo and Associates commended Finance Officer Sam Cohen and his department for their work. ``This is the first audit that we've ever done,'' he said, ``that we don't have any compliance problems found.'' MEMO: PROPOSED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ZONES
The Currituck County school board will hold a public hearing on plans
to redistrict four elementary schools on Feb. 12 at Currituck County
High School's media center. An evening meeting time will be announced
later. For more information, call the school board at (919) 232-2223.
The proposed boundaries for each school are:
Moyock - State line to the north, Camden County line to the west,
Gibbs Woods to the east and, to the south, the bridge at the old Ferrell
Brothers Mill (south of Ranchland) and the north junction of Tulls Creek
and Old Tulls Creek roads.
Knapp - From the small bridge at the old Ferrell Brothers Mill and
northern junction of Tulls Creek and Old Tulls Creek roads to N.C. 168
and Bells Island Road to the south. Ferrell Mill bridge would be the
landmark to the west and North Landing/Currituck Sound to the east.
Includes Bells Island.
Central - From N.C. 168-Bells Island Road intersection to U.S. 158
and Church's Island Road (State Route 1142) junction; Camden County line
to the west and Currituck Sound to the east. Includes Church's Island.
Griggs - All homes south of the U.S. 158 and Church's Island
junction.
ILLUSTRATION: Color map
by CNB