THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230467
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 58 lines
Three teachers have been hired by the Currituck County Schools to reduce classroom sizes at Knapp Junior High School in Currituck and Central Elementary School in Maple.
At Knapp, two new hires will teach eighth-grade language arts and social studies and eighth-grade mathematics and science.
Parents and teachers have raised concerns about some class sizes at the junior high, particularly algebra classes that average 29 students.
By reducing classroom enrollment, students should be able to receive more individualized instruction. This, in turn, may boost end-of-year test scores now critical to the statewide ABCs of Public Education accountability program.
At Central Elementary, one new kindergarten teacher will reduce the grade's classroom average from 27 to 18 students.
``When you look at the amount of individual time that a student will get in that smaller classroom, it's just phenomenal,'' said Central Principal Buck Green on Tuesday.
Primary grade class sizes average 18 to 22 students. But this year Central saw a surge in kindergarten enrollment.
Kindergarteners especially need one-on-one instruction because of their wide range of development, Green said.
The state is expected to fund all or most of the three new positions, plus an additional instructional support member, said Superintendent Ronnie Capps.
Currituck County's public school enrollment this fall is 3,083 - almost 100 students more than officials had anticipated during budget time last spring.
On Monday, at the County Commissioners meeting, the Board of Education asked the county to consider paying for four new teachers next semester at Currituck County High School.
The positions would include two math teachers, a vocational teacher and a health and physical education instructor.
The school board's request to have the county fund the four teachers salary was not met favorably by the commissioners.
They suggested the school board fund the $142,590 request with money from its current $873,169 fund balance. Superintendent Capps said that Currituck should consider keeping at least $500,000in reserve. The state recommends that school boards wishing to keep a fund balance retain at least 8 percent of funds rolled over from previous budgets for emergency expenditures. In Currituck's case, that would mean keeping about $352,000.
If the school paid for the four teachers salaries, that would leave it with more than a half-million dollars that can be spent for unforeseen needs.
``It's way out of hand. There's just too much in there,'' said Commissioner Gene Gregory.
Other commissioners made similar comments during their regular board meeting in Currituck.
More than half of the county's tax base comes from properties on Currituck's storm-sensitive Outer Banks, particularly resort communities in Corolla.
``None of us knows what the future holds. It could be good; it could be bad,'' Capps said.
``It's a fragile piece of earth that we live on.'' by CNB