THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702080358
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 88 lines
Members of a group formed to challenge Dare County's proposed school bond package say they aren't opposed to a new beach high school or an education bond issue.
The Citizens For Responsible School Planning say they just want good schools and educational opportunities for all the children of the county.
The group meets at 7 p.m. Monday at Manteo Middle School.
``People seem to think that we're against a high school on the beach and that we only want a high school in Manteo,'' said Roanoke Island physician Walter Holton, a member of the group. ``That's not the case.
``We just think there's a better way to provide equal educational opportunities for all the children of the county.''
While the proposed $59.5 million bond package calls for a second high school to be built north of Oregon Inlet, Holton's group thinks one school is best. Holton said the organization was formed to give those concerned about the shape of the school proposal the opportunity to present new ideas.
``It's apparent that there's not a consensus about what's best for students,'' said Holton, 53. ``But there appears to be an agenda put forward by the school board that precludes information. Everything appears to be settled on a beach high school and the split of the two schools.
``It appears to me that Boney Architects may be leading the system down the wrong path,'' Holton said. ``There appears to be a lot of flexibility on other issues in the package, like elementary schools - but not in the area that's going to have the greatest impact on students. I think we need to get a second opinion.''
That's also a concern for Roxie Pritchard. A mother of three school-age children and a 1969 graduate of Manteo High School, she worries that academic programs will suffer if students are divided between the existing Manteo High School and a new beach high school.
``When I was at Manteo, we had excellent teachers, but bad curriculum,'' Pritchard said. ``I don't want to see us go back to that.''
Holton remembers when only one foreign language was taught full-time at the high school. Now three languages are taught.
``I'm not going to have any children in the system by the time this is complete,'' Holton said. ``I may not be practicing medicine here. But I'll be living here. And I want the children to have all the opportunities they can possibly have. That's my concern.''
Some, like 41-year-old insurance executive Malcolm Fearing III, contend that curriculum and more pressing facilities needs should be the focal point for bond discussions.
``I don't know that a beach high school is the issue. Curriculum should be the top priority,'' Fearing said. ``Second, we have to consider the availability of a site. But there are needs other than a new high school. There are more pressing needs on Hatteras Island, where they need a new elementary school worse than we need a new high school. But farther down the road, it's a different story.''
Another key issue concerns the dividing line for the county schools if voters approve the bond package's option for two high schools. The school board has yet to decide where the zoning line for the two high schools would be.
``I think if they draw the line at the Washington Baum Bridge, it could be very damaging,'' Holton said. ``It could cause people on one side of the line or the other to ask to be put in two separate counties. We could have a situation where competition in sports and academics could supersede rivalries with other counties.''
Holton said that division could spawn even larger fights.
``Schools determine the social life of a community,'' Holton said. ``There has been a natural rivalry between the beach and the mainland. But if you take it to a level of a high school, that's not very healthy, especially when you start looking at how funds are going to be allocated. We need to look at ways to bring our community together, not pull us apart.''
There is also a concern that the hot debate over the referendum may so divide the county that the wounds will never heal.
``It is tearing this county in two. And this is just during the discussion,'' said Fearing. ``But there is a large group of people across this county who want to be together. We may fuss a little. But we want to be together. What we have to do is put our personal preferences aside and do what's best for the community as a whole.''
The group's first gathering last week drew between 60 and 100 supporters. A group supporting the two-school plan also is being formed. As expected, residents of Roanoke Island and mainland communities like East Lake, Stumpy Point and Manns Harbor turned out for the meeting of the citizens' group. But a number of residents from north beach communities and Hatteras Island have signed on with Fearing's organization.
Fearing believes a compromise between the two factions is possible.
``Maybe we should name the high school Dare County High or Outer Banks High. But what we need is for (Board of Education Chairwoman) Mrs. (Donna) Buxton to tell us where the line is. All we want is honesty and openness. And we're looking for answers.''