School board faces many decisions
By Kathi Keys
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ASHEBORO - The Randolph County Board of Education is facing many decisions
in upcoming months - selection of a new superintendent along with proceeding
with construction of two new high schools and the process for redrawing
high school attendance lines.
These tasks were reviewed by Randolph Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob
McRae for the school board at its annual winter retreat held Wednesday at
Pinewood Country Club.
Several other topics also came up for the board's consideration - a potential
increase in high school student parking fees for the upcoming school year
and a possible 100 percent tobacco-free policy for all school campuses -
along with many informational matters.
Decisions surrounding both new high schools initially pertain to the
site and design of the new high school in the county's northeastern section
and an architect to assist with the search for land for the second Archdale-Trinity
area facility.
McRae recommended for the board's consideration that the architectural
firm of LS3P Boney, which is working on the northeastern high school, also
be used for the Trinity area school. No action was taken Wednesday on selecting
an architect for the second high school.
Architect Katherine Peele of LS3P Boney is meeting today with county
school officials and a civil engineer to further review the 100-acre site
on Mack Line-berry Road, off N.C. 22, for which the board has agreed to
proceed with an option to purchase for the northeastern high school. The
option to purchase had not yet been obtained.
Citizens opposed to the site in their neighborhood have planned a community
awareness meeting for tonight at 7:30 at the Climax Fire Station on Mack
Lineberry Road. A representative of the group is scheduled to address the
school board at its next regular meeting on Feb. 21.
Board members, along with school officials, are scheduled to visit Nash
County Jan. 27 to visit a high school designed by the architects. A prototype
of that facility may be used for the northeastern high school as well as
the Trinity area facility.
McRae reminded the board that "one of the many tasks is to draw
lines for these two schools. ... That will be a major issue for you to deal
with."
He suggested use of an outside consultant to assist with this redistricting
process for both schools - at the same time or separately.
McRae said current thinking is that students in the Liberty, Grays Chapel
and Level Cross elementary school attendance areas would attend the northeastern
high school which is to relieve overcrowded conditions at both Eastern Randolph
and Randleman high schools.
Liberty and Grays Chapel students are now assigned to Northeastern Middle
School which would be the feeder middle school for the new facility, but
Level Cross students go on to Randleman Middle at the present time.
He also pointed out to the board that decisions would have to be made
on which Trinity area elementary school attendance areas would be assigned
to the new high school, even though all middle school students would continue
to attend Braxton Craven and Archdale-Trinity middle school. He noted that
two elementary areas could be assigned to one high school and three to another.
Other considerations are whether to open the new high schools with just
ninth- and 10th-graders by allowing juniors and seniors or just seniors
to graduate from their original high school.
Board member Gary Cook of Trinity noted that he was already being approached
by citizens about the area having two high schools instead of one. Cook
participated in his first board retreat along with Janet Johnson of Franklinville
as the newest school board members.
In addition to addressing the new high schools, the board was asked to
consider increasing student parking fees at the four existing high schools
in order to have funds for improving the school parking lots.
The current parking permit fee is $10 a year at each school; the money
now remains with the individual high schools.
Bob Scherer, county schools' executive director of facilities and construction,
said the present $25,000 set aside for parking lot repair and maintenance
each year is insufficient to pay for improvements.
He said that the top priority is the parking lot at Southwestern Randolph
High; a recent estimate put the cost at $70,000. Eastern Randolph is next
on the parking lot improvement list. Trinity needs more parking space, but
the second high school in that area may negate this expansion; Randleman's
parking lots don't need improving at the present time.
Scherer said revenue from the increased parking fees could be used to
improve parking lots at a different high school each year, on a rotation
basis.
He also gave the board a list of what other school districts are charging
for student parking permits a year: Asheboro City, $25; Alamance County,
$40-$50 along with $100 for privileged parking; Forsyth County, $75; Wake
and Lee counties more than $100.
McRae said he would consult with principals to see what they are currently
using the permit fee money for and bring a proposal to the board at its
Feb. 21 meeting.
"It may not be $20, but $25 or $18," he said.
The board was also asked to consider a 100 percent tobacco-free policy
for the school system.
Parks Allen, director of middle and high school instruction, and Drew
Maerz, principal of Tabernacle Elementary School, presented information
from a recent N.C. Tobacco Free Schools conference about the increasing
number of school districts in the state which have adopted such a policy.
Maerz said 48 school districts have the policy, including most school
districts in the region, Asheboro City, Thomasville City and Moore, Montgomery,
Chat-ham, Guilford and Rowan counties. Forsyth and Alamance counties are
working toward the policy. Randolph and Davidson counties have not.
Discussion centered around the most opposition coming from employees
as it was when Asheboro adopted its policy which became effective with the
2003-04 school year.
McRae said he would poll the board members within the next couple of
weeks to see if they wanted the staff to proceed with the policy at this
time.
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
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