Latest Education Crisis

It is unreasonable to argue that our Bertie County school children are getting a decent education. Bertie County used to be in the middle in test scores. Not a great place to be, but still reasonable. However that was many years ago.

In recent years our children, at least the children attending public schools in Bertie County, score in the bottom 10% state wide, a horrible slippage. That is not because our children cannot do much better. It is because our education leadership is wasting their time on other issues besides what they need to do to improve our children's education. They can no longer avoid the recognition they are failing.

Nowhere in America has it been proven that children learn better in fancy schools. Really bad facilities are one thing. There have been situations where some schools could not keep toilets working or keep the heat on. That has not been a problem here in Bertie County though.

Our Central Administration Education Bureaucrats have still found it necessary to close perfectly good schools, wasting huge amounts of time and energy over the fight about their closure. We also are building a fancy new middle school and our school administation wants to build a new elementary school, and a new high school, equally overpriced. This has nothing to do with teaching children. It has to do with other political agendas.

Bertie County is in the top 25% of systems based on money spent per child in the state of North Carolina. That is right. Bertie County is in the top 25% in money spent. The top 10% of schools in this state are dominated by school systems that spend significantly less than Bertie County spends. They also are dominated by locations that have significantly greater costs of living than here in Bertie County which should hurt them in keeping up with us on a per dollar basis. Why then are we, with our greater money and lower cost of living, in the bottom 10% in student achievement?

Someone is accountable. Our Superintendent feels she needs more money. She spends much of her energy fighting for more money and criticizing our county for not spending more, rather than trying to figure out how these other county systems keep beating her results badly with less money than she has in geographic areas with higher costs. Her budget presentation contained a misrpresentation of her budget needs including a million dollar error that she simply ignores to this date. How can this be good management?

Some in this county feel she is failing our children and appears unwilling to focus on teaching our children better. From what I have seen I can agree with that assessment. I am sick of hearing how it takes more money. Our Superintendent, Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart is not doing a good job measured by the only standard that counts to me; What kind of education are the children getting? We need someone to start focusing on improving education for our kids. Since she doesn't seem to be willing to put her focus there, I feel it is time for change.

A proposal to ask for her resignation has been answered by an attempt by some to have the State BOE, NC DPI or Judge Manning in Raleigh take over our system under Dr. Collins-Hart's control. This means we in Bertie County will have no say in how our children are educated. Why is democracy being subverted in this fashion? We elected our Board of Education. How dare the State educators or a non-elected Judge tell Bertie County what to do? Those who believe in democracy need to contact their Board of Education representative and assure them of our support.

Interference of this type is outrageous. If you agree, we also need to tell the Governor "Please do not interfere, or let the State Board of Education or NC DPI interfere, with our local personnel matters". You can do this at the following link which permits easy communication with Governor Easley:

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/Contact.asp

If the Governor hears from enough of us, surely he will ask the State BOE to leave this local issue in the hands of the elected local officials.