Chatham County School Daze

Very full meeting but disappointing as to attendance. I certainly thought the agenda would have filled the room with interested parents but there were less than a dozen. If discussing how and where we need to build schools, potential redistricting issues and how taxpayers’ money is to be spent has little interest, what would motivate folks to come see the workings of their Board of Educaton?

The public hearing for the proposed budget had only one speaker and her concern was a welcome one. She is a teacher and pointed out a program being administered locally which, in turn, should be kept local. The proposed budget had a $50,000 staff proposal to hire an outside team which her school was running for much less.

Very productive meeting with excellent input from interested citizens. Most of the comments had to do with questions posed about when schools would be built to prepare for the influx of new residents and their own children.

There still seem to be some questions about the funding stream (read where the money will come from to design and build). Both the county and school system’s web sites have charts showing when the funds will be released. Unless the schools ask for a rearrangement or a change in priorities, the earliest any money is scheduled to be released is shown on those charts.

On the Chatham County Bulletin Board this evening, the following question appeared.

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Quote from: munn5 on Today at 07:51:44 PM

Mr. Totten (or other school board member), can you verify that county schools are permitted to not meet fire codes, and do not have to remedy unsafe conditions (as found by the fire marshall and health inspector)?

My answer follows:

Principal Mervin Jenkins was host to an open house Thursday as the school allowed tours of the new offices. Horton Alumni, Chatham Education Foundation, school nurses and psychologists now have a home in one of the wings and had a chance to show off their new digs.

Each of the new tenants realizes they may be looking again if and when Horton receives more students but for now, they finally have a place to hang their welcome signs and hats.

If you missed it, Perry Harrison held the event Tuesday night and had a number of interesting exhibits. It was fun watching the various experiments and the youngsters trying their hands at propulsion (Newton Cars), at chemical reactions (blowing up balloons using vinegar and baking soda), making Binary Beads for bracelets and a Mobius loop from paper. Each exhibit held the children’s interest as we moved from station to station.

Two of the highlights were the exhibits by Piedmont Biofuels and the fully equipped BioNetwork Mobile Laboratory. The interest in those two exhibits seemed to stimulate young minds as they learned how science can benefit each of us by seeing the end results.

More on waste handling at Jack Bennett Road site from the Division of Water Quality:

The handling of effluent is still germane and now an explanation of the following quote is appropriate as well: “upon construction of the school, and upon completion of Phase III of the wastewater treatment plant construction.” When will phase III be completed?

—– Original Message —–
From: Nathaniel Thornburg
To: Gerald Totten
Cc: Martin Richmond ; Kim Colson
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: Governors Club (Aqua North Carolina) and Westfall Development

Mr. Totten,

What an enjoyable morning at Chatham Charter School today! A number of Chatham Citizens were invited to share Valentine’s Day with the Fifth Grade classes and to share their Love Of Reading project. There was a price to pay however. We were asked to read a story or passage from one of our favorite books for 5th graders, to describe our reading habits and to describe our fifth grade class reading experience.

Elected officials and guests such as Sheriff Webster, Commissioners Barnes and Thompson, Ed Spence and Cecilia Grimes jumped right in and read too.

Interesting to read the two reporters’ take on the meeting last night when the Jack Bennett Road site was discussed! I saw it as a very positive sign because agreement as to how to proceed on that site was pretty thoroughly discussed with comments from a number of citizens too.

Commissioner Patrick Barnes correctly pointed out that it is indeed rare when a site cannot be built upon. His experience as a contractor over the years saw him in some pretty tough sites where he brought order out of chaos at the hands of skilled equipment operation of dirt moving equipment. Other commissioners raised points they had observed about the ravines, wetlands and limited building areas. Three of the five commissioners have now toured the site and all of the current Board of Education members have as well.

On 5 February, the Board of Education met to discuss and assign responsibilities for presenting certain facts about the Jack Bennett Road site during the joint meeting with the Board of Commissioners. The scheduled joint meeting is 12 February at Pittsboro Elementary School beginning at 6:30 p.m.

After a walking tour of the land on 18 December by the BOEd, media, central office staff and concerned citizens, three professionals in botany, soil science and Department of Transportation made detailed presentations about the site in their respective fields. The joint meeting was scheduled to ensure both elected boards shared considerations about the potential site.

During the past month I have been able to personally visit five of our schools. The teachers and staff continue to be impressive because of their dedication and hard work but certain conditions in two of them are less than impressive. More about that later.