School board eyes $7.1 million in cuts – Rocky Mount Telegram

NASHVILLE – During last year’s budgeting season, then Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools Superintendent Rick McMahon referred to the cuts facing the school district as the perfect storm.

This year, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson is using those same words. (More)

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Superintendent Dr. Anthony Jackson

Board of Education weighs $2.2M in cuts – Rocky Mount Telegram

Response: As it relates to Roberson School closing, if the school is not serving its purpose and will not have the staff to the next school year then I say close it and send the students somewhere that will be more productive and not just a place away from the real classroom. I wish we would not have to be discussing “An Alternative School” but we know we live in the real world and we know that some students just ain’t going to do right for whatever reasons and must be taken out of the Edgecombe County Public Schools traditional classroom.

It is the board’s job to be good stewards of public money, Kent said, and when the school district is facing layoffs and a school closing, it is only fair that board members scrutinize their own budget as well.

I find it so interesting that both papers are pushing board chair Ann Kent’s personal opinion about the board members scrutinizing their own budget but what I have not seen is what Evelyn Wilson former board chair said at the last month’s meeting that she disagreed and that she would continue going to the training if she had to pay her own way. Dr. Evelyn Johnson said the board runs the system and that they need the proper training and it is a big difference in bringing in folks to do the training versus the board traveling to see what others are doing which is very productive.

So my question to Kent is how many board members receive all of their minimum hours of training last year? What was the budget last year? How many on the board traveled last year to receive their training? So for those who didn’t travel how much money was saved and the money that was saved can it be used somewhere else?

And then my last question, “Is there anyone on this board who has not received their minimum hours of training?” C. Dancy II – DCN Publisher

The Edgecombe County Board of Education will vote Monday on the school district’s proposed 2012-13 budget, which would close an alternative school that serves 28 students in sixth through 12th grades. (More)

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Edgecombe County Public Schools

Boys & Girls Club trims budget – The Rocky Mount Telegram

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties is taking steps to trim its annual budget by more than 25 percent to compensate for declining grant revenues and contributions in the down economy, board members said.

To maintain a sustainable annual budget, the nonprofit group needs to trim about $300,000 off its $1.1 million annual budget, said Doug Starr, a club board member who also serves as chairman of the organization’s finance committee. (More)

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Video/Pictures: Boys & Girls Club Youth Of The Year Banquet Gateway Convention Center Rocky Mount NC Thursday February 16, 2012 12 Noon 

Boys & Girls Club

Educators, leaders predict budget would send North Carolina backwards

Gov. Bev Perdue has been on a listening tour, to hear first-hand how the Republican budget proposal will harm North Carolina’s future. Gov. Perdue is considering whether to veto the proposal, which includes devastating cuts to education, social services, public safety and public health. “With the budget that’s on my desk today, I wonder what’s going to happen to North Carolina,” Gov. Perdue said to a group of business leaders in Raleigh, reminding them that our state is unlike other Southern states because of a legacy of investments in public education. “This is a battle for the heart and soul of North Carolina.” To hear more about the budget cuts, click here. So as she considers whether to veto the budget, Gov. Perdue has been asking education and community leaders what the cuts would do to North Carolina. In Greenville, Pitt County Superintendent Dr. Beverly Reep said that regardless of Republican claims that the budget will protect classroom positions, the budget would harm children. "There’s no way that we can make those kinds of reductions without having an impact in our classroom," Reep said. In Greensboro, Patrice Faison, principal of Oak Hill Elementary, said her school had made great improvement in student achievement, despite high levels of poverty. Those gains were made possible because of the work of the school’s teachers and teacher assistants. The cuts anticipated in Guilford would mean losing many of those important educators. Academic gains would be impossible after those cuts. “I couldn’t imagine how we would do it, I can’t image how we would start,” Faison said. Philip Rogers, chief of staff in the chancellor’s office at East Carolina University, said the campus has endured more than $100 million in budget cuts already. "We have cut just about everything we can when it comes to administrative efficiencies," Rogers said. "With continuing cuts, it’s going to be a challenge to maintain the quality of education." Don Martin, the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools noted the budget will lead to teacher layoffs. He said the proposal ignores long-term consequences. “It’s exactly the problem we have with our children,” he said, noting the great lengths his school system takes to convince high school students not to drop out. Gov. Perdue echoed the sentiment: “It’s like somebody just decided they were going to clear-cut all of North Carolina’s Longleaf Pines for a quick little profit,” she said. “They might get the cash they’re looking for short-term without thinking about the long-term damage, the generational damage that’s going to happen to our people.” If this is your first time receiving this newsletter, welcome. We hope you find our weekly message interesting and informative. Please forward this message to your friends and family. Subscribe: If anyone would like to subscribe to this email list click here. We routinely add e-mail addresses from people we meet or who contact Gov. Perdue’s office. If you do not wish to receive this message, follow the directions below, and we will remove your name permanently from our list. Unsubscribe: Send an email to gov.unsubscribe@nc.gov. Please include any email addresses you would like to be taken off of this mailing list in the body of the email. Office of the Governor – 20301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 Phone: (919)733-4240

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Videos – Edgecombe County Public Schools Board Meeting See Budget Discussion, Public Comments and The Business Meeting

Edgecombe County Public Schools Budget Meeting Monday, May 9, 2011 (24 Mins.) See pictures

Edgecombe County Public Schools Board Meeting Public Comments Monday, May 9, 2011 (20 Mins)

Edgecombe County Public Schools Board Meeting Monday, May 9, 2011 (1:48 Mins.)

See related:

Edgecombe County Public Schools

More school layoffs coming – Source: The Daily Southerner

TARBORO — I love sitting down with The Daily Southerner because it does give news from the local area and this is what interests me. Tuesday I read Mr. Dancy’s defense of Superintendent Talley after another editorial ripped him and I still see that the real point is being missed. Fact is people can get petitions, write letters or even file lawsuits but it will do no good. (Read more)

See related:

School Board should table study plan

On ECPS cuts:’ It is sad… but truth is it is necessary’

"Give Dr. Talley a chance"

In support of Dr. Talley

Bryant Focused on Positions Not Persons

Dr. Wayne Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools

Thank You Daily Southerner For Publishing My Most Recent Editorial “Talley is doing his job”

Thank you Terry Smith for printing my letter to the editor “Talley is doing his job” in response to SIGN THE PETITION AND MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

See related:

School Board should table study plan

On ECPS cuts:’ It is sad… but truth is it is necessary’

"Give Dr. Talley a chance"

In support of Dr. Talley

Bryant Focused on Positions Not Persons

Dr. Wayne Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools

Moore County parents hope to stop school closure

MOORE COUNTY, N.C. — Big budget woes are affecting a small Moore County elementary school, creating the possibility that the top performing facility could be shut down forever.

With $8 million that needs to be cut, the closure of Academy Heights Elementary is just one of dozens of proposals the school superintendant is making to balance the budget. (Read more)

 

Video 18 Minutes – Edgecombe County Public Schools – Dr. Lana VanderLinden, Diane LeFiles and Dr. Vonda Thweatt Jobs Eliminated Effective June 30, 2011

See what board member Ann Kent and Attorney Teresa D. Bryant had to say last night in regards to their votes to eliminate 3 positions in the Central Office.

Ann Kent wanted a role call.

The positions that were eliminated are:

Dr. VanderLinden – Associate Superintendent of Operations and Management
Lefiles – Director of Community Relations
Dr. Thweatt – Director of Student Support Services

Video - Edgecombe County Boad of Education Passes Dr. Talley’s Restructuring Proposal 5-2 Monday March 21, 2011

See related:

Video - Dr. Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Public Comments Monday March 14, 2011

Video - Dr. Wayne Talley Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Presentation At The Monday March 14 Meeting. See How The Board Members Responded To Diane LeFiles and Dr. Lana VanderLinden Positions Being Eliminated

Dr. Wayne Talley

Edgecombe County Public Schools – Dr. Lana VanderLinden, Diane LeFiles and Dr. Vonda Thweatt Jobs Eliminated Effective June 30, 2011

See what board member Ann Kent and Attorney Teresa D. Bryant had to say last night in regards to their votes to eliminate 3 positions in the Central Office.

Ann Kent wanted a role call.

The positions that were eliminated are:

Dr. VanderLinden – Associate Superintendent of Operations and Management
Lefiles – Director of Community Relations
Dr. Thweatt – Director of Student Support Services

Video - Edgecombe County Boad of Education Passes Dr. Talley’s Restructuring Proposal 5-2 Monday March 21, 2011

See related:

Video - Dr. Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Public Comments Monday March 14, 2011

Video - Dr. Wayne Talley Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Presentation At The Monday March 14 Meeting. See How The Board Members Responded To Diane LeFiles and Dr. Lana VanderLinden Positions Being Eliminated

Dr. Wayne Talley

Dr. Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Public Comments Monday March 14, 2011

See who spoke out during the Public Comments against and for the proposal.

Video - Dr. Talley Superintendent Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Public Comments Monday March 14, 2011

See related:

Video – Dr. Wayne Talley Edgecombe County Public Schools Restructuring Proposal Presentation At The Monday March 14 Meeting. See How The Board Members Responded To Diane LeFiles and Dr. Lana VanderLinden Positions Being Eliminated

Dr. Wayne Talley

On ECPS cuts:’ It is sad… but truth is it is necessary’ – Source: The Daily Southerner

TARBORO — It is sad that the Edgecombe County Public School system will lose some good people with the reorganization proposed by Superintendant Talley but the truth is it is necessary. (Read more)

Note: I agree with Allen Key on this one. C. Dancy II – DCN Publisher

See related:

Dr. Wayne Talley

So Edgecombe County Ann Kent and Joe P. Tolson is Wake County Not Working On Their Budget Proposal

Hell Yeah I Said It, Now What? Edgecombe County Public Schools I Am Pissed Board Meeting Drama Tonight That Will Be Continued On March 21, 2011 – In this link Kent said Tolson said

Tata prioritizes teachers, classroom in Wake budget proposal

Raleigh, N.C. — Superintendent Tony Tata presented a "very creative" budget proposal to the Wake County Board of Education Tuesday, prioritizing teacher retention and classroom investment in the face of a projected $2 billion to $3 billion state budget shortfall next year. (Read more)

See related:

Wake County Public Schools

Hell Yeah I Said It, Now What? Edgecombe County Public Schools I Am Pissed Board Meeting Drama Tonight That Will Be Continued On March 21, 2011

First of all I know I found my calling back in 1993 when I officially became an advocate for all children black, brown, white and other in Edgecombe County Public Schools. The Student Body Association (SGA) lead by a White President called me to the school to help them resolve a staged walkout because a white male teacher had grabbed a black male around the neck in the hallway.

I know without a doubt that my purpose for being is to advocate for the children of Edgecombe County. I say that because my God is guiding my steps because he kept me away for one year. Tonight is the first meeting I have attended since the new board members were sworn in and the new superintendent was hired. I got to see everyone in action for the 1st time. I usually set up an appointment to meet with the new superintendent but I had not and met him for the first time on this past Saturday morning at the College Round Up.

I heard some folks talking before the meeting began tonight that they thought the superintendent had enough support to pass his restructuring plan but it would be close. Someone said they thought Dr. Evelyn Johnson was going to get stupid tonight and that it may be a 3-3 tie and it would be up to Evelyn Wilson board chair to break the tie.

Dr. Wayne Talley said the board has asked him to look at cuts in the central office every since he began his role as superintendent because the central office was top heavy. The cuts as presented are something that the past 3 superintendents tried to do so tonight’s presentation is not really new.

Well after the superintendent made his presentation to the board I knew Dr. Talley didn’t have the support.

First it was Attorney Teresa Bryant who had a problem with Dr. Talley’s presentation saying she wanted to know who was going to take Diane LeFiles role. Dr. Talley stressed that he was only presenting the roles but she wanted a name. She said since she didn’t have a name that she couldn’t vote on the proposal until she had a name. Well she knew names couldn’t be called during the open session and it was on the agenda to handle that in closed session. She said she needed more time. Dr. Talley asked her did she read her material because the names were there.

Attorney Bryant has moved her child back to a private school and announced her official retirement in June. She was appointed to the board when Dr. Florence A. Armstrong resigned her post. Bryant was elected thereafter.

Faye Taylor new board member and in my opinion a racist because of some things she has done over the years. She had some concerns about the money figures on the 5 yr. and 10 year plan from the state but Dr. Talley addressed them again because he had did so in his presentation. She said she thought it was about state cuts but Dr. Talley said it was not only about state cuts but dealing with the local monies also. She said she needed more time.

Dr. Evelyn Johnson had this eloquent speech and how she agreed with Bryant and Taylor not to rush to make a decision. As usual she did the spill that is about the children. She said in Edgecombe County the adults have always stood in the way and that we need to let this be about the children. She thanked everyone for coming but challenged them to help a child out to help with the literacy rate.

I have heard Dr. Johnson talk about what she felt like was waste at the central office but tonight she must had a memory lapse. But there just may be a reason for that but whatever the case it is not acceptable for me. Just maybe the people should have voted to keep former board member Charlie Cobb in I don’t know. I do believe he would have supported the presentation during the open session atleast.

Ann Kent began by standing up looking for her husband saying she promised him she was going to act like a lady but since he was not present she was going to say what she wanted to.

Kent questioned Dr. Talley’s motives but most of all she said she had talked to Rep. Joe Pat Tolson and he said the board was acting immature because the state had not made a decision yet. Well damn Kent obviously didn’t hear the same presentation that I heard because Dr. Talley said the state said there would be a 5% or a 10% cut so duh. Damn so what in the hell is Tolson talking about? Oh Kent went on and on. But she had to to this because she was representing the folks who attended the meeting tonight from a local church. I have a copy of an email that was sent to others and Ann Kent from former board member Kathy Winslow who sent out emails seeking support to join her in asking the board to delay the vote tonight. So again Kent is actively engaged in representing her friends of the board in times like these because I have been told about other emails and meetings that she has been a part of.

William Keith Pittman talked about being fair and he said when he was a coach he told his players that he would put the players in that he thought was the best players but they may not been the right players. He used North Carolina Tar heels coach Roy Williams as an example. He said Williams was playing another guard until he announced he would be leaving the team and Williams put in another guard. Pittman said if Williams had not put in the new guard the team would not be where they are today.

Pittman said he would do what he feels is right for the children. He said years ago a former superintendent came to him and told him he was making too much money and he had to go. He said he understood where he was coming from and he didn’t question him. He said the superintendent didn’t ask him what he thought, he told him what he was going to do. Pittman said Jay Randall came to him and said some people in the community was upset and Pittman said he will deal with them. Pittman said he told them not to go to the board because he understood. He said he was upset but the person that took his job did and great job and still doing a great job today. He said he recommended his replacement.

Pittman asked the people of Tarboro to give the new superintendent a chance. Meet with him and then come back and he would stand with them.

Bryant said the board had to cut some jobs within the last 2 years and nobody came to support those folks and she has a serious concern about that.

Bryant said if the board is here to act on people and trying to save their jobs then just say it and we can move forward but if it is about addressing positions then we need to have further discussions. I say you damn skippy it is about saving Diane LeFiles and Dr. Lana VanderLinden’s job because that is what the people came to speak on and it was spelled out in Kathy Winslow’s letter that went out over the weekend.

Bryant then echoed Pittman’s comments. She said give the man a chance and he will rise or fall on his own. Well damn again I am missing something because why she couldn’t take that route with voting on Dr. Talley’s presentation and then dealing with her concerns in closed session whereby she could call names. So evidently she couldn’t afford him that opportunity from open session to closed session.

Attorney Janice Davidson said she echoed what Attorney Bryant said and they she would rather go into closed session to find out more before voting.

Evelyn Wilson board chair said she thanked everyone for coming however they could trust that whatever is done tonight or anytime it would be decent and in order. She said the board will do whatever is right for the children and she would see to that. She said she challenged all those present to show up at the meetings and let the board know they have helped a student out in the county. She stressed the importance of doing what is right for the children.

The board went into closed session around 10:00 PM and they came out around 11:30 PM. The board voted to table the vote until Monday, March 21, 2011 6:30 PM. The meeting ended about 11:45 PM.

Well I am pissed because all of these folks who spoke out tonight and the board members were talking about it was about the children. Oh hell no. What I seen tonight is a prime example of a group of grown folks telling the children it is okay to disrespect those in authority such as Dr. Talley. You see all of these folks complained the superintendent didn’t come to them (community) with his proposal first. Well again I ask way they do that at? I repeat during restructuring employees are given options be laid off, resign, retire or be fired.

Note: I hope to get the video up of the meeting in the next couple of days.

Been a long day and night. I will read this again today and make necessary corrections.

See related:

School board looks at cutting central staff – Rocky Mount Telegram

Dr. Wayne Talley

Golden LEAF’s funds coveted – Source: News & Observer

ROCKY MOUNT — Tucked away unobtrusively in a modern one-story stone, brick and glass building in this traditional tobacco town is one of the oddest governmental animals in the country – a cash cow in a time of austerity.

The building is the home of the Golden LEAF, a foundation controlled by political appointees that is sitting on $600 million. (Read more)

See related:

Golden Leaf Foundation