The board of commissioners also endured the equivalent of a trip to the principal’s office from numerous backers of the Alamance Burlington’s school system.
Robert Alvis, a social studies teacher who currently presides over the local teachers’ union, was one of the many speakers at Monday’s hearing who bent the board’s collective ear about the implications of the county manager’s proposed outlay for the school system’s operations.
“When I compare our tax rate with every surrounding county, it’s lower. . . We can afford higher taxes and the catastrophizing about what would happen if we raised rates is really little more than rhetoric unfounded in facts.”
– Robert Alvis
“I see the superintendent’s proposal as an ask for what our kids need, not just a fanciful wish list…I understand that many of you are reluctant to raise property taxes to support our local school system. . . When I compare our tax rate with every surrounding county, it’s lower. . . We can afford higher taxes and the catastrophizing about what would happen if we raised rates is really little more than rhetoric unfounded in facts.”
The commissioners learned more about the school system’s operational allowance from Windy Lampson, a high school art instructor who has been named the school system’s latest teacher of the year.
“I’ve heard some people say we shouldn’t throw money at public education. But let me ask, what do you expect to improve without investment. When we invest money in public safety, we call it protecting the community. Why don’t we say we’re protecting our children’s future.”
– Windy Lampson
“You control funding for local supplements, for the support positions that keep schools running, for transportation, facilities and student safety,” Lamp-son reminded the county’s governing board. “These are the things that determine whether our schools are stable or in survival mode. . . I’ve heard some people say we shouldn’t throw money at public education. But let me ask, what do you expect to improve without investment. When we invest money in public safety, we call it protecting the community. Why don’t we say we’re protecting our children’s future.”
Denise Nepveux, an occupational therapist in Mebane, spoke up specifically on behalf of students with disabilities.
“As we underfund our public schools, kids with disabilities and their families feel it the most because even if their support needs aren’t met, they have to stay. We need to fully fund our schools and raise property taxes in order to do it.”
– Denise Nepveux
“As we underfund our public schools, kids with disabilities and their families feel it the most because even if their support needs aren’t met, they have to stay,” she told the commissioners. “We need to fully fund our schools and raise property taxes in order to do it.”
[Story continues below special subscription offer.]
NO ONE ELSE PROVIDES THE DEPTH OF LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE YOU GET IN THE ALAMANCE NEWS – in print each week and online every day. MORE ALAMANCE COUNTY EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, AND BUSINESS NEWS. Subscribe now for unlimited online access to the latest, most comprehensive local news coverage.
Meanwhile, the needs of area teachers were brought to the fore by Katie Graves, a teaching fellow at UNC Chapel Hill and recent graduate of Southern High School:
“Without adequate funding and resources from this board, we will continue to lose strong educators in the classroom,” Graves said. “ABSS teachers deserve to work in a county that invests in and values them with competitive pay and resources.”
The county’s leaders were later called out by Sandy Ellington-Graves, the chairman of the Alamance-Burlington school board, over their apparent hesitance to share the county’s good fortune with area schools.
“Our county fund balance is almost $96 million, and our economic development is thriving,” Ellington-Graves told the commissioners. “Our county is strong and our public schools should reflect that same strength. Yet we rank 89th in local spending per pupil expenditure.”
The current members of the county’s governing board didn’t fare any better with school board member Dan Ingle, whose long, storied career in public service has included a stint on the board of commissioners.
“You do what you have to do under the circumstances,” Ingle said as he reflected on his tenure as both a rank-and-file commissioner and the board’s one-time chairman. “Sometimes we have to do something that nobody wants to do, and which I did, and that’s to raise property taxes.”
Tom Stern, a former public school lawyer who now lives in Snow Camp, expressed his dismay that the commissioners aren’t more eager to share the county’s financial resources with the school system.
“I have never witnessed an economically growing county reduce the funding for its school system. ABSS invests like any good business to hire train and maintain good employees. . . We expect to pay our fair share of property taxes and when the cost of public services goes up, we expect our property taxes to go up.”
– Tom Stern
“I have never witnessed an economically growing county reduce the funding for its school system,” he declared. “ABSS invests like any good business to hire, train, and maintain good employees…We expect to pay our fair share of property taxes and when the cost of public services goes up, we expect our property taxes to go up.”
The commissioners also got the business end of the microphone from Reagan Gural with the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Alamance County is the 13th fastest growing county in North Carolina, yet our revenue isn’t providing the level of funding we require,” she said. “A low tax rate may sound appealing but if it prevents us from making essential investments, are we truly serving the best interests of our citizens and our businesses…In particular, public education needs our attention. Alamance County currently ranks 89th in per pupil expenditures. That is not just a statistic. That is a reflection of our policies… and it places us at a competitive disadvantage and will have an impact on our ability to recruit skilled high-paying jobs.”
