Seven of the eight candidates for the Alamance-Burlington school board responded to the newspaper’s biennial issues questionnaire this week, revealing a number of points of general agreement, as well as some considerable divergences.
For example, the responding candidates split evenly on whether the annual level of county funding – currently representing about 30 percent of the total budget for Alamance County – is sufficient; they also split evenly on whether they’d advocate for raising the property tax rate in order to provide more funding for ABSS.
The split was similar among the seven respondents on the need for a future school bond referendum. Four said they anticipate a new school bond referendum will be needed within the next four years to fund school repairs (and possibly new construction) not addressed by the $150 million bond referendum that voters approved for ABSS in November 2018. Three candidates say they don’t see an imminent need for a school bond referendum.
Eight candidates had filed for four seats on the school board that will be up for grabs in the November 5 general election. Seven responded to the issues questionnaire and request for biographical information from The Alamance News.
The responding school board candidates include: incumbent Sandy Ellington-Graves, a real estate agent with Allen Tate Real Estate in Burlington who was elected to the school board in 2020 and has served as its chairman since 2021; incumbent Seneca Rogers, a reimbursement analyst for LabCorp of America who was appointed in November 2023 to serve the remaining portion of the term of former school board member Patsy Simpson; and Donna Westbrooks, a retired ABSS teacher and administrator who was also elected in 2020 and currently serves as the school board’s vice chairman.
First-time candidates include: Tameka Harvey, a parent of two ABSS high school students who did not list her occupation; Peter Morcombe, a retired engineer/manager for the Free Electron Laser Laboratory in the physics department at Duke University who holds 11 patents, in addition to being a retired director of business operations for ITT in Asia and Latin America who subsequently founded six public charter schools in Alamance, Durham, and Orange counties; and Corrie Shepherd, an accountant currently employed as an operations manager for the North Carolina Values Coalition.
Avery Wagoner, who previously ran for the board in 2022 and is a vice president of sales for Campbell Oil Company, rounds out the seven responding candidates.
School board candidate Tara Raggett did not respond to the newspaper’s questionnaire or request for biographical information [see separate story this edition].
Among the seven respondents, there are a number of areas of agreement. Notably, six of the seven cite “bolstering student skills in traditional areas such as reading and writing ability” as the top goal for the school system; Morcombe cited that as his second priority, after improving student performance on standardized tests.
How to improve academic performance
Most, but not all, of the responding candidates acknowledge that academic performance has declined as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic but believe that efforts at improving proficiency in core subjects such as reading and math show promise.
For example, ABSS had one school that received a school performance grade of A last year; 19 out of 37 schools that received an A to F letter grade received a C or better; and 17 received a grade of D or F, based on school letter grades issued by the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and annual year-end and end-of-course testing results released last month.
Sixteen ABSS schools were identified by DPI as continually low-performing in 2023-24 (based on two out of three years of academic performance data), though that represented a reduction from the 17 schools labeled as continually low-performing during the previous school year, and two ABSS schools were removed from the state’s list of low-performing schools.
Ellington-Graves said: “ABSS reflected growth [in 2023-24] and focusing on these areas will result in continued improvement to meet or exceed state proficiency levels. Last year, ABSS implemented a new math curriculum, added tutors in elementary schools, consistently reviewed student data, and support grade level collaboration to improve outcomes. As a result, ABSS had 26 schools meet or exceed growth while two schools were removed from low-performing status.”
Westbrooks says she believes that improving academic outcomes for ABSS students begins with “transforming school culture through positive behavioral interventions and support while implementing effective academic strategies that will have a positive influence on teaching and learning.” She believes that ABSS is focused on the right priorities, “such as creating a safe and orderly environment, establishing meaningful relationships, providing rigorous curriculum, setting high expectations, and implementing appropriate assessments to measure learning.”
Says Rogers: “Following the pandemic, we must reinforce the fundamentals by providing teachers resources they need to improve academic performance” such a programs like Achieve 3000, an online math and reading program, and more tutors. Rogers says he thinks more support is needed to address the emotional and mental health of students.
On the other hand, candidates Harvey, Morcombe, and Shepherd believe that the current approach to improving academic performance needs to be reassessed.
“Inconsistent school attendance must be addressed in order to improve scores,” says Harvey. “Strong community relations between ABSS and the community must also be established” and students should be encouraged at home to explore educational offerings, interests, and to “develop aspirations.”
Harvey adds, “Continually low-performing scores suggest a change of course is needed. Priorities must be reevaluated, and efforts must be reassessed.”
Morcombe says that ABSS could look to charter schools as a possible model for how to improve academic performance and discipline. He insists that ABSS schools would improve if they were “run like charter schools with most decisions being made at site level,” which he says “empowers staff and parents to be more creative.”
Shepherd says, “I believe that students are scoring lower because of a poor curriculum and are struggling to connect dots due to a lack of critical thinking skills.”
In part, Shepherd believes that the board and administration are “hyper focused on money as being the only way things can improve.”
Wagoner says there have been improvements in ABSS academic performance but still has “a long way to go,” and the board should continue to support teachers and “provide programming and resources in underperforming areas.
“With new leadership now in place,” Wagoner adds, “I believe we are heading in the right direction.”
Funding
The responding candidates were divided in their opinions about whether county funding for ABSS – which currently represents about 30 percent of the total annual county budget – is adequate.
Harvey, Rogers, and Westbrooks said that county funding for ABSS is not adequate; Morcombe, Shepherd, and Wagoner said they think it is.
“Last year, ABSS spent $310,00 million to educate 21,932 students,” Morcombe said, estimating that ABSS received $14,136 in per-pupil funding in 2023-24.
Ellington-Graves responded yes and no when asked whether the current level of county funding for ABSS is adequate. “The county provides operational funding that aligns closely with what is requested from ABSS,” she elaborated. “Unfortunately, this does not typically align with current needs…Local dollars fund additional positions for teaching, leadership and safety in our schools. These needs change year after year and are unlikely to be static.
“Most of our expenses are not driven by actual student count such as the rising costs in maintenance, repairs, and utility costs,” Ellington-Graves added.
Three candidates – Ellington-Graves, Morcombe, and Wagoner – said they that would not advocate to raise the county’s property tax rate in order to provide additional funding for ABSS; three (Harvey, Rogers, and Westbrooks) said they would.
Shepherd, who said she felt county funding for ABSS is adequate, didn’t respond to that question, as the questionnaire only asked for elaboration if current county funding levels were deemed inadequate.
“I don’t believe that it should continue to increase,” Shepherd explains. “Inflation has had an impact on everyone including ABSS.”
Candidates agreed for the most part that funding for ABSS should remain around 30 percent of the total county budget, though Harvey said it should be increased to 50 percent of the county budget.
Westbrooks says: “I can’t put a percentage on it because as previously stated, there will never be enough. It’s not the county’s fault, it’s just reality.”
School board pay
All but one candidate agreed that the current $300 monthly stipend for school board members is adequate for board service.
Harvey said that $300 per month that members receive for serving on the school board is not adequate and should be increased to “a livable wage.”
Ellington-Graves pointed out that she has declined to take the monthly stipend since she joined the board in December 2020.
School facilities
Four respondents – incumbents Ellington-Graves, Rogers, Westbrooks, and first-time candidate Harvey – say they anticipate the need for another bond referendum to fund renovations and construction.
However, Morcombe, Shepherd, and Wagoner said they don’t think a future bond referendum is needed.
“At some point,” says Harvey, “we need to address that a new elementary and middle school is needed.”
Ellington-Graves elaborates: “At present, six elementary schools, three middle schools, and four high schools are nearing capacity. An assessment of current school capacity, attendance zones, and projected growth is warranted. Following last year’s mold crisis, time is of the essence with funding last year’s $26M mold crisis.”
By comparison, Wagoner says, “As long as we are caught up on all maintenance projects,we should be fine over the next 4 years.”
Charter schools and Opportunity Scholarships
Ellington-Graves, Morcombe, and Shepherd say they support the concept of allowing more charter schools to open in Alamance County. Harvey, Rogers, Wagoner, and Westbrooks say they do not.
“I believe we need to fully meet the needs of our public school system before expanding with additional charter schools,” Rogers explains.
Wagoner opines: “We need to use what our taxpayers have mostly already paid for. It is the objective of this board to support our public schools.”
Ellington-Graves, Harvey, Rogers, Wagoner, and Westbrooks all say they oppose state-funded “Opportunity Scholarships” that the General Assembly established in 2013 to offset private school tuition expenses for participating families, subsequently raising maximum income limits in 2023.
Candidates Morcombe and Shepherd say they support the concept of Opportunity Scholarships.
“Not only do I support opportunity scholarships,” Shepherd writes, “I worked very hard to help get them passed.”
Social and political policies
The newspaper also asked candidates their views on various “socially-conscious” curriculums being circulated among school systems nationally and proposed for some North Carolina school systems and whether they would support or oppose the use of these kinds of materials and activities, if proposed for ABSS. These include “The 1619 Project,” as well as the “Black Lives Matter Year of Purpose” and what some observers have termed Critical Race Theory.
Most candidates, particularly incumbents, say they are bound to uphold policies and curriculum adopted by the State Board of Education.
“It is important for ABSS educators to teach the K-12 curriculum approved by our state leaders,” Ellington-Graves writes.
However, first-time school board candidate Shepherd says, “I strongly oppose this type of curriculum because it is using the public schools to influence political ideology; that has no place in the classroom.”
While the UNC Board of Governors recently voted to eliminate offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on the 16 UNC campuses, some school board candidates do think DEI could be appropriate within local school system.
For her part, Westbrooks says, “I believe they can be effective if planned and implemented carefully. I would want all children to feel valued because they should be. I would definitely want to learn more about it first.”
Ellington-Graves says: “While a diverse workforce is valuable when serving a diverse student body, ABSS hiring practices and retention efforts should always reflect general inclusion and engagement seeking the most talented educators regardless of race, gender, or bias. This focus encourages equal opportunity and non-discrimination across the district in all aspects.”
Harvey was the only candidate who didn’t respond to the question.
Responding candidates landed on a number of topics when asked what decisions by the current school board majority they’d disagreed with most in recent years.
Ellington-Graves pointed to reopening schools, masking, and quarantine requirements as the most contentious issues during her first term on the board.
Harvey said she’d disagreed with the high school redistricting plan adopted in October 2022, “due to its perceived lack of consideration for the impact on students and parents.”
Wagoner pointed to how the discovery of mold was handled in the summer and fall of 2023. “The visuals and public perceptions were not good,” he explains. “We need to continuously work on how we are viewed within the community and ensuring we are being good stewards of the funds provided to us. We also need to remain as transparent as possible. Any meeting behind closed doors will always be scrutinized.”
Shepherd, for her part, cited the school board’s August 2024 adoption of the “radical Title IX policy that did not need to be passed”; implementing a “telehealth” program at Hillcrest Elementary School “that has nothing to do with education”; and trusting everything that the former superintendent, Dr. Dain Butler, “told them to do, including giving him a raise.”
School board candidates’ answers to the issues questionnaires can be found HERE. For biographical information on the candidates, click here: https://alamancenews.com/biographical-information-on-abss-school-board-candidates/
Why did candidate Tara Raggett not respond to newspaper’s request for biographical information and response to school board questionnaire:https://alamancenews.com/where-istara-raggetts-information/
