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If you go around Cherokee County and want to start a heated discussion, just bring up schools. Let’s be honest about it – almost everyone has their own agenda when it comes to that subject.
County commissioners are withholding funds until board of education members agrees to a joint meeting, with public comment, about the proposed reorganization of elementary and middle schools. I thought Washington was the only place we have gridlock, but it seems to have found its way here. Ya’ll need to work this out and have the meeting.
When it comes to schools, it seems almost everyone wants to keep community schools. The problem with that is it’s very expensive to maintain smaller schools, both in facilities and staff, because of the way North Carolina funds teachers.
Class size limits differ per grade level, and North Carolina funds a teacher for the number of students in that grade level. However, the state does not consider the number of schools you have.
For example, if Cherokee County has 100 first-graders, the state will fund five teachers. Let’s say 60 of those students are at Murphy Elementary School, the largest in the county, so the state would fund three teachers for them at 20 students per class.
However, but you also have first-graders at schools in Andrews, Hiwassee Dam, Martins Creek, Peachtree and Ranger, which means you need five more first-grade teachers. The state only funds two more teachers, so the county has to pick up the tab for the other teachers at the state’s pay scale.
These numbers are arbitrary, and only for example. But as a result of this issue, last year Cherokee County taxpayers funded more than $1 million in teachers’ salaries to keep the community schools footprint going.
The other problem the county faces is repairs and upkeep for the facilities, which are old and need maintenance that usually turns out to be expensive. The elephant in the room that nobody wants to address is Cherokee County taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill – again – to keep these smaller schools going.
Something happened at the last county commissioners’ meeting that struck me as interesting. The Hot House Volunteer Fire Department came before the board to ask for a tax increase to update their fire department, which got me to thinking. If we want to keep the community school format, we should address the tax burden.
The first thing you hear about with smaller schools is smaller class sizes, which is great for those schools. It’s almost like having the advantage of a private school setting without the bill.
However, what about larger schools that don’t have that advantage? Is it fair to burden taxpayers in that school district with the extra cost of maintaining smaller schools? How we decide to move forward to make a big difference.
Here’s an idea. When high consolidation was approved two years ago before that decision was overturned, a lot of people wanted to vote on it. While state law doesn’t allow for a vote on consolidation, the county could have voted on how the schools are funded.
With that in mind, let’s get some real solid numbers on the extra teaching positions the county must fund. Let’s take the budget, divide it equally by student population and come up with an estimate of the extra amount that will be needed to keep those schools open. Then let’s present these numbers to the taxpayers of each district, with an estimate of how much of a tax increase they will receive in order to keep their community school open, and the let each district vote on whether they want to vote themselves the tax increase to keep their community school open.
Although the Hot House fire department didn’t hold an election, residents did come to a consensus that a tax increase was worth what they were getting in return. Let’s give the voters in each school district the same opportunity.
I know I am going to get lambasted for bringing up money when it comes to our children’s education, but one fact remains. Nothing is free in this life – and if you want something, somebody must pay for it.
J.R. Carroll is a staff correspondent for the Cherokee Scout. Email him with comments at jcarroll8760@gmail.com.