At the School Board meetings in Craven County, there is an opportunity for public comment. Some people do a lot of research before speaking before the School Board. Below is one example of a public comment that needs to be shared. I have omitted the name of the person making the comment out of respect for their privacy.<\/p>\n
Here is the comment:<\/p>\n
I am concerned that there are many, many discussions on classroom sizes and as a tax payer <\/span>the county is paying for 25 public school buildings, when there are only enough students to fill<\/span> 20.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In 2019 there was a study purchased by the Craven County School<\/span> system to look at all the<\/span> schools and recommend closing some of them. The study was done by professional contractors<\/span> that looked at the physical conditions of the school.<\/span> The study has been put on hold<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> There has been no discussion about upgrading this<\/span> study. Some have said this study is still<\/span> accurate<\/span> which<\/span> cannot<\/span> be true based on budget actions<\/span> to improve the physical conditions<\/span>.<\/span> Since closing of even one school will affect the entire district, I am recommending closing at<\/span> least 3 schools to put the county tax money to better use for the school system.<\/span> Since the<\/span> cl<\/span>osing of even one school will affect the entire county, I am further recommending all three be<\/span> done at the same time and a complete redistricting plan be put in place based on these items:<\/span>\u00a0 current physical state of the schools, additional changes to schoo<\/span>ls needed,<\/span> and future<\/span> anticipated<\/span> population.<\/span> Updating this study is a fast, cost<\/span>–<\/span>effective manner<\/span> towards<\/span> obtaining<\/span> this end goal.<\/span> It is understood that there may be more than 3 schools closed with the building<\/span> of one or two new schools so all school<\/span>s are in an acceptable physical state<\/span> \u2013<\/span> but the net<\/span> I am hoping to see in the budget submission this study upgrade occurring over the next year, so<\/span> that<\/span> actual closure<\/span> can be considered for the 2024<\/span>–<\/span>2025 school year or the 2025<\/span>–<\/span>2026 school<\/span> year depending how much redistricting is needed and time to work with the county planners is<\/span> needed.<\/span> Without this study, there is no firm basis of fact to have the hard discussion of school<\/span> closure and the redistricting that will result out o<\/span>f this action.<\/span> There will be no basis of fact to<\/span> discuss the physical states of the school, except by opinion, no basis of fact to discuss the <\/span>population centers, except by opinion, and same for security<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At the School Board meetings in Craven County, there is an opportunity for public comment. Some people do a lot of research before speaking before the School Board. Below is one example of a public comment that needs to be … Continue reading
For example, some schools have<\/span> replaced HVAC systems, put fences in, and other upgrades so it<\/span> is imperative this<\/span> study b<\/span>e updated<\/span>.<\/span> We heard on Tuesday many upgrades to several buildings<\/span> using ESSER funding is occurring,<\/span> further<\/span> showing the study needs to be updated to reflect the<\/span>
current<\/span> physical<\/span> state of the schools.<\/span> Additionally, t<\/span>here are new security concerns, both<\/span> p<\/span>rocess and physical<\/span>, not just physical<\/span>, that need to be considered as part of an upgraded<\/span> study. Finally, this study needs to incorporate the county population changes with new<\/span> communities appearing such as those in Carolina Colors.<\/span> People are moving an<\/span>d where the<\/span> students are and the current schools are is shifting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
closure will be at least 3.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n