Commissioners live up to campaign promise on schools

By Jan Nichols
Posted Tuesday, July 10, 2007

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"The new board majority promised they would work closely with the school board in finding ways to cooperatively plan and fund top quality school facilities and programs, " stated Jeffrey Starkweather, Chair of Chatham Coalition. "They have done exactly that. Working closely with school board members who made similar promises they also allocated $6 million for other facilities improvements, including much needed upgrades of Northwood High School and a substantial increase in teacher supplements."

The new county board majority has had to find innovative ways to tackle mushrooming costs for a growing backlog of much needed school and other capital investments and a fiscal shortfall caused by the previous board's irresponsible residential growth push. Facing that challenge responsibly, the new board increased property taxes by two cents to meet those capital needs: one cent for a new judicial facility and a second cent for a new Siler City school and teacher supplements.

"The Chatham Coalition has consistently called for full funding of top quality, energy efficient schools in Northeast Chatham where the county is growing rapidly, " stated Coalition leader Jan Nichols. "Again, we see why election results matter."

An energetic group of Northeast citizens were responsible for keeping the Northeast school at the top of the new boards' agendas. It was their push for keeping the size of high schools near the ideal 800-student range that became the key turning point, enabling a cost reduction for the new high school from $45 million to $38 million. Originally planned for 1,000 students in a 1,200 student core facility, the school board found when they reduced the size of the student body to 800 that saved them more than $4 million. Research shows that 800-student high schools provide better educational outcomes than larger schools, especially for lower income families with alarming drop-out rates.

Coalition supporters were concerned about the suitability of the Jack Bennett site, in part due to the unsafe curvy two-lane road. Site studies found the site suitable and no alternative site was found. The Chatham Coalition has worked closely with community leaders and parents in Northeast Chatham to get a commitment from all involved to pressure the state Department of Transportation to make substantial safety improvements on Jack Bennett prior to opening of the new high school.

"Obtaining quality schools is critical to this county's economic vitality," stated Bruce Ladd, who along with Flint O'Brien and Brian Lockwood, led the Northeast citizen advocacy effort. "We want to thank the leadership of the Chatham Coalition for their instrumental role in getting our new county board elected, but also working with citizens in this community to see the elected officials lived up to their campaign promises."

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Jan Nichols is a member of the Chatham Coalition