Larry Moore followed up with some statistics regarding Cleveland County Schools.
65% of students going to Community Colleges need remediation. There is a difference between what Politicians say and what actually happens. Cleveland County students are NOT getting a quality Education. Barbara Romich added, “This must be addressed.” Valerie McCoy added that a quality Education included a child being able to read and write in cursive and be ready for a vocation. “Our children can’t sign their name,” she said.
Moderator Turpish added that CCS has no plans for teaching vocations. Barbara Romich (Representative) said that CCS should send students to Cleveland Community College for vocations-in dual enrollment programs. Teaching vocations in high schools is too expensive for each high school to have vocation equipment. This did not go over well with the audience. Myself included. A lady in the audience who I did not know presented a statistic that about 15% of high school students go to college. 6% to four year colleges and 9% go to community colleges. That leaves 85% that do not go to college. It appears that high schools better teach vocations or 85% of our high school graduating classes will go unemployed. (School Board Member Danny Blanton often makes that same point.)
Coleman Hunt stated he did not have the answer on how to fix these statistics, “but it is a concern.”
Dena Green said the “Central Services dollars that were supposed to be saved from the merger should have gone to teachers.” That she liked input from the public and “Waste should be weeded out.”
Inequities between High Schools:
Dena Green said she had personal knowledge of inequities. It was her “pet peeve” to make equal.
Coleman Hunt incredibly said that merger left inequities, but enough was being done and there was no need to address this.
Barbara Romich said that CCS should have used merger savings to enhance a quality education for students.
Student Funding Issues:
Betsy Harnage stated that Charter School funding was only 73% of the funding for traditional public schools (with much better results by the way) and asked the candidates what they thought about this?
Dena Green said “100% of funding should follow the student.
Coleman Hunt dodged the question.
There was some interruption and I did not hear Barbara Romich’s representative answer that question.
Vouchers:
Dena Green supports vouchers. “It should be the Parents choice where their child goes to school.”
Coleman Hunt was against vouchers but stated if the state went along he would not fight it.
Barbara Romich stated that she was against vouchers because vouchers were “a slippery slope” and the money needed to be kept within Cleveland County and for public schools only.
