Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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ELECTION Guide 2010 CUMBERLAND COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Commissioner - District 1 Jeannette Council (1) The county can continue to collaborate with municipalities and chambers of commerce to pro- mote the availability and attractive atmosphere of our county, and continue to fund our schools and com- munity college in order to provide a well-trained and well-educated workforce. (2) As in the past, the commissioners should request through county administration that all departments identify cuts for their current budgets. (3) The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners initiated the for- mulation of a funding agreement with the school system during my first term as a commissioner. As a board, we remain committed to the education of our children. Over the past several years, we have gradually moved to allocating more than 50 percent of property tax revenues to our schools. However this year, our state faces a more than $3 billion shortfall. County budgets will likely be significantly impacted. Therefore our board has delayed consideration of a new funding agreement until we have a better understanding of the county’s financial position. The decision to cut teaching positions is a duty of the Cumberland County Board of Education and not the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioners provide funding while the Board of Education determines how those funds will be spent. (4) The county’s economic development incentive policy ensures that the county only issues agreed upon tax grantbacks for new businesses after certain benchmarks have been met and taxes have been paid. This economic development policy provides adequate safeguards for county residents. Billy R. King (1) Capitalize on the growth at Fort Bragg by going after the defense industry and other higher pay- ing job sectors. We have a great opportunity that we can’t afford to waste so we need to heavily market our county to those industries. One of the commissioners top priorites is economic development and earlier this year we sought to reestablish the county’s foraml economic development policy with a points based system. The County joined forces with the City of Fayetteville to creat a joint program under the direction of the Fayetteville- Cumberland County Chmber of Commerce. (2) Positions that have been vacant for an extended period of time can be cut from teh budget. In most cases departments make adjustments over time and develop efficiencies. Capital expenditures can also be cut. We can delay replacement of vehicles and other equipment, as well as any remodeling or renovations to buildings other than the jail. (3) County government has a financial responsibility for education, but the Board of Education has the authority to determime how the money is spent. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners and the School Boad have a four-year funding agreement that expires June 30, 2011. The agreement splits property tax receipts roughly in half and this year it is estimated that the schools will receive $76.2 million The commissioners feel it is too soon to commit to a funding agreement when there are still so many unknowns with the state budget. We deferred consideration of any funding agreement with the school system until we have a clear picture of any financial mandates that could come to the county from the state legislature. This does not imply there will not be a funding agreement in its current form or a modified program beginning in 2011. (4) I think we have safe guards in place now. The county earlier this year joined with the city in implementing a joint economic development incentive policy, The county’s preferred method of provid- ing incentives is to grant back a percentage of property taxes actually paid by the business. As such, the county provides the grat back incentive only after the taxes are collected. In order for prokects to remain eligible , all property taccxes must be paid on time The property taxgrantback benefits will only be paid for completed operational projecgts meeting theh terms of the Economic Development Incentive Program All projects supported by the incentives program must serve a public purpose and meet numerous criteria. CUMBERLAND COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION The following questions were asked of the candidates for the Cumberland County Board of Education. (1) Do you think test scores are a good indicator of a teacher’s ability to teach? And should teachers teach to the test? (2) What is your ability to meet the commitment needed by school board members? And what do you see your role as member of the school board being? (3) The schools are going to continue to grow. States across the U.S. are cutting teaching positions. Would you ever see this as an option to meeting the county’s budget? (4) What is the biggest problem facing our schools? School Board At Large Michael C. Boose (1) No, test scores are a good indicator of a teacher following mandates from the legislature with no empirical data to show that a “passing” score on a standardized test means a student is a better student. No, teachers should not teach to the test. Cumberland county is fortunate to have good, caring, competent teachers who will cover the material necessary for a child to be successful, without needing a ‘checklist’ to make sure all the ‘test’ questions have been covered. (2) In the previous 14 years that I was on the school board I believe that I never missed a single regularly scheduled monthly board meeting. I am self- employed and have the flexibility to leave the office whenever it is necessary. My role as a board member is to set the policies for the school system to assure that all students have a caring, competent teacher in a safe learning environment. Further, I will be an advocate for the school system to assure adequate funding for all proper resources. I will be fair and respectful to all students, parents, employees and citizens and will decide issues that come before the board based on the ‘best interests” of the Cumberland County Schools. (3) I have more experience on the school board than any other candidate. I have 14 years experience as a board member and was selected four times as chairman by my fellow board members. My wife and I are both graduates of Cumberland County Schools. Our five children are/will be graduates of Cumberland 22 UCW OCTOBER 20-26, 2010 County Schools. I am a parent, a homeowner, a taxpayer and a business owner. have 14 years experience of ‘budget negotiations’ with the county commissioners. I have a record of proven leadership and suc- cess. I am the most qualified to help set policies for the best interests of 52,000 children and a budget of approximately $1.6 billion dollars over the next 4 years. (4) The biggest problem facing our schools is making sure that each student receives a quality education from a caring competent teacher. Not all children learn the same information, at the same pace, but, all children can learn. It is our job to educate all students so that they can succeed in our ever-chang- ing world and be productive citizens in the future. Kim Fisher (1) I think we get a fair indication of how effective a teacher is by test scores, but I don’t think you can entirely judge our teachers based on these scores. Individual assessment trends are a better indica- tion. We certainly don’t want teachers teaching to the test, which is why we have decreased the amount of time used for “benchmark tests” throughout the year. I believe we need to give our teachers the maximum amount of instructional time and these “benchmark tests” were consuming too much of their time. I think we felt the need to “practice the test” so that our students would be more familiar in the EOG/EOC testing environment. However, in most cases, the data generated was not being used to raise achievement. (2) It is important that school board members attend all committee meetings as well as our monthly school board meeting and because I don’t work outside the home, I have time to prepare for and attend our meetings. Although a school board member’s primary role is to make policy for our school system and hire the superintendent, to be effective we must also visit our schools regularly and be active in our community. Also, I see my role on the school board as a liaison between parents and our administration. (3) I am in my sixth year serving on the board of education. I have vol- unteered in our schools, served on local PTA’s as president and treasurer for multiple years. I have served on local community boards which advocate for children, such as the Cumberland Community Foundation, the Junior League of Fayetteville, and I served on a teacher recruitment and retention task force. For several years, I have helped with fund raising efforts for the Child Advocacy Center. I regularly visit our schools to keep in touch with principals and the good things happening in CCS. Most of all, I am a mom with school-aged children who is in touch with what is going on in our schools and I am not afraid WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM