A highly touted summary released by New Hanover County Schools Sept. 4 showed students in New Hanover County scored above the state average on new, more challenging standards and assessments tested during the 2013-14 school year.
Doesn’t that just excite you?
In his Sept. 4 statement, NHCS superintendent Dr. Tim Markley attributed student success to the dedication of teachers, principals and the New Hanover County Board of Education.
The county’s performance also exceeded other urban school districts, noted NHCS spokesperson Valita Quattlebaum. The performance composite for end-of-grade tests and end-of-course assessments for NHC was 64.1 percent compared to the statewide 56.3 percent.
The performance composite is the percentage of the standardized test scores in the school at or above the expected achievement level (sufficient command of grade-level knowledge and skills to move on to the next grade, but who may need academic support to be successful at a high level in the next grade level), which is considered proficient.
Wrightsville Beach School earned a performance composite of 87.8 percent, second only to Walter L. Parsley at 90.8.
But when directing your attention to the lower scoring schools in the district, you’ll see an entirely different story.
The poorest performing elementary school in NHC, located on Wilmington’s south side next to Houston Moore housing, was Lake Forest Academy, with a score of 11.9 percent. On the north side, Snipes Academy of Art and Design followed at 31.4 percent. Rachel Freeman School of Engineering fared slightly better at 36.3 percent. Snipes and Freeman are not far from Creekwood public housing.
Next, looking at middle school scores, also on the south side of the inner city, Williston Middle came in at 43.1, the second-lowest score. The lowest middle was on the north side, coincidently in the portion of the city deemed the “youth enrichment zone,” D.C. Virgo, which bottomed out with a performance composite score of 25.2.
Also at the high school level, Mary S. Mosley Performance Learning Center for at-risk students on Princess Place Drive, again not far from Creekwood public housing, had the lowest score of the high school testing with 13.7. Not surprising, Isaac M. Bear and Wilmington early colleges took top honors with 95 percent and 74.5 percent respectively.
I am told these scores matter when seeking federal funding, this testing is done as a part of the No Child Left Behind federal initiative.
If no child is to be left behind, New Hanover County cannot celebrate when its poorest schools are doing so poorly. We are failing a segment of our population and that is unacceptable.
We cannot hold up our heads when one of the county’s schools is testing at less than 12 percent proficiency.
What impact does the infrastructure of the school play in student achievement?
You’ll hear a great deal about the tax impact of a $160 million proposed school bond in the lead up to the November election.
Listening to the New Hanover County Commissioners, it has been difficult to determine how much the school bond will cost voters if it is approved.
During an Aug. 11 public hearing held during a commissioners meeting, former county manager Bruce Shell, now a Republican candidate for New Hanover County Board of Education, provided a more modest estimate of the bond’s highest impact to the county tax rate than numbers calculated by county staff. Shell said it will be 2 cents instead of 4 cents per $100 of property value that a county spokesperson cited. Shell served as the county internal auditor for six years, finance director for 11½ years, and county manager for more than five years.
During a July 21 meeting, county finance director Lisa Wurtzbacher reported to the board the average tax impact of the bond over its 20-year life would be 3 cents, if approved. The portion of the New Hanover County School website (nhcs.net/bond) devoted to the school bond referendum states: “The bond would be repaid over a 20-year period with an average increase of 3 cents on the property tax rate. … To put this in perspective, the property tax bill on a $200,000 home would increase approximately $60 per year, or $5 per month.”
However, a 9-cent tax increase has been thrown around by the county when speaking about the school bond. Shell said no one would support a 9-cent increase; and commissioners need to be transparent about the impact of this bond issue and what it really means for taxpayers, which he says nets out at more like 1.5 cents and he has a spreadsheet to prove it.
The current county tax rate is 55.4 cents per $100.
In spite of a dissenting Chairman Woody White, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners will hold a referendum Nov. 4 to get permission from the voters to sell $160 million in bonds. White is not supporting the bond, saying the county should not go into debt to accommodate population growth.
In addition to security, technology and infrastructure improvements to all schools, the $160 million bond will fund 14 identified projects including a $7 million renovation and expansion of Wrightsville Beach School, construction of a new 595-seat elementary school in the northeastern part of the county, and demolition and reconstruction of College Park and Blair elementary schools.
The least performing schools are not listed in the list of 14 projects. Two of them, Snipes and Freeman, have been labeled with special designations but those labels have not raised test scores. A third, DC Virgo, reopened in 2012 with a great deal of improvements including iPads instead of textbooks and a fine gym, and even though its phys ed instructor was named phys ed teacher of the year for North Carolina, the school’s test scores indicate new infrastructure and technology are not what is needed to bring student achievement up to acceptable standards. Williston, while it has needs, is not a school that is falling down.
Valita Quattlebaum deferred my questions to superintendent Markley. Dr. Markley did not return my call.
So the question, as the county prepares to raise bond money to fix the school houses, is what must be done so that all children in the county advance?
