Orange County Schools

Schools propose 08-09 budgets

The County Commissioners have received the proposed budgets from both school systems. According to the Chapel Hill Herald, the city schools are requesting $61.2 million, a %12.56 increase in last year's budget. The county system is requesting an %8.35 increase to $23.8, which is actually less than they asked for last year.

The county school board recognizes, "the fiscal realities of the day," said school board Chairman Ted Triebel.

"[The budget] is well-researched, fully-debated and it is lean, very lean," he said. "This new fiscal approach, this minimal budget, comes with high expectations and confidence that you, our board of county commissioners, will favorably respond to the citizens of our district and look at this responsible budget to provide the necessary opportunities for our county's youth."

- heraldsun.com: County praises school boards' budgets, 4/23/08

Hillsborough parents get their way

I know I'm stepping into a hornet's nest with this one, but what is it about this one little word ("merger") that sends parents in both school systems into such a tizzy?

After nearly two hours of grappling with its options, the school board for the Orange County Schools modified its enrollment plans for the district's only year-round elementary school Monday night.

In a 4-2 vote, the board approved changes recommended by district administration that will allow 30 students already at Hillsborough Elementary School to re-enroll there next year.

Some parents who had feared their children might be among those not allowed to return had dressed in orange shirts and spoken at board meetings, posted to a blog devoted to challenging the changes, and even hired an attorney to challenge the board.

[...]

Board member Liz Brown voted against modifying the plan because she felt it didn't do enough to help Central and Efland-Cheeks elementary schools retain middle-income students.

Military recruiters in Orange County schools

I was pretty shocked to read this news:

Three students were sent to an in-school suspension classroom after refusing to take a military aptitude test at Cedar Ridge High School on Tuesday.

Principal Gary Thornburg said the students were not being disciplined, rather the in-school suspension teacher was the staff person available to supervise them.

More than 300 juniors spent two hours Tuesday and again Wednesday taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

Thornburg said the test, which the U.S. military calls the ASVAB, is traditionally administered to juniors at his school. The military provides the tests, proctors and grading without charge. In exchange, the scores are sent to military branch recruiters and the school.

- newsobserver.com: 3 decline to take military test, 2/14/08

It turns out people are resisting these tests all around the nation:

Embezzlement charges against school board member

Does anyone know this Dennis Whitling fellow? Apparently he is a member of the Orange County School Board, and has been accused (not convicted) of embezzlement by a former employer. I know nothing about this and I don't want to jump to conclusions. Anyone have insights on this?

A Durham Police Department investigator applied in December for access to Dennis Alan Whitling's personal bank account information, writing that Whitling may have stolen more than $58,000 from a law office where he worked from 1984 to 2007, according to a search warrant.

[...]

Tuesday, Whitling slipped into the regularly scheduled Orange County School Board meeting 10 minutes after it started and left the room during the break before closed session at the end of the night. During the time for board comments, he did not offer any comments on the investigation.

Should Keith Cook Resign?

Folks may have heard that Orange County School Board Chairman Keith Cook cribbed his commencement speech delivered at Orange County High School last week. This is a serious infraction given the problems with plagiarism among students and the efforts by teachers to prevent it. Cook surely ought to be a role model in such matters.

Perhaps even worse than Cook’s plagiarism is his continuing denial of it. He initially denied it to the Herald reporter. Moments ago, he told the WCHL reporter that it was not plagiarism because he did not know who wrote the speech and that what was important was the content. He might talk to any English or history teacher to find out just how important they would consider the content if a student turned in a speech by Donna Shalala.

Meanwhile, Eleanor Murray embarrassed WCHL by repeatedly agreeing with Cook that it was inadvertent plagiarism. Yet Cook admits to making a web search for “graduation speeches” and making liberal use of the one he found. That is intentional plagiarism even if he did not trouble himself to find out who the author was.

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