By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer
There are 11 counties in North Carolina with more than one school system. Columbus County is one of them, but a proposal in the state General Assembly could force the county’s two cash-strapped school districts to consolidate.
Under current funding formulas, Columbus County Schools and Whiteville City Schools each receive about $737,000 in base funding for administration, vocational education and other programs. The base funding is allotted, regardless of the number of students, and any additional state funding for administration is based on the systems’ daily average of students.
Under the bill proposed by Sen. Tony Rand, only one base amount would be given per county and divided equally between Columbus County’s two school administrative units. Whiteville City Schools and Columbus County Schools would each lose more than $365,000 in base funding.
The measure would potentially save the state about $11 to $12 million per year, but the cost to counties with more than one school system could be devastating.
“The idea is very popular with counties with only one district,” Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. said. “I’m opposed to anything that would negatively impact the Whiteville City or Columbus County school systems.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Soles added, pointing out that Sen. Rand is the majority leader and the bill will have support but not Soles’ support.
Rep. Dewey Hill said he agreed that the bill would potentially have a great deal of support in the House, but that he would also oppose the bill.
The N.C. State Board of Education policy regarding merger of local education administrations provides for a three-year phase out of duplicative base allotments, according to a legislative fiscal note attached to the bill.
The proposed legislation makes exceptions for several counties but Columbus County is not one of them. The act does not apply to Nash-Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, Cleveland, or Gaston County, which effectively have only one administrative unit per county.
Other counties with multiple education agencies are: Buncombe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Davidson, Halifax, Iredell, Orange, Randolph, Sampson, and Surry.