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HALIFAX – The Halifax Schools Board approved a letter to be sent to North Carolina legislators asking for part of a $747 million judicial award to school systems across the state.
The judicial decision came from Judge Howard Manning of Wake County Superior Court, and follows up a 2005 unanimous decision of the N.C. Supreme Court that various state agencies had wrongly kept administrative fines belonging to the public schools under the State Constitution.
The court ordered the funds distributed based on each public school system’s percentage of overall student enrollment. It also requires the money be used to improve technology in the schools.
The letter states, “Our county, like most others in N.C., is woefully behind in providing our students the technology-based education that will be crucial to helping them compete in the 21st Century. The funds designated by Judge Manning would help us close that gap.”
Despite the two court rulings, there is no certainty the funds will ever reach the public school systems, but the letter from the board will make the legislature aware that Halifax County Schools need and want the funds as soon as possible.
Other board actions on Monday showed the district is not waiting on those funds to improve technology in the schools. Finance Officer Andrew Callihan asked the board to approve a grant fund-match to provide wireless capabilities in five Halifax schools.
A U.S. Department of Education Office of Technology program called E-Rate has agreed to fund wireless capabilities at Brawley, Eastman, Davie and Southeast and included some enhancements needed at Northwest. The total cost of the E-Rate match is $58,935.47 and with an additional $20,000 to add the enhancements to Northwest.
Callihan plans to ask Halifax County to fund the request through the ADM (Average Daily Membership, referring to the number of students enrolled) fund, but has another plan in the event the county turns down his suggestion.
“We are on a very tight timeline in getting this completed,” Callihan told the board. The funding from E-Rate will expire between the January 2009 and March 2009 timeframe. Overall, E-Rate will be funding $530,276.80 of this project, Callihan said.
Inaction by the administration at Northwest had allowed a previous program to expire, causing a loss of potential funding for that school. Callihan urged the board not to allow that to happen again.
“This will bring all schools up to standard except for Northwest. Northwest will have enhancements added and we will apply for wiring and cabling in the next cycle. It is important to note that the new school, Enfield Middle/Inborden Elementary, has already been completed,” Callihan added.
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