Shift in funding could alter plans going forward
Robbinsville – A change handed down by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction in November is rearing its unsightly head at the local level.
During the Graham County Board of Education meeting Tuesday, finance officer Lester Greene addressed a $128,000 reduction to the 21st Century Community Learning Center – the “After School Program” – budget.
Greene explained to the board that the state department called an audible on the number of required hours 75 percent of enrolled students needed to maintain federal funding from 15 to 90 – six times the previous threshold. Local 21st Century Director McKalyn Parker said she was first made aware of the increase in November and had hoped attendance would hold steady to tread water until the federal budget deadline of Sept. 30, but reported numbers are in the 50 percent range.
The K-12 program runs on school days from 3:30-6 p.m. at Robbinsville Elementary School, Robbinsville High School and the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center, which has a $60,000 contract with Graham County Schools to host students – but also has the lowest enrollment. The center is also getting dinged at the same 32 percent reduction (down to $19,200). Parker said numbers at both the elementary and high schools stay consistently at the cap of 35. However, Stecoah lingers around 15.
“We have to compete with sports, jobs,” Parker said. “They’d have to be there every day.”
This is the third year the district has received the funding and had no problem meeting the original ask of 15 tutoring hours.
“I don’t know if that’s actually attainable,” Greene said of the requirement leap. “These funds overlap into our school year, so we need these funds until September.”
Summer School also falls under the purview of 21st Century. Superintendent Angie Knight proposed the board calling a special meeting to address the short-term issue; which could have long-term effects.
“I would think that most of the school systems across the state are in the same boat we are,” Knight said.
Budget time
Greene later presented the list of capital outlay projects for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which will be passed along to the Graham County Board of Commissioners for consideration during its budget planning process.
Among the $881,000 in facilities requests were two line items for $300,000 each: the replacement of the aged intercom system at both Robbinsville Elementary and Robbinsville Middle/High school campuses; and adding much-needed support to the home bleachers at Modeal Walsh Memorial (Big Oaks) Stadium.
As it stands, there are “dead spots” at the elementary school for the intercom system in place, according to assistant superintendent Robert Moody. The middle/high school opened in 1993, but as middle school Principal Tonia Walsh noted, announcements made to the gymnasium are unable to be heard. The universal consensus was that it was time for new systems to be installed.
The bleachers at the football stadium were put in place in 1981 and have recently needed a pair of what Knight deemed “patches” on its support system, until a permanent fix could be arranged. Maintenance crews working on the bleachers are unable to perform any work underneath the bleachers in a fully-upright position; instead, they crawl in and remain on their knees, at best.
Among other items, the list of projects also revealed a desire to relocate the Backyard Preschool into a shared space with A Kid’s Place (a structure adjoined to the Robbinsville Elementary gymnasium) at an estimated cost of $15,000, a vehicle for a school resource officer, which carried a $30,000 price tag and $55,000 combined between termite and restroom repairs at the Robbinsville High auxiliary gymnasium.