School Board welcomes volunteers; combats "misinformation"

McDowell County Schools will change the way it welcomes volunteers and how it records the contributions volunteers make. The McDowell County School Board adopted recommendations to launch an new volunteer program at Monday night's meeting.

Coming on the heels of a conference Chairwoman Priscilla Owenby attended with Gov. Beverly Perdue some weeks ago, the new volunteer program is meant to get on board with the governor's new "Ready, Set, Go" initiative. Perdue wants every North Carolinian to get involved in helping kids succeed in school.

Acting on that challenge, the board directed Superintendent Ira Trollinger to develop new guidelines for an enhanced volunteer-recruiting effort. At Monday's meeting, he returned with his proposal.

"This is not meant to take the place of existing volunteer efforts at each school," he said, "but would be designed to support, enhance and celebrate such existing efforts."

In a memo, Trollinger said he hope to "identify and support key citizens, groups and businesses in the county who have the time, expertise and desire to devote their efforts and skills to improving the quality of educational programs for students."

The goals he proposed include
-- getting the various schools' volunteer coordinators to "meet and communicate on a periodic basis,"
-- identify various programs at each school that need volunteers,
-- implement a volunteer recruiting system that conducts "police checks and other needed screening instruments,"
-- "develop a training program for volunteers that would develop the necessary skills required,"
-- get the Chamber of Commerce to help "identify business partnerships for each school," -- maintain records of the hours donated for use as "in-kind services" which count like matching funds in grant applications and
-- recognize and celebrate volunteers' and businesses' contributions.

The board accepted the recommendations and appointed Finance Department employee Melanie Dunham top coordinate the program for the coming school year.

Trollinger said he had been distressed to hear "misinformation" on a local radio show. He had to pull his car over and gather himself, he said, when he heard it said that the administration had spent $40,000 to design a second high school.

"That plan (for a second high school) was rejected by the commissioners some years ago," he said. "We certainly haven't been pursuing that idea since that time."

He said that the speaker might have been referring to the $30,000 the board resolved to budget to develop plans for a career technical "magnet" school.

"So far, " he stated, "we've only spent $6,000 on that." He said plans for the magnet school were coming together and enthusiasm remains high.

"You'd be surprised how many government officials and key business leaders who were not at all in favor of the second high school are very much in favor of a career tech magnet school."

He also took exception to a statement he said he heard on the radio, to the effect that teachers in McDowell are given only 33 cents a day for supplies. In fact, he said, McDowell County Schools has spent $1.870,878 on supplies this school year.

The exact number of classroom teachers in McDowell public schools was not known at press time, but assuming there are 1,000 of them and 180 instructional days in the school year, that comes to around $10.40 per day.

Yes, supply budgets are tight, he said, all the budgets are tight. But he remains committed, he said, to "holding teachers' staff development and supply finds harmless from cuts."

On the matter of budgets, Trollinger had grim predictions. Last year, he said, the state demanded reversions of about $1 million. For the coming school year, 2010-11, he said, sources in Raleigh had said it would be worse.

Expect Raleigh to demand a reversion of $1.35 million, he told the board.

"The first half million hurts a lot less than the second half million," he stated. "You have to start cutting programs you don't really want to end."