Laserfiche WebLink
538 <br /> <br /> The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met in special <br />session at the A. L. Brown High School Dining Room, 415 East First Street, <br />Kannapolis, at 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 12, 1998 for the presentation of the <br />report on the School Merger Feasibility Study by The Masonboro Group, Inc. <br /> <br />Present - Chairman: Sue B. Casper <br /> Vice-Chairman: Carolyn B. Carpenter <br /> Commissioners: Jeffrey L. Barnhart <br /> Kenneth Mills <br /> Dr. Franklin C. Niblock, Jr. <br /> <br /> Also present were Mr. Frank W. Clifton, Jr., County Manager; Mr. Fletcher <br />L. Hartsell, Jr., County Attorney; and Mrs. Frankie F. Bonds, Clerk to the Board. <br /> <br />Chairman Casper called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. <br /> <br /> Members of the Cabarrus County Board of Education, Kannapolis City Board <br />of Education, Rowan/Salisbury Board of Education and the Rowan County <br />Commissioners were also present for the meeting. Dr. Linton Deck, Dr. Eddie West <br />and Ms. Leslie King represented The Masonboro Group, Inc. <br /> <br /> Dr. Deck introduced the presentation of A Study of the Most Efficient & <br />Desirable Way to Deliver Education to the Children Currently Served by the <br />Cabarrus County, Kannapolis City, and Rowan-Salisbury Schools. The Cabarrus <br />County Board of Commissioners, in consultation with the Cabarrus County, <br />Kannapolis City, Rowan-Salisbury Boards of Education and Rowan County <br />Commissioners, hired The Masonboro Group in October 1997 to conduct the study. <br />Dr. Deck thanked the elected officials, staff members and the public for their <br />participation in the study. He listed the objectives of the study as follows: (1) <br />To determine the pros and cons of alternative options for providing the most <br />efficient and desirable way to deliver education to the children currently served <br />by the three school systems; (2) To determine the legal ramifications and issues <br />related to merger and alternative options to merger; and (3) To identify post <br />merger study areas that could be efficiently and effectively undertaken to <br />evaluate the impact of options selected, if any, for implementation. <br /> <br /> Dr. West reported the study team had identified the following ten (10) <br />options based on the analysis of study data which had included documents from <br />governmental entities and information collected from personal interviews: (1) Do <br />nothing; (2) The establishment of a supplemental school tax levy in Kannapolis <br />City, Cabarrus County and the Rowan-Salisbury Schools; (3) Privatization of <br />selected school services in the three systems; (4) The establishment of a variety <br />of shared services and staffing in the three systems; (5) Increasing open <br />enrollment procedures to enhance facility space utilization in all three school <br />systems; (6) To establish magnet schools to enhance facility space and <br />utilization in the school systems; (7) Cede contiguous attendance zones to <br />Kannapolis from Cabarrus and Rowan-Salisbury Schools; (8) Voluntary dissolution <br />of the Kannapolis City Schools; (9) Merger of all the Kannapolis schools into <br />either Cabarrus County or Rowan County; (10) Merger of Kannapolis schools in <br />Rowan County and Cabarrus County by assigning students according to place of <br />residence. <br /> <br /> Further, Dr. West reported that the study team had determined that the <br />following three (3) options should receive further consideration based upon <br />analysis and a realistic appraisal of the short and long term impact of each <br />option: <br /> <br />(1) <br /> <br />(2) <br /> <br />(3) <br /> <br />Do nothing. If selected, the long term issue of how to best provide <br />programs and services for a changing school population within a <br />limited revenue base would still have to be addressed. <br />The establishment of a variety of shared services and staffing in <br />the three systems. This is an economically viable approach to <br />reduce duplications and improving efficiencies of service delivery. <br />This option also has the advantage of improving effectiveness of <br />service. <br />Merger of the Kannapolis City Schools with the Rowan-Salisbury and <br />Cabarrus County Schools by assigning students according to place of <br />residence. The study team considers this option as the most <br />efficient and desirable long term delivery of services to the <br />children currently served by the Kannapolis City, Cabarrus County <br />and Rowan-Salisbury School Systems. If this option is selected, the <br /> <br /> <br />