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children may attend any of our elementary schools. This gives parents more opbons and allows them to choose the school that wdl best meet the needs of their children CHALLENGES Our many achievements cannot h~de the fact that we face numerous challenges in Kannapolis C~ty Schools. From the closing of Pdlowtex to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, we are confronted with many obstacles that threaten our future success. No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act reserves its sanctions for so-called Title I schools. These are schools that receive extra federal money to serve disadvantaged children. Because all of KCS's elementary schools are Title I schools, they could face sanctions if they fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress two years ~n a row. Penalties include allowing parents to move their students into schools that do make Adequate Yearly Progress and requiring schools to pay for private tutoring for some students. The No Child Left Behind Act, however, does not prowde sufficient funding to pay for these extra services and requirements. Therefore, addibonal local or state money may be required to meet these federal mandates. The Kannapolis C~ty School District faces a severe shortage of buses. Our ability to buy add~bonal buses has not kept up with our growing enrollment. As a result, we are forced to transport multiple loads of students on many of our buses. This often makes some students late for class. If we are forced to transport students out of their assigned attendance zone due to NCLB sanctions, our transportation situation will become even worse. Therefore, we believe it is cribcal that we receive add~bonal funding for buses. The academic requirements imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act and North Carolina's own accountabd~ty system make it even more ~mportant that we keep our student-teacher ratios Iow. We already have small class sizes ~n Kannapohs C~ty Schools because of our commitment to using local money to pay for more teachers However, it continues to be a challenge for us to fund these additional pos~bons. The No Child Left Behind Act also requires a great deal of staff development for teachers and teacher assistants, but it does not provide sufficient funding to pay for it. This leaves the burden on state and local governments to pay for training that is required by the No Child Left Behind Act. Pillowtex CIo~ing The closing of the Pillowtex plant has put an even greater strain on our counselors, social worker, and school nurses. Our system has only one social worker, and each of our elementary schools has only one counselor. For schools like Jackson Park and Forest Park, which have about 600 students, ~t is extremely difficult for one counselor to keep up with the increasing needs of their children. We are seeing more needs for medical care, clothing, food, and shelter. We also have seen an increase in the percentages of students receiving free or reduced price lunches. The additional burdens within our community will inewtably have an impact on our resources and our ability to meet our children's needs.