Less than 30 minutes after a special-called meeting of the Burke County Board of Education started, four newly elected board members were sworn in at Heritage Middle School.
The comments session swiftly brought up a new issue for the school board to consider as it addresses concerns from the past year. A tentative plan for spending $2 million on technology brought many comments from teachers and parents.
Burke County Board of Commissioners Chair Bruce Hawkins administered the oath of office to Sam Wilkinson, Buddy Armour, Catherine Thomas and Susan Stroup.
Current school board members Rob Hairfield and Karen Sain were present for the formal meeting. Board member Tim Buff was absent.
Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony, the audience greeted Armour with a standing ovation when he said, "Well we're here."
The four board members each took turns thanking supporters and assuring voters they would do their best to address stakeholders' concerns.
After the formal meeting, Wilkinson, Armour, Thomas and Stroup sat in the front row and listened to questions and comments from the audience. Hairfield and Sain were invited to join the four at the front, but did not appear.
Barbara Lingerfelt, a former Burke County Public Schools teacher, introduced the topic of the evening: a $2 million proposal for technological improvements in the school system.
"There are many teachers and school employees concerned and extremely concerned over an anticipated movement to spend over $2 million on technology," Lingerfelt said.
Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Art Stellar confirmed that a tentative plan for spending $2 million from the capital budget is in the works.
Stellar said the capital budget is separate from the operational budget, but it is possible to convert a portion of the capital budget to the operational budget.
Armour said in order for the school board to use money in the capital budget, the Board of Commissioners has to approve of the expenditure.
Stellar said the county's public schools are behind the state and 10 surrounding counties in technology.
The tentative plan focuses on updating computers, software and providing SMART Boards, Stellar said.
The administration has identified space in every school where new computers can be placed, Stellar said. Each school will benefit from the plan.
Lingerfelt, along with several other commenters, said the schools should reconsider spending $2 million on technology and instead focus on reinstating teachers' supplements and the salaries of classified staff.
Lingerfelt said reinstating supplements and rehiring classified staff would cost less than $2 million.
One commenter likened the expenditure to a "slap in the face" to teachers, who had voluntarily taken the supplemental cut in the spring.
Draughn High School sophomore James Deal said the schools should focus on using that money for acquiring capable teachers because without them, advanced technology isn't useful.
Stellar said the administration hopes to present the plan to the school board next week but will take into consideration the opinions voiced during Thursday's comment session.
Other commenters spoke about the financial situation of the school board including the "front burner" issue of the 2007-08 audit and the bills for Schwartz & Shaw, the Raleigh law firm hired in May as the school board's special counsel, which total more than $240,000.
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