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Local Carteret County Schools |
County tops state dollars
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by Cheryl Burke
NEWS-TIMES
Carteret County School students received 40 percent more in local dollars per pupil in 2006-2007 than the state average, reflecting local government’s investment in lower class sizes, according to the school system’s finance officer J. Ipock.
That’s one of many statistics included in the N.C. School Report Card, an annual report for all school districts, which was released Oct. 30. County students average $2,725 per pupil in local dollars, compared to the state average of $1,949 in local dollars in 2006-2007. County students also get more in state dollars per pupil, but less in federal support.
The Report Card shows that Carteret County receives $8,989 per pupil from all three pots of money
local, state and federal dollars compared to the statewide average of $8,023. Carteret County gets $5,504 per pupil in state dollars compared to$5,272 for the state average, or 4 percent more. The county receives $760 per pupil in federal dollars, compared to the state average of $802 per student, or 5 percent less. Carteret County Schools will send a snapshot of individual schools and district results home with students on Tuesday.
The report cards present comprehensive information on the quality of each school system, as well as each individual school. Data in the report is based on the 2006-2007 school year. Report card information on each school district and school is available at: www.ncreportcards.org
The report cards contain a wide range of information relating to the performance of the school system, from school size to performance of students and teachers, to school safety and financial support.
The financial support reflected in the amounts includes expenses concerned with operating schools, including teacher and administrator salaries, textbooks and educational supplies and materials. Facilities
costs are not included.
Mr. Ipock said the local figure reflects an effort by the county to have lower class sizes. One of the main items included in state and local figures is teacher salaries. The county school district funds extra teaching positions to create lower class sizes. Plus, the county provides additional special needs teachers. The state funds special needs teachers based on 12 percent of the student population being special needs. But Carteret County’s percentage of special needs students is about 16 percent. So it’s up to the local school system to fund additional positions. Mr. Ipock added that because Carteret receives less in federal assistance, and slightly more in state funding, in order to provide adequate services it was up to the local district to fund additional services.
“Our local funding puts us in the top 10 in the state,” he said. “But we’re ranked 65th in state funding and 84th in federal. That puts us 34th overall. If we weren’t spending additional local dollars we would be at the bottom of the barrel,” he said.
The bulk of the state dollars is for teacher salaries, and because nearly 30 percent of county teachers have master’s degrees, and many have been with the school district for several years, they are paid a
higher salary by the state.
Carteret County elementary and middle school students outscore their state counterparts on end-of-grade reading and math tests, according to the report card. In addition, county high school students outscore their state counterparts on state end-of-course tests. The school district also outperformed the state on the number of students making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which measures a set of performance goals for minority and other special groups of students. The measurement is required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The report card contains information about teacher qualifications. It shows that 100 percent of county teachers are considered highly qualified as defined by federal law. The county has a higher percentage of fully licensed teachers, as well. The report shows that 99 percent of county elementary school teachers are fully licensed, compared to 97 percent across the state. In middle schools, 96 percent of county teachers are fully licensed compared to 91 percent in the state. In county high schools, 95 percent of classroom teachers are fully licensed compared to 89 percent in the state.
The county also outpaces the state on teachers with more than 10 years of experience. The report card shows that 61 percent of county elementary school teachers have at least 10 years experience, compared to the 48 percent state average. In middle school, 54 percent of county teachers have at least 10 years experience compared to 46 percent in the state. And 63 percent of county high school teachers have at least 10 years experience compared to the state average of 53 percent. As for teacher turnover rates, the county is below the state average in elementary, middle and high schools.
Other information contained in the report cards includes school size, access to technology, average course size, school attendance, percentage of students at grade level and school safety. |
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