Legislation wending its way through the NC General Assembly would give county boards of commissioners the option of taking over ownership of schools from local school boards. Moore County Schools [MCS] Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence has encouraged the Moore County Board of Education to adopt a resolution opposing the move.
“We would contend that school property, where to put schools, and how to manage schools is a school board issue,” Spence told The Times. “The school board would most likely be opposed to county ownership of school property. Our board would want to work with the Moore County Board of Commissioners on this issue.”
The legislative effort came as something of a surprise to Moore County Commissioners Chairman Nick Picerno, who told The Times that he was not familiar with the proposed legislation and that taking control of MCS real estate is “not something on our plate.”
A Wake County Feud with Statewide Implications
Exactly why counties would want to take over ownership of schools is a complicated question — one that most county commissioners have likely never asked.
But the Wake County Board of Commissioners did ask that question, voting on January 22 to seek legislation that would allow counties the option of owning school property, as well as allowing counties to build facilities for charter schools, and changing the way in which members are elected to the Wake County School Board.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners is under Republican control; the School Board is controlled by Democrats. And regardless of the party in charge, the two Boards have consistently butted heads over policies affecting the state’s largest school district.
One member of the Wake County Board carried the notion of county’s owning schools to a meeting of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners [NCACC], where the option was quickly added to the Association’s legislative agenda.
A Balance Sheet Issue or Red Herring?
The NCACC’s new Public Education Goal PE-5 reads in part as follows: “Authorize the option for counties to acquire, own, and construct traditional public school sites and facilities.”
The rationale: Unlike many other states, North Carolina does not give local school boards taxing authority; that is reserved for the county commissioners. Because counties are required under state law to build and maintain schools — and often borrow money to do so — but the school board retains the title to the properties, the county’s balance sheet has an odd imbalance between assets and debt.
It’s a bookkeeping problem. But it’s a bookkeeping problem that even the NCACC admits has no real-world impact.
“All of our bonding agencies know and understand that this is unique to our state,” Rebecca Troutman, Intergovernmental Relations Director for NCACC, told The Times.
“I think that it [the asset to debt issue] is a red herring, Superintendent Spence told The Times. “The larger counties (Wake) have the most debt service. The truth of the matter is they are all triple A-rated.”
Legislation on a fast track
Despite the apparently thin rationale, the goal was presented one day and voted into the NCACC’s legislative agenda the next, with little time for discussion and debate.
Granting approval of newly introduced goals is not uncommon at the NCACC annual meeting, Troutman told The Times. “It’s a process that has long been in place. We have a number of new commissioners that took office in December and we allow for new goals to be introduced. They are discussed, screened and vetted and if favorable it is brought back to the floor the next day.”
With the favorable vote, the option of counties to take over ownership of school property has become one of 60 goals in a 14-page document that has been forwarded to county Boards of Commissioners across the state so that they can endorse it. How much attention goal PE-5 will receive from individual commissioners is a open question.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina School Board Association has prepared a draft resolution in opposition to the proposed legislation, arguing that the NC General Statues prescribe that the powers of general control and supervision of school systems are to be vested in local boards of education. Superintendent Spence has urged the Moore County Board of Education to approve that resolution.
The legislation in question doesn’t, in fact, exist quite yet. But the Raleigh News & Observer reported on February 16 that a group of legislators was putting the finishing touches on the bill.
Where Moore County Stands
Making a change in the ownership of school property is not an item on the current agenda of Moore County’s Board of Commissioners, Chairman Picerno told The Times.
“It’s going to be another tough budget year,” Picerno said, “and we need to make some decisions about water.” The County is also looking for a new manager, and Picerno mentioned the revised land use plan and unified development ordinance as other big items on the Commissioners’ to-do list.
Both Spence and Picerno agree that, even if adopted, county ownership of school property might not be an option for Moore County. Picerno said he hoped, if the NCGA does in fact pass the legislation, that it would take the form of offering counties the option to make the decision locally, rather than imposing a state mandate.
“If they did that, then we would want to get the Boards [Commissioners and School Board] together and see what make sense for Moore County,” Picerno said.
Noting that he had only recently heard about the possible legislation, Picerno said he had not had time to explore its implications for the County or the Schools. “Off the top of my head,” he said, the one possible benefit might be the possibility of cutting costs by combining county and schools maintenance operations.
“When we are trying to scrap for every dollar, we have to look at everything,” he said. “But this, like anything else, would have to be discussed and properly vetted.”
Spence agreed with Picerno that it would require close scrutiny. “I do understand the thinking about possible efficiencies that could come out of it. But it would most likely cause more problems than solutions,” Spence said. He then went on to give examples of different possible conflicts in the general operations of the school; from supervising custodial needs to how combining staff would affect their retirement plans.
“Even more complex, when you go to build a new school, how would that decision be made?” Spence explained. “The State Constitution includes language that requires educators to be involved in that decision. The point is: these are just a few examples of the many unresolved issues that this might create. It could cause more problems than solutions.”
“I’d say this is way down on the list of Moore County’s priorities,” Picerno said.
Times Editor Greg Hankins contributed reporting to this story.
