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What do I want the school board to focus on? I was asked this question recently. I answered education but that doesn’t really mean anything. I am not an educator nor do I know anything about how to run a high-performing school.

Concerning powers and duties, N.C. General Statute 115C-47(1) states:

“To provide the Opportunity to Receive a Sound Basic Education. – It shall be the duty of local boards of education to provide students with the opportunity to receive a sound basic education and to make all policy decisions with that objective in mind, including employment decisions, budget development, and other administrative actions within their respective local school administrative units, as directed by law.”

The shortage of teachers may be the most important issue the Beaufort County School (BCS) Board may be facing. Other counties, including Pitt, have the same issue. The School Board and County Commission must address this issue directly and, at least, equal all teacher pay incentives and bonuses that Pitt and Craven County may provide.

It is harder to recruit teachers to S.W. Snowden due to the remote location. This should be a specific concern to the Board. Snowden is a K-8 school with a small student population.

The State of North Carolina needs to do their part too. They need to offer more educational incentives to become a teacher and increase pay dramatically to become competitive with other states and occupations. Teaching our young people the skills they need later in life is one of the most important things we can do as a society. Compared to the other states, Norh Carolina ranks 40^th in beginning teacher pay.

BCS prepares a local budget at the direction of the Board each year. They do a good job and are reasonable in the development of the budget. The Board approves the budget each year and submits it to the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners has been reasonable in addressing the financial needs of the schools.

During my working career, I was responsible for a maintenance technician training program. The number one impediment to learning was the ability to read. Reading comprehension and basic math including problem solving were two and three.

I believe students at the 3^rd grade level must be able to read, comprehend what they read and perform basic math at a competent level. This includes solving basic math word problems. If students do not have these skills, they will have problems comprehending the curriculum’s course material as they proceed to the higher grades.

I reviewed K-12 math and social studies curriculum on the DPI website. It is both detailed and comprehensive. Much of the math is complex from my perspective. BCS does teach the multiplication tables which is disputed by some in Beaufort County.

I believe representation on the School Board should mostly be parents of the students. The Board needs to sharply focus on education and the issues that affect education.

How well schools perform depends upon the teachers, administration, students, parents, facilities, State of North Carolina, Beaufort County School Board and Beaufort County Commissioners.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.