School Board Speech by Eric Broyles
6/28/2011

Members of the School Board, Superintendant Novey, and citizens of Carteret County.  The greatest gift, other than life, we can give a child is a quality education.  I have come tonight to talk on that subject.  An education prepares a child for life endeavors and the future, whatever their course may be.  Before starting, I would like to recognize Principals and Teachers at Harkers Island Elementary, Tiller School, White Oak Elementary, Broad Creek Middle, and Croatan High that contributed to making these schools top in their scholastic field by delivering a quality education to our children.  In 2010, all of these school finished scholastically in the top 10 percentile within their respective school categories statewide.  Special recognition goes to the Tiller School, one of our charter schools, which finished scholastically within the top 2 percentile in the state.  These are our schools of scholastic excellence within the county. I await the reporting of our schools scholastic results for 2011.

Even though some of our schools achieved scholastic excellence in 2010, I am deeply concerned about the quality of education some of our children are receiving within Carteret County Schools.  In 2010, we have 7 schools (e.g. – Atlantic Elementary, Beaufort Elementary, Smyrna Elementary, Beaufort Middle, Newport Middle, East Carteret High, and West Carteret High) performing in the 25% to 50% percentile scholastic performance range in their respective school categories.  Atlantic Elementary is ranked 387, Beaufort Elementary is ranked 551, and Smyrna is ranked 427 out of 1350 North Carolina Elementary schools.  Beaufort Middle is ranked 217 and Newport Middle is ranked 180 out of 617 North Carolina Middle schools.  West Carteret High is ranked 153 and East Carteret High is ranked 260 out of 563 North Carolina High Schools.  From 2005 to 2010, based on the ABC End-of-Grade Tests reported by N.C. Report Cards, Atlantic Elementary saw a 11% decline in overall student Reading test scores; Beaufort Elementary a 11.4% decline in Reading test scores;  Smyrna Elementary  a 9.5% decline in Reading test scores and a 6.8% decline in Math Scores; Beaufort Middle a 6.6% decline in Reading test scores; Newport Middle a 12.9% decline in Reading and a 1.9% decline in Math scores; East Carteret High saw a 1.9% decline in English 1 scores, a 9.7% decline in Algebra 1 scores, and a 7.4% decline in Physical Science scores; and West Carteret High saw a 1.5% decline in English 1 scores, and a 9.7% decline in Algebra 1 scores.  During the same time period, Carteret County School District saw a 9% decline in overall Reading scores but a 16.3% increase in Math scores for both elementary and middle schools.  The area of scholastic achievement that should concern us all is the gradual decline of Reading test scores being seen across the board in most schools.  If our children cannot read or write then how will they be able to perform and compete in a highly competitive and technological society?  In the near future, I will be asking our County Board of Commissioners to establish an independent board of non-school employed citizens whose sole purpose is to conduction independent literacy testing every 4 years at the 4th and 8th grade level to make sure the students within our county are receiving adequate training in reading and writing skills. We do not want a reoccurrence of what happened in Detroit where 44% of the tested citizens were found to be functionally illiterate.

Presently, 8,578 students attend Carteret County Schools.  The student to teacher ratio for Carteret County Schools is 12.08 to 1, which happens to be one of the higher school system students to teacher ratios within the state and nation.  This ratio is based on 710 full time teachers, which is an increase over the previous year .  This ratio does not factor in the 178 assistant teachers that are available to support the full time teachers.  If it did, the ratio would be closer to 9.6 to 1.  Currently, Carteret County ranks number 12 out of 115 school districts in the amount it expends for each student’s education.  In other words, Carteret County taxpayers are paying approximately $700 more per student versus the average amount spend by other counties in North Carolina to make sure its students receive a high quality education.  This would lead one to naturally draw a conclusion that the majority of our schools and school district should be performing in the top 10 to 15 percentile in the state, considering the financial resources and teacher manpower the taxpayers have committed to the education of our children.  Even though some schools are performing at a high level of excellence as stated above, almost half the school district is not.  It is unacceptable to the taxpayers and the parents of the students attending these seven schools, which are performing in the 25% to 50% percentile range.  This leads one to believe that it is not the number of teachers employed by a school system that leads to scholastic achievement and excellence, but the quality of its teachers and the training dispensed by them.  Maybe it is time to hirer and pay more for Quality teachers and be less concerned with the number of teachers we employ.

During the last school board hearing, I asked that the overall ABC End-of-Course scores and student to teacher ratio be posted by teacher on the School System Website.  Each teacher and school principal performance should be accountable to the taxpayers and parents of school children.  Furthermore, based on the need for an increase in scholastic performance within the seven schools mentioned above, I respectfully request that the Superintendant and School Board conduct a full performance review and audit of those 7 schools and make the necessary personnel adjustments and etc. to assure these schools and their students can also achieve the same level of scholastic excellence like the Tiller School, Whiteoak Elementary, Broad Creek Middle, and Croatan High.  It is time to raise the bar!  The taxpayers and parents of school children demand more, and our students deserve much more than some of them have received.  It is time to give all of our children a quality education!  GOD bless our children, our educators, and all citizens from wherever they hail from!

My name is Eric Broyles of Morehead City. I am the Vice Chairman of the Crystal Coast Tea Party Patriots.  I appreciate you allowing me to speak tonight.  The greatest gift a parent, community, or nation can give a child is a quality education.  A quality education not only prepares an individual for the future, but is an investment into the future success of a society or nation.  There are several elements that determine an individual’s quality of learning and education, which are:

·    Nutritional meal
·    Quality Teacher
·    Parental support and coaching
·    Lesson plan and learning materials
·    Educational setting

I am sure there are many more elements that can be added to the list, but the first two are the most important.  A hungry child does not learn and a bad teacher does not educate.  Now onto the main purpose of this speech, which address school system accountability and reporting of information to parents and taxpayers.

Over the past several months, we have heard a lot of discussion from both sides of the aisle about classroom sizes and how it impacts the quality of education our children receive.  Yet when you visit Carteret County School Boards website, it becomes a challenging adventure for any citizen to obtain information on class sizes and scholastic performance at the classroom/teacher level.  I do not know why the information is not openly and readily disclosed, but parents and taxpayers alike have a right to know the overall scholastic performance of a class and its teacher.  Individual student testing and performance information should never be released in accordance with current regulation or privacy laws.

As a taxpayer and parent, I am asking that our School Board and superintendent publish the classroom size statistics and overall scholastic scores of teachers in an easily accessible and readable format yearly on its website.  This will create a level of accountability at the public and tax payer level.  We do not want another Detroit, where 47% of the population is estimated to be functionally illiterate.  Openness and full disclosure has always been the best policy.  As many speakers pointed out the other night at the Commissioner’s meeting, we owe this to our children and their future prosperity.

Commissioners & Fellow Citizens,

My name is Eric Broyles of Morehead City, North Carolina.

On a previous occasion, I spoke about the negative impact that raising taxes or fees at this time would have on senior citizens and the unemployed, who are on fixed or limited incomes.  They represent approximately 30% of the county.  Both citizen groups have seen food, basic commodities, and gas prices spiraling up over 100% in the past several years.  Based on school board statistics, 41.4% or 3,561of our school students are on free or reduced meals because their parent(s) cannot afford to provide lunch for them.

Currently, there is a lot of propaganda out there about the poor quality of education our students will receive if we increase class sizes.  Many studies like the “Brooking Institute Brown Center Study on Class Size” and “A Lesson in Smaller Class Sizes” by Nina Rees clearly imply a small increase in class size would have a negligible impact on the quality of education a student receives.  Most studies point to the fact that the quality of the teacher is the most important element in how well a child learns.  To take it one step further, Dr. Matthew Chingos, who obtained his PH.D. from Harvard University, states “Investing less in Class Size Reductions would free up resources that could be used to recruit and retain highly effective teachers”.  I think history has already deflated the claims of those advocating class size as the chief determining factor in the quality of education an individual receives considering the technological, scientific, and medical advances of my father’s and my generation, whose average class size was 25 or more students.  The same generation many of you are in.

Today, we have a group of citizens advocating the full funding of the school budget, which will eventually result in tax increases.  They want to raise taxes on the financially hard pressed citizens who are on fixed or limited incomes.  Some of these citizens cannot even afford to provide their own child a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich for their school lunch.  I cannot see the benefit in raising taxes to save 100 teachers jobs, while 1/3 of our community is struggling just to buy food, medicines, utilities, and afford housing.

During difficult economic times, government like citizens and businesses, must tighten their belts and reduce spending.  To do otherwise, would be unwise, reckless, and fiscally irresponsible.  I am in full support of the budget currently proposed by the Commissioners because it best protects the interest of all citizens.

TEA Party = Taxed Enough Already Party

Three important events that may impact your NC tax liability in the future:

June 6, 2011 – Carteret County Board of Commissioners Meeting in Beaufort at 6 PM, Schedule. The Board will be finalizing the county’s 2012 budget. There is a well organized effort to convince the board to increase spending in education without providing any evidence that the increase will actually benefit the education of students. The proposed increase will result in increased local taxes (e.g., property, sales, etc) if passed as proposed by this well-organized group.
June 7, 2011 – Carteret County Board of Education Meeting in Beaufort at 6 PM, Schedule. The agenda will undoubtedly involve the Carteret County School budget, and will be attended en mass by organizers of groups supporting higher spending in education. A few members of the Crystal Coast Tea Party Patriots plan to attend and at least one will speak against increased spending without supporting evidence that the spending will actually improve student education.
June, July, sometime 2011 – The NC Legislature will send a 2012 budget bill to Governor Perdue. Although, there seem to be some compromises in the works, the legislature and Governor Perdue are still far apart, especially on funding education. Governor Perdue’s approach is to push traditional state-funded cost to the counties so she can pretend to be saving money while forcing the counties to raise taxes to fund items that heretofore have been by state taxes. This slight-of-hand by Governor Perdue has the same impact on NC citizens, which is increased taxes that you pay either as state income tax increases, or local tax increases (e.g., property, sales, etc).

The other side is organized. Your voice must be added to the chorus of Crystal Coast Tea Party Patriots who want Fiscal Responsibility from our elected officials. Please attend Board of Commissioners Meeting on June 6th. Arrive early to get a seat in the main meeting room. The other side will be there in force. Don’t let them over-shadow your voice.

Also, consider attending the Board of Education meeting on June 7th. Support the CCTPP members speaking out for fiscal responsibility.

Finally, let your Carteret County legislatures know you support their efforts to control state spending. While they are making every effort to hold the line on spending, they are being bombarded by those who believe solving problems means spending more taxpayer dollars. Let them know you don’t believe that money unwisely spent will solve anything.

The liberal faction of Carteret County citizens keeps pushing for more spending in education. There is absolutely no data to support more spending equals better education. In fact, there is more data that shows the opposite is true. Smarter application of resources and better curriculum strategies would equal better application of taxpayer’s dollars. Go to the C4 Facebook page to see what the opposition is up to. It’s amazing how easily they spend your money!

via Hot Air

posted at 1:26 pm on March 23, 2011 by Mike Antonucci
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With the situation in Wisconsin stabilized, if not settled, there is time to examine the National Education Association’s strategy for its short-term future. Though reasonable arguments can be made that the collective bargaining measures in Wisconsin, Ohio and Idaho aren’t significantly different from the status quo in other states, there should be no mistake about it – NEA sees them as a threat to its very existence.

The reasons are not hard to understand. NEA has enjoyed substantial membership and revenue growth during the decades-long decline of the labor movement. It is now the largest union in America and by far the largest single political campaign spender in the 50 states.

But after some 27 years of increases, NEA membership is down in 43 states. The union faces a $14 million budget shortfall, and the demand for funds from its Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises Fund is certain to exceed its supply. Even the national UniServ grants, which help pay for NEA state affiliate employees, will be reduced this year.

In the past, NEA has routinely faced challenges to its political agenda, mostly in the form of vouchers, charters and tax limitations. But the state legislative and gubernatorial results in the 2010 mid-term elections emboldened Republicans for the first time to systematically target the sources of NEA’s power, which have little to do with education and everything to do with the provisions of each state’s public sector collective bargaining laws.

Hence the Manichaean battle in Madison. There has been a virtually non-stop expansion of the scope of public sector collective bargaining over the past 35 years. If the tide turns, it may take a lot longer than 35 years to get those privileges back.

“We are at war,” incoming NEA executive director John Stocks told the union’s board of directors last month, outlining a plan to keep NEA from joining the private sector industrial unions in a slow, steady decline into irrelevancy to anyone outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. And like any good war plan for an army under siege, it allows for a defense-in-depth while preparing for a decisive counterattack.

The first line of defense is to stop anti-union legislation at its point of origin. The Wisconsin Education Association Council tried to head off Gov. Walker’s bill with its “bold reforms” campaign. After the bill was introduced, there were massive rallies, sit-ins, and Democratic senators fleeing the state, along with various other parliamentary maneuvers.

The second line of defense is judicial. In Wisconsin, the public sector unions have already stalled the implementation of the collective bargaining bill through court order. But that isn’t the only place. NEA successfully blocked a new law preventing its Alabama affiliate from collecting dues through payroll deduction. Even if these court battles fail, the time consumed will enable NEA to prepare its third line of defense, which is electoral.

Recalls are not out of the question, but it’s more likely that NEA and other public sector unions will seek to ride an increase in activism and a perception of GOP overreach into large victories in 2012. Whatever hostile laws slip through the first two lines will be eliminated by new majorities of union-friendly Democrats.

While arguably weaker than in years past, NEA is still a political powerhouse, and will not be content with lying against the ropes, being pummeled by Republicans. Union officers are smart enough to recognize that the best use of its resources is in the states, rather than in Congress and the White House. Rommel once observed that “the battle is fought and decided by the quartermasters before the shooting begins.” NEA will see to it that its state affiliates are supplied with all the ammunition they need.

Despite its budget shortfall and freeze on executive pay, the national union is flush with cash, and aims to double the size of its political war chest. The bulk of this money will go to the state affiliates, though the national union will have a larger hand in how it is disbursed.

We can expect the state affiliates to spend most of it opposing unfriendly bills and initiatives, but with more money available, there will still be plenty left to fund measures like the proposed capital gains and income tax hikes in Massachusetts.

The need to modify the budget to accommodate reduced revenue actually works in NEA’s favor in a crisis. Just as with government budgets, reductions in NEA budgets tend to cause squawking from the recipients of those funds. In today’s atmosphere, the union will be able to reallocate money to its foremost priorities with little pushback from internal constituencies.

NEA’s growth in membership and political influence over the years has been accompanied more recently by increasingly bad press. In response, the union will be “building a new external narrative about NEA as dedicated to improvement of the profession, student success and social justice.”

Historically, NEA has been slow to embrace new technologies, but the new external narrative requires prominence on the Internet and social media. The NEA message will naturally appear in all its publications – electronic and otherwise – but with a need for rapid response there will be emphasis on the union’s Education Votes web page and its associated Facebook and Twitter outlets. We will also see a greater presence by NEA’s officers in the blogosphere.

Accompanying NEA’s PR strategy will be new research on pensions, tenure and teacher evaluations, collective bargaining and, of course, funding.

Finally, NEA recognizes that its success or failure relies on feelings of solidarity from AFT, private sector unions, and parents. It will downplay differences on side issues in order to gain support on its priorities.

Whether NEA can do all – or any – of these things is an open question. My own judgment is that the union is better as an immovable object than an irresistible force. It is much more likely to successfully stymie its opponents’ initiatives than it is to successfully prosecute its own course of action.

Ultimately, the Republican governors, lawmakers and activists have their work cut out for them. They will be met with defiance, roadblocks, stalling, foot-dragging and subterfuge for as long as these proposals work their way through the legislative process and long after they become law. In the end, NEA may help elect friendly politicians who will restore their lost powers and revenues.

But the same tactics that may gain such victories will negatively affect the union’s public image. Win or lose, NEA’s actions will “build an external narrative” that no PR strategy can alter. The outcome of NEA’s war is still very much in doubt, but that battle has already been decided.

Click the link below to see the 2011-2012 Carteret School Budget Request

Localschoolbudget