LUMBERTON — Plans to convert the Janie C. Hargrave Elementary School into the central office for the Public Schools of Robeson County took a step forward Tuesday during the monthly meeting of the Board of Education.
School board member Steve Martin spearheaded an investigation into its viability, and he has concluded that there is adequate parking, and apparently enough space for the central office.
“My concern was parking,” Martin said, adding there is space to add a parking lot. “The building is in very good shape, and it has not flooded.”
Martin urged the board to move quickly to study a possible move. The lease on the current central office space on Kahn Drive expires on June 30, and the school district leaders would have to give notice before that.
Rent at Kahn Drive is $11,667 per month, and the building flooded during Hurricane Florence.
The J.C. Hargrave building is one of Robeson’s oldest school buildings, dating back to the first half of the 20th century, with wooden floors, and tall windows and ceilings. The school district also owns 22 acres west of Lumberton that was purchased with the intent of building a central office on the land.
The system has been without a permanent central office since Hurricane Matthew destroyed its headquarters in October 2016.
Board members also heard a report on its 2018-19 grade card, which offered some good news in an otherwise dismal report that saw 22 schools receive Ds or Fs and a return to low-performing status.
Math scores did not decline, and there were improvements in all areas of science, said Bobby Locklear, the system’s accountability director.
Three schools exceeded growth expectations for the first time in five or more years, and three schools exceeded growth goals for three consecutive years, he said. Five schools improved by more than five percentage points.
“We know we have work to do,” Locklear said. “We lost 23 instructional days due to Hurricane Florence.”
School principals affected by consolidations this year gave updates. Their reports were upbeat.
New students are gradually adjusting to the change, said Purnell Swett High School Principal Clyde Leviner.
“We are building relationships,” he said.
Purnell Swett, Lumberton and Fairmont high schools received students from the closing of South Robeson High School. Fairmont High received the most students, 210, from South Robeson High.
Fairmont Principal Ronald Kent Prater said, “It’s gone smoother than anybody anticipated.
“Students from both schools are engaging in extracurricular activities. We have the largest cheerleading squad ever.
“There are new opportunities for our newest students. Thirty-seven percent of our students are taking college preparatory courses.”
Fears of violence stoked by social media and fears of overcrowding have not materialized at the school, he said.
The school board approved a plan to make up two days lost to Hurricane Dorian. Students will attend school on Nov. 27, which was an optional teacher workday, and the second day will be made up by using banked time, which is accrued by the daily addition of nine minutes of instructional time.
Julia Hodges, a third-grade teacher at Fairgrove Elementary School, was named Teacher of the Year, and Kent Prater was named Principal of the Year.
During the public comment session, the Board of Education heard a plea from Cale Lowry, a former rising senior at South Robeson High School, to allow the discontinued school to hold a graduation ceremony for seniors. The Board of Education does not respond to remarks made during the public comment session.
Finally, the board heard that its general fund balance dipped to less than $1 million because of the seasonal heavy billing cycle. A healthy fund balance for a school district the size of Robeson County’s is about $6 million.
