McIver School hosting school board meeting

PTA president to speak on  McIver closing

McIver Elementary School will host the Halifax County Board of Education meeting on Monday, April 8, 2008 in the school cafeteria.  The meeting will start about 7 p.m. after their closed session to discuss personnel issues and legal matters.  The public is encouraged to attend.    

Twice yearly the board meets at schools rather than the central office. Earlier this year the board met at Brawley Middle School in Scotland Neck. The meeting at McIver was scheduled months ago and is in a different section of the county.

The PTA president, Alisha Hicks, is on the agenda to speak about the possibility of McIver closing. If someone wishes to address the board on a different issue, they can simply sign up prior to the 7 p.m. start time.

There are many important facts that the board should consider when discussing the closing McIver.  The seventy year old school now consist of 39,569 square feet. 

The facility costs for McIver for the 2006-07 school year was $62,354. That is only the facility costs (heating, electricity, etc.), all of which come from local funding (Halifax County). Salaries and instructional supplies only become relevant if the student population drops below 100 students.

Students mostly come from the Littleton area, but some come from near Hollister, near Aurelian Springs and near Everetts.  McIver has 4 school buses. Travel time for the school buses is about 45 minutes.

There are 9 classrooms in use. Seven of the 9 are for grades 1-5.  This is important because the state, when looking at enrollment, only counts grades 1-5. This explains why it is close to the 100-student point. In total, there are 166 students, but 42 of those students are in pre-k or Kindergarten. Meaning the state is only counting 124 students.

Three former classrooms are now being used for other instructional purposes, such as labs, but could be used for classrooms if needed.

The school is also used for PTA meetings, Boy Scout meetings, Upward Bound meetings, and sometimes other facility uses. A proposed Girl Scout troop has inquired about meeting there.

Also on the Agenda for Monday is approval of minutes and other pre-meeting matters. This month’s Student of the Month will be recognized. Also in the “Information Items” part of the meeting will be a discussion about Literacy Coaches, then about Alliance for a Healthier Generation, then a discussion concerning surveys and strategic and budget planning community forums held Dec, Jan. and Feb. (these forums did not deal with facility use), then a discussion about board policies, and finally a financial report from the finance officer.