Paul Howe, School Board President, provided an overview of the Harrison County School system. Local schools are part of a stat school system and receive their principle funding from property taxes which is distributed by the state. Harrison County has a $118 million budget and around 1,500 employees. Excess teachers and staff must be paid using levies. It costs $9,000 per pupil. Harrison is the 6th largest school system in the state. It costs $6 million a year for transportation. The largest grant is a $6.9 million for the Lumberport elementary school.
School system is subject to a very large Rules and Regulations Book which describes the procedures and requirements that all state schools must adhere.
The “No Child Left Behind” has had some shortcomings because it removes some flexibility from the teachers. Teachers must try to teach subjects that will pass a national test, resulting in other topics not being covered.
Finally, Mr. Howel discussed consolidation issues. Some make the case that local schools provide better education while consolidating provides more opportunities for the same amount of funding.
