Children need a better education

To the editor: Did anyone else notice that only six out of 17 of our county’s schools passed the adequate yearly progress for last school year as this newspaper reported? Yet, Superintendent Katie McGee got a satisfactory performance rating and a nice increase in salary.

To go with that, she also was awarded a Regional Superintendent’s Award. Tell me how. Her school system had some of the lowest end-of-grade test scores in the state.

My fellow citizens of Brunswick County: our children are not getting the quality education that we are paying for. We are also paying for quality leadership and maybe getting a C- at best, together with a school board that is letting her get by with it.

I hope each of you is aware that 37.5 cents of every tax dollar each of us pays goes to the school system, especially since our tax bills are due and must be paid in the next six weeks.

There are no checks and balances between taxpayers and the school system, only the county commissioners that approve the budget. Lately, it appears we have been paying for unnecessary attorney fees and lawsuits.

I’ll remind you again, this county is just as wealthy as Mecklenberg, Guilford and Wake, and it is long past time that we have a comparable school system and superintendent that stands along side them, which we don’t have now.

We should have a similar studies program, especially for all grades at the high school level. There is no comparison. Check it out for yourself.

Until we citizens step up to the plate and ban together as one group to require this school board to be accountable to us for all our education tax dollars during these economic times, we have a major problem.

I’m ready to begin...are you?