Thursday, March 13, 2008 — Parents, health officials, teachers and principals alike congregated at the Stanly County School Board policy committee meeting Wednes-day evening to voice their concerns on certain policies.

Policy 6030, health and wellness policy, and Policy 4190, fundraising policy, were discussed due to recent discussion brought up by parents and staff members.

Oakboro Elementary School Principal Debbie Oliver spoke in regards to a fundraiser the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) put together involving a barbecue ticket sale, giving each family at the school 15 tickets to sell in order to raise more than $30,000 for supplies needed for the school. Those who sold tickets were given the incentive of attending a Super Party Bash, complete with an inflatable obstacle course.

In retaliation, parents whose children were to be left out of the incentive for not selling 15 tickets, checked their children out at approximately 11:30 Friday morning.

“We’ve never had a fundraiser where we intentionally left students out,” Oliver said.

“It’s not a big deal.”

A total of 12 parents checked their children out of school, which as Oliver reported, is only about four percent of the school’s population. Oliver also said classes were scheduled to break during their class time in the afternoon to enjoy the festivities for half an hour.

“I’m afraid if parents start pushing things, we’ll lose our PTO,” Oliver said.

PTO President Lisa Herring also addressed her concerns to the committee, saying parents who did pull their children out of school did not attempt to sell tickets or come to her beforehand with concerns of the fundraiser or the incentive.

She also informed the board that the fundraiser did follow Policy 4190, since parents were to sell the tickets instead of allowing children to go door-to-door.

Herring said without the fundraisers the PTO is doing, there would be no money for the school because the school board is unable to hand money out.

Policy 4190 will still be taken to the board to add additional wording that provides some leeway in fundraising efforts.

After hearing from concerned parents and teachers regarding the health policy, School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) members approached the board, asking for committee members to continue to follow the policy, but perhaps clarify things along the way to principals, teachers and parents.

SHAC member Lori Ivey, Stanly County director of the NC Cooperative Extension, specializes in foods and nutrition and expressed her concern regarding the number of obese children in grades second through fourth.

“If children are overweight in second-, third- or fourth-grade, imagine the problems they will have as adults,” Ivey said.

“We have a real problem when second- and third-grade students don’t know about our native fruits.”

Ivey said since parents and teachers don’t understand the policy, the board and the committee should take the time to inform them and answer their questions.

SHAC committee member and Healthy Fundamentals Coordinator at Stanly Regional Medical Center Karen Brown announced to the board that Stanly County is being brought up in state conferences in Raleigh, noted as doing the right thing when it comes to the health policy.

“I think everyone labels the health policy as strict, but our policy is the best in the state,” Brown said.

“I don’t want to see our integrity fall through.”

Locust Elementary seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Lori Bell said teachers have struggled with the wording and are unsure of what is to be expected of them.

Bell said during a faculty meeting, teachers were instructed to look at what children have for lunch and throw away unhealthy foods.

“We want to do what you ask us to do but we want to do that on a moral level,” she said.

She said she feels the way the policy has been enforced infringes on the rights of a parent.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Angela Mills said an administrative meeting will be held Thursday for all principals to discuss revisions to the policy, which are still on the table for the 30-day period. On Friday, a packet will be sent home with children informing parents of revisions.

Revisions will be placed online and principals will be asked to communicate proposed revisions to parents and faculty.

During the meeting Thursday with school administration, Superintendent Dr. Samuel DePaul will plan with administrators a time for board members and SHAC members to meet with faculty to answer questions and explain in depth how the policy should be enforced, Mills reported.



Sarah Jane Rosser can be contacted at snaponline26@yahoo.com