Durham County Commissioner Nimasheena Burns is challenging members of the Durham Board of Public Schools to spend the money allocated from the county.
In an open letter titled The Billion Dollar Question, Burns says funding shortages in education are a result of problems with underspending as opposed to underfunding. She contends the narrative of underfunding is falsely perpetuated by members of the school board when the facts clearly showcase the opposite.
Burns comments are based on a detailed report of county funding for schools discussed during the May 3, 2020, commissioners meeting.
“The public messaging has made it appear the County has done nothing. Yet, based on page 3 (of county report), of the $10 million allocated in 2019, only $1.46 million has been spent, which is about 15%.,” Burns’ states in the letter. “How can DPS facilitate faster spending rates on critical projects, especially given the significant increase in funding for DPS was allocated earlier this month for additional spending capacity?”
Burns’ questions why school board members blame the county for limited funding when the data shows funding from multiple sources.
“What I don’t understand is how the County can be blamed when dollars were made available for these projects and $3.5 million remains unallocated to any project,” said Burns. “I have looked at those past meetings and invite the public to do the same to see what the past board did in the way of funding. Further $4.2 million in lottery funds have not been appropriated.”
Burns questioned reports in local newspapers involving a lack of county funding for an HVAC project at the Durham School of the Arts. She says funding for the project was approved on November 25, 2019. She cites a state report showing an accumulated balance of close to $4.3 million in lottery funds that could be used for the project.
“When some people on the school board have been asked about this Capital Improvement spending, I have seen members of this board act is if my fellow board members took no action. That is not true. When statements are made in the public by citizens who do not have the privilege or opportunity to know the ins and outs of our work, we should give them the correct information,” said Burns. “Telling the TRUTH should not be hard. Asking questions should not be seen as acts of defiance.”
Burns says she defended many of the members of the school board when their lives, and the lives of their family members, were threatened. She challenged members of the school board to consider the data first before making false allegations.
Burns says after discussing the details of the county report on school spending with school board members, many informed her they were unaware of the available funding for school needs.
“Our students and teachers deserve to have those dollars spent. Based on a Budget Meeting on yesterday (August 3), there is still $49 million dollars left in past bond that has not been spent. That is not an accusation, it is an observation,” said Burns. “I am hopeful that you can receive it as just that, a very real observation. While I will not go so far as to falsely criticize your board or staff as many of your members have done my board and my staff, I will state that I have concerns about future planning based on some of the inquires I provided above.”
The Board of County Commissioners and the school board continue to work on developing a school Capital Improvement Plan. Burns challenged the school board to spend the money available through previously appropriated funds. She reminded members of the school board the importance of AAA rating, a point ridiculed publicly by members of the school board. Due to the county’s AAA rating, Burns says Durham Public Schools has access to almost $1 billion dollars.
“This is not the time to be defensive, but a time to be decisive. I look forward to your thoughts on these issues,” said Burns. “Actual answers, not more accusations. If the answers, don’t exist for you, I would hope that we could move forward with spending the above-mentioned funds on things that will help our parents, teachers and students, all learn, eat, work, play and innovate in a safe and supportive learning environment.”
______________________________________________________
“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.” - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
You can support the Rev-elution in providing local, Black, journalism by contributing at: Cash App, $CMizzou, or Venmo, @Carl-Kenney-1
No comments:
Post a Comment