NEW HANOVER COUNTY—After two months of deliberation, a majority of the New Hanover County School Board decided to delay making a decision on high school redistricting.
With a split school board, school overcrowding and socioeconomic inequalities explained as the basis for the redistricting will not be acted on until September.
Issues still stand
According to a redistricting timeline approved earlier this year, a decision to adopt one of the three proposed redistricting maps was slated to pass Tuesday evening.
Instead, a majority of the board voted to delay that decision.
Over 300 online responses, hundreds of emails and dozens of public comments have been presented to the board this year. Plans to relieve Elmsley A. Laney High School from being well above capacity were initially announced on Jan. 9, revisited Jan. 23 and again Tuesday evening.
A modest 10 percent of responses were in support of the proposed plans. The most recurring criticisms of redistricting include:
- Socioeconomic inequality
- Transportation costs
- Splitting neighborhoods
- Rival gangs being placed in the same schools
Eddie Anderson, assistant superintendent for NHCS, recommended the board adopt “option 1b,” one of three school assignment proposed options presented this year.
He said school assignment changes through this option would “significantly” improve socioeconomic conditions at New Hanover High School (NHHS).
NHHS has the highest percentage of students eligible to receive free and reduced lunch, currently at 49 percent.
Under the redistricting committee’s recommendation, the estimated number of students receiving free and reduced lunch at NHHS would be 44 percent, still, nearly twice that of John T. Hoggard’s estimated 25 percent.
Board members David Wortman and Lisa Estep voted to adopt the recommended option, but the motion failed to pass 5-2.
New school vs. old school
Having served the shortest amount of time, Wortman criticized the veteran board for having left socioeconomic and overcrowding issues fester for over a decade without taking meaningful action.
“It’s moving forward with balancing out some of our overpopulated schools, which hasn’t been done in years on this board, it’s actually addressing some of the socioeconomic issues that we’ve seen from the data, which hasn’t been done in years on this board and it’s hopefully moving forward,” Wortman said.
Though he only named Higgins in his dissent, Wortman was also addressing veteran board members who he said have served decades without addressing overcrowding and school assignment inequities.
Janice Cavenaugh has served the school board for 27 years, Edward Higgins, Jr. for 26, Donald Hayes for 24 and Jeanette Nichols for 18. The last school assignment decision was made in 2001 when Eugene Ashley High School opened, in which all members but Cavenaugh were present to adopt new maps.
Wortman questioned these board member’s “ulterior motives” and intention to delay a decision. “It flies in the face of what we’re here for,” he said.
While Wortman was trying to move up the voting deadline, Higgins asked to wait until 2025 to adjust redistricting lines in consideration of middle school planning adjustments.
“The fact is we can’t afford another high school, we don’t have any land for another high school,” Higgins said.
Initially, Janice Cavenaugh motioned to delay the decision a full year, but Wortman requested an amendment to set a solid deadline in September.
Wortman’s amendment to postpone a decision until September rather than a full year passed 4-3, and the final motion to delay passed 6-1.
Indecision 2019
While some parents desired an attempt towards equitable action, some said the decision-making process was moving too quickly.
Deirdre Condon organized a petition which garnered over 100 signatures. Her petition states, “we, the undersigned, believe that the students of New Hanover County Schools should be able to complete their high school years.”
Condon said the redistricting decision would create risk factors for current students, including higher drop out rates and lower test grades.
Student assignments for the 2019 school year will be revisited in September when the board must vote on adopting a new map. On Wednesday, the board announced it would hold a special meeting next Thursday, only to discuss information during a closed session.
Update: The article has been updated to correct the vote on “option 1b.”
Johanna Ferebee can be reached at johanna@localvoicemedia.com or @j__ferebee on Twitter
