Water, books, wages all topics for Cumberland County school board right now
While the Cumberland County School's Board of Education members met with Cumberland County’s legislative delegation last month, a few topics on and off the agenda have repeatedly come up at meetings this school year.
Teacher and staff pay, safe drinking water in Gray's Creek area, eliminating uniforms at some schools and determining if certain books will be removed from circulation are among the issues being discussed by district employees and officials or parents and students.
Some of the matters have been ongoing for a few years, while others are new.
Here’s a look at what to know and the latest on each subject.
Pay
During the Feb. 24 meeting, Ruben Reyes, associate superintendent for Human Resources, made a presentation about “retaining top talent and improving working conditions.”
Teacher pay and shortages have been part of an ongoing statewide discussion for several years.
Locally, Cumberland County Board of Education members Jacquelyn Brown, Judy Musgrave and Greg West all said during the November general election that they did not think teachers are paid enough.
Cumberland County School bus drivers also protested for higher wages last month and in November 2021.
More:Cumberland County school bus drivers hold 'sickout' over pay
Water
According to a proposed 2023 legislative agenda, the school board will consider requesting that the General Assembly support efforts by members of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners to extend safe drinking water to the Gray’s Creek area of Cumberland County.
The area has GenX-contaminated wells that have forced students and staff at Alderman and Gray’s Creek elementary schools to use bottled water since 2017.
GenX is a member of a large group of man-made chemical compounds used in commercial products. The compound has been linked to several types of cancer among other health problems.
More:Low levels of GenX discovered in school water
More:Cumberland County to set aside money for GenX contaminated wells in Gray's Creek
Uniforms
Cumberland County Schools paused enforcing school uniforms this school year because of “supply chain and uniform availability issues” at the start of the school year, according to an announcement on the district's website.
After parent, teacher and student surveys at Howard Hall Elementary, Pine Forest Middle School and Sherwood Park Elementary showed the majority in favor of discontinuing uniforms, the school board voted 6-3 on Jan. 10 to not require uniforms at those schools for the 2023-24 school year.
Books
At the school board’s Nov. 1 meeting, Superintendent Marvin Connelly announced a review of “media … to ensure materials are appropriate for students at each grade level.”
Several community members raised concerns at the Feb. 14 meeting about whether the district will ban books that target minority and LGBTQ authors.
More:'Banning books has never been a good idea': Cumberland County Schools reviewing some books
According to a Feb. 23 report to the board’s Curriculum Committee, titles that parents raised concerns about were submitted in October, and a book review committee will complete its review of all the books in March.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What to know about Cumberland County Schools right now
