Letter to the Editor

FEARS about annexing NEVC into Nevada R-5

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Dear Editor

Robert and Barbara Cubbage's editorial in the Nevada Daily Mail, stated "... NEVC supporters fear annexation into the Nevada School System for a variety of reasons." None of the reasons given come close to expressing my fears.

Try FEAR of "bigger is better" attitude. We have all experienced that concept in federal/state government. Simply sending NEVC students to a bigger school system does not make it a better solution.

Greg Wortman referenced Arkansas statistics in one letter to the editor; he might also consider the following research by Robert L. Kennedy of 330 school districts that found very slight correlations between district size and cost-per-student. Kennedy's conclusion: "there is no evidence to suggest that consolidation of small school districts into larger ones will necessarily reduce expenditures per student, increase standardized test scores, or reduce dropout rates, ("Expenditures, MAT6 Scores, and Dropout Rates: A Correlational Study of Arkansas School Districts," Jan. 1989).

There is FEAR concerning lost residential real estate value. A study reported by The Rural School and Community Trust, Arlington, Va., found 60 percent of communities with schools saw population growth from 1990-2000; only 46 percent without schools grew. Average housing values in communities with schools were 25 percent higher than communities without schools. (Lyson, Thomas A. , 2002. Assessing the Social-Economic Benefits of Schools to Rural Villages in NY. Department of Rural Sociology - Cornell, Ithaca, NY)

The opposite can be inferred. If I sell my residence in a community without a school, I am reducing the potential buyers to empty nesters and parents who home school. This reduces the market value, assessed valuation and the county's revenue in real-estate taxes.

FEAR of the prevailing attitude of the annexation proponents that any method is acceptable to accomplish the desired outcome. That is not the atmosphere or philosophy within which northeast Vernon Countians normally live and function. We do not approve of illegal or inappropriate methods of "getting our way."

Wortman's statement about a "whirlwind campaign of obtaining signatures on the petition" may explain why some people didn't understand what they were signing. The incident of following a NEVC bus route twice, that resulted in authorities being called to investigate, is unacceptable. His latest letter with an apology does not excuse poor judgment in not notifying the school district or law enforcement as to his intentions.

FEAR that the efforts to ensure 100 percent graduation and zero dropouts will falter. Compare the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education AYP Reports to see why I fear for NEVC students -- the 2010 NEVC graduation rate was 100 percent (5-year average 98.0 percent). The Nevada graduation rates are 84.5 percent and 87.5 percent, respectively. Checkout www.dese.mo gov/planning/profile.

Finally, I FEAR the loss of community involvement and spirit. According to NEVC principal, Chris Hudson, 74 percent of NEVC high school students participate in extra-curricular activities. This includes FFA, FBLA, FCCLA, National Honor Society and interscholastic sports. It is improbable for large school districts to achieve that percentage of involvement.

Northeast Vernon County is a community, and our school, like our churches, is a vital part of making us a community. Vernon County, as a whole, is NOT a community -- it is a place. Vote NO to annexation.

Dorothy M. Palmer, former educator, former banker, and current NEVC taxpayer