***********************************************************

School board candidates took opposing stands on their proposals regarding education at the Lenoir center Tuesday night.
Senior citizens are clearly sick and tired of discussing old news, $35 million bond issues from the April ballot. They want to know about year-round schooling, and how it was going to hit the pocketbook.

Candidate Henry Lane was spoke bold plans to fix the overcrowding problem. Lane said the need to use trailers as classrooms can be changed. He insisted that year-round schooling would decrease overcrowding by reducing the number of students in daily attendance by 25%. This would eliminate the need for trailers as classrooms.

Incumbent Board President Elton Fay did not see Lane’s year-round schooling idea as feasible. “What Mr. Lane fails to tell you is that if we are to avoid erecting additional buildings…the cost of educating our children would go up substantially,” Fay said. To complicate matters further, Fay pointed out that different aged students on different schooling schedules would wreak havoc.

Candidate Larry Dorman said his efforts would go towards eliminating the overcrowding in schools and increasing teacher’s pay. “If money weren’t an issue, I would build all the schools necessary,” said Dorman. (More information on Dorman would be ideal)

Incumbent board member Kerry Corino defended the overcrowded schools. He said that it was unfair to make comparisons between public and private schools. According to Corino, the teachers are also against unionizing. “That tells you a lot of things about how this city operates,” Corino stated.

(Photo from Orange County Register Communications)