Price: Wait for the study results
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on February 28, 2006 1:54 PM
EDITOR'SNOTE: This is the final installment in a four-part series examining the debate over funding for Wayne County school facilities improvement. Asked to respond to questions, in addition to Wayne County Commission Chairman Atlas Price, were Wayne County Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Taylor, school board Chairman John Grantham and County Manager Lee Smith.
Wayne County Commission Chairman Atlas Price is no stranger to the workings of the Wayne County Board of Education or to the school facilities question.
Price served on the school board from 1976 to 1986. It has been 20 years since his time on the board, but he said he understands the position both groups are in when it comes to balancing budgets and meeting school needs.
In April, county commissioners and school board members are expecting the return of Evergreen Solutions' findings concerning the future of school facilities in the county.
Price has said he will wait to draw his conclusions until he sees the results of that study.
Although unwiilling to make in-depth comments on the school facilities question until that time, Price responded to a few questions about the issue during a recent interview.
What do you think of the school facilities situation?
"They have given us their most complete plans, and it's got a lot of needs in them, but I'd like to get the study (from Evergreen Solutions) back before I make any kind of comment. Hopefully, it will be an unbiased study, and that's something that's important to me."
What is an unbiased opinion?
"If we had a biased opinion, we'd end up with schools where we didn't need them. This is an expensive issue. If you have a biased opinion in the issues with the school, it is just going to add on to the expense."
Before any other questions were asked, Price said that he did not believe it was helpful to the situation to talk about the issue before Evergreen Solutions' results came back.
On Feb. 21, before the Wayne County Commission-ers' meeting began, Price was given another opportunity to voice his opinions or concerns about the issue.
We want to give you the opportunity to speak -- is there anything else you would like to say about the schools' facilities issue?
"I'll be ready to get together and sit down and talk things out with the school board and the commissioners when the plan gets back. This is not the time to throw stones at one another. I would rather get the information back and talk things out then."