North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 03/20/1996

It's Wednesday March 20th. Tonight controversy surrounding school equity in North Carolina now. Right. Hello everyone I'm Marina Mistry welcome to this Wednesday edition of North Carolina now so glad you could join us tonight. Well here we are the first day of spring but you wouldn't know it by the weather. The mountains endured high wind warnings and heavy snow warnings today in the rest of the state experienced exceptionally chilly temperatures for this time of the year. It's a nice night to watch North Carolina now there in the warmth and comfort of your living room. And we have a very informative program for you tonight. We will focus on two major issues currently affecting

our state. One is the safety of nursing and rest homes in North Carolina. We'll discuss that topic later in our program with the deputy director of the North Carolina facility services. Well we start the show with an in-depth look at the court ruling regarding school funding equity. The state court of appeals has rolled against a lawsuit seeking additional financial support for some of the state's poorer school districts. School districts in Hoke Halifax Cumberland Vance and Robeson counties brought the suit seeking a change in the way the General Assembly allocates monies for schools. The state equally distributes money to school districts based on the student population. However local property taxes supplement the state allocations leaving poorer school districts with less resources than wealthy districts. In a unanimous decision the Court of Appeals ruled that the state constitution makes no promise of an equal education for all. Only a guarantee that public schooling be available to everyone. Here's a quote from that

ruling. If our Constitution demands that each child receive a quality of opportunity in the sense argued by the plaintiffs only absolute equality between all systems across the state will satisfy the constitutional mandate. Our Constitution clearly does not contemplate such absolute uniformity. And joining me now to talk about this court ruling is Edwin Dunlap the executive director of the North Carolina School Board Association Mr. Dunlap Welcome to the program. Thank you. What's your reaction to the court ruling. A little concerned to say the least about the court ruling I think the tone of it sends a distressing message to everybody that's concerned about public schools in our in our state distressing how so distressing in that. Apparently the feeling of the judges was that students need to have access to public schools and simply walking through a classroom door is not going to provide students with the kind of

educational environment that they deserve and that they need. The issues of equity and the issues of opportunity simply were not addressed and that is very concerning to all of us. Let's talk about that because in the prior to your introduction I read that quote there that came from the ruling that indicated that the court was just looking at the Constitutional basis of this and really didn't look into the overall need and what is your response. Well I can I can understand the constitutional. The issue that the court looked at Unfortunately any decision that comes down has profound political ramifications. And that's what we're concerned with. The mood in the time that this decision is going to cast upon the state is extremely frightening nothing that children should be penalized or penalized because of where they're born and where they happen to

live in terms of the educational opportunities that that they have is very very distressing. I have another quote that I would like for you to react to when this is a quote from Mike Easley the attorney general of North Carolina. And it reads that did this comes from a written statement that he sent the court ruled that North Carolina has a constitutional system of financing public education that does not mean it is a fair system. Now the legislature can address the issue and determine the appropriate method of funding public education. Your response what's the legislature going to do now. I don't know what the legislature is going to do. I would have to believe that under the leadership of the State Board of Education and local school districts in North Carolina local boards of education superintendents there we can make the case in the general assembly for adequate funding for public schools. I think that we have to do that. Unfortunately I believe that this court decision that has come down will make that more difficult for us because it

will enable some folks that aren't as committed to public schools as some of us are to possibly have the upper hand we're going to have to work very diligently and very hard to make sure that we make the case for public schools that we make the case for children and we will do that and I think ultimately we will prevail. The legislature hasn't dealt with this issue in the past though it's kind of looked to this court ruling is a way out does it let them off the hook now. Well it could you could say that that possibly may happen but go back to my my earlier statement. I believe that individuals at the state level and at the local school board level will exert the kind of leadership and help. Explain the needs of public schools to the state Senate and the State House of Representatives so that they will adequately fund public education in North Carolina. We simply have to do that.

We have been talking about the poorer school districts involved in this lawsuit but there's a whole nother issue here and that's the more affluent school districts. I'm particularly thinking of Wake County in Durham County that have this influx of students just pouring into their system their system is starting to be strained by all these new students. Shouldn't they have the money that comes from the property taxes that the parents pay in that community go to their school district. It does it does. But even an eye in a county like Wake County or Charlotte Mecklenburg where there are. There are sufficient or there are adequate resources and they are the growth in the number of students simply is not keeping up with the demand. And something has to give there across North Carolina now we have a 6 billion dollar school facility need in Wake County were adding four thousand students plus every year to the public school system and the local property tax base in Wake County even is probably not strong enough to sustain that kind

of that kind of continued growth without some state assistance. So even even in the wealthy districts even in the larger districts there still needs to be additional state aid to public schools. Mr. Dunlop it sounds like you're telling me that every school district deserves and needs additional funding. What would you recommend I would recommend that the people involved use some reason and sit down and think through this serious situation which we are facing. Cutting taxes alone is not going to provide the kind of growth that we're going to need in order to go into the 21st century. Public schools or a viable institution. And our future depends on it. And we have got to make sure that we're giving children the kind of opportunities that they need to be productive members of our society. And so we need to do whatever it takes.

Mr. Dunlop on that note we'll end it but I want to thank you for your time and thank you for the end user. Coming up our nursing homes in our state safe we'll try to find that answer later in the program but right now Michel Louis has a summary of today's statewide news events Good evening Mitch. Thanks Maria. Good evening everyone. The issue of minority enrollment has sparked protests on the campus of a predominantly black university. More than 300 students at North Carolina Central University have signed a petition to protest the school's efforts to recruit white students. A notice printed in the school's alumni news is asking graduates to provide admissions officers with the names and addresses of prospective white enrollees. Chancellor Julius chambers defends efforts to welcome qualified students of any race. The president of the University of North Carolina system has brought attention to the need for better computer training for public classroom teachers. President CDs Spangler says to many of the state's public school educators lack sufficient computer skills and don't know how to use them. Spangler SAS teachers must be prepared for the

classroom. The commander of Fort Bragg sends one of his top priorities as housing for single and married soldiers. But he says people are going to have to be patient. Lieutenant General John Keane acknowledges that some of the barracks on his post are in a state of decay. But he says the solution is years away because there's not enough funding to take care of all the problems right away. The general made the comments during a family symposium at the base in which soldiers also voiced concerns about pay and medical care. And now let's take a look at tomorrow's weather forecast. It will be a breezy day across much of North Carolina in the western part of the State High temperatures will only reach the 30s. The rest of the state will have highs ranging from the mid 40s in the Piedmont to the low 50s at the southern beaches the mountains can expect continued cloudy conditions with snow possible. All other areas a forecast to be partly cloudy in business news Nation's Bank is one of several banks that to lose as much as one hundred seventy three million dollars and a loan fraud scheme. FBI agents arrested two people in New York on related bank

fraud charges. One is a former Philip Morris employee and had done business with an official from one of the banks who has also been implicated in the scam. The loans were to finance computer equipment leases nation's banks says its losses could total 60 million dollars but says that it has more than enough in reserves to cover that amount. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. We were all shaken this week by News of the worst rust home fire in North Carolina history.

Eight men died at the Scotch meadow rest home in Lauren burg when a blaze broke out sparked by an overheated outlet. This latest tragedy comes in light of a recent rash of license suspensions and record high fines being levied against other nursing and rest homes across North Carolina. Is this just a coincidence or are there reasons to be concerned about the safety of North Carolina's rest homes. Here to answer those questions is Linda McDaniel the deputy director of the division of facilities services for the state. McDaniel Welcome to the program. Thank you. Let's answer that question. Is there reason to be concerned about Norse nursing homes in North Carolina. Certainly not generally. Most of the homes both rest homes and nursing homes in North Carolina do a very good job of providing very good care. We do have isolated situations where there are problems and that's what we want to try to stay on top oben and prevent when we're winking at before we go any further let's get a working definition of the terms nursing home and rest homes I know I use the

terms interchangeably but there is a very distinct difference right. People who are in rest times tend in the Personal Care Services. These are aides in activities of daily living things like grooming dressing bathing and lighting those types of needs are taken care of and rest a person nursing her 24 hour medical supervision. So it's a higher level of medical need in a nursing home. Let's talk about this tragic fire that took place late Sunday night was that facility in compliance with regulations by war. They had had a local fire inspection early in January of 96 So just within the last couple of months. Our staff had been hand to review compliance with licensure standards in February just last month and they were found to be in compliance. So that leads me to my next question then. If a facility like that was in

compliance with the regulations what good do the regulations do with a tragedy like that can take place. Well of course one of the problems with this home it was built a long time ago. It was built in 1974 when there were not as strict a building code and regulations as are in place now you know a home of that size would now have to be sprinklered. And when it was built it did not have to be. The regulations have become tougher particularly in the area building requirements over time. But the facilities that were built earlier were grandfathered in. As meeting requirements Unfortunately those types of improvements are very expensive. We will let you go on now to the new regulations that have been in place since July I believe and those are federal regulations but your state agency is charged with carrying out those regulations. If you can briefly describe what some of those tough new regulations are about OK this is really the last step in the nursing

home Reform Act that Congress passed in 1997. This is the enforcement piece all the requirements have been put in place all the regulations for quality of care and quality of life have been in place now for a number of years. So this is the last step in which the remedies are put in place before these went into place in July. The only remedy that we had on the federal side was terminations of Medicare Medicaid which most facilities require to stay in business. This new regulation on enforcement added a number of intermediate sanctions such as the civil monetary funds that have been in the news were dominantly here in the last couple of months and those fines can be quite hefty I understand that's a thousand dollars a day or something like that. They range from $50 a day to $10000 a day. Tao's right and the number of days obviously has a huge impact. OK so before the only thing the federal regulations could do would be to cut off the Medicaid and

the Medicare and it was the state that would levy the fines now it's more the federal arm that levies the fines and do the state regulations now come into play are they basically outdated because of the new tougher federal regulations. Well the laws we did seek a change in the law in the last session the General Assembly which basically said that if we find someone on the federal side we won't take the state action to be somewhat double jeopardy to find someone for the same thing twice. I understand OK so then the federal regulations are going to how powerful in this point. Well let's talk about some of these new record penalties that we've been hearing so much about if the regulations have been in effect since July. Why are we first hearing about these fines now. Well it has taken a while to get into enough facilities for these to hit the news and and to really start taking effect. We have really only imposed about seven significant foreign since we started using process.

I have been rather large so I have half a million dollars for what is still a bit in Hendersonville I understand rod. And you're saying so you first now have been able to get into the facilities and check out the problems. What would you say and were starting to run out of time so if you can go through this very roughly. But the person out there who is considering putting their parent or their grandparent into a nursing home what are some of the warning signs that we need to look out for. Well I would recommend anyone considering or somehow to visit the facility and take a look at their last survey report. Nursing homes are required by federal law to keep a copy available for family members and persons who are interested to be able to take a look at that and judge for yourself whether you think this would be a facility that your loved one would be happy in. Different people have a differently and want different things out of a home so everyone has to make that decision. You know him so herself. Linda McDaniel the deputy director of facilities services I want to thank you for your time

today it's important information we appreciate you being here. Thank you. That's all we have time for tonight. Please stay tuned to you and see TV throughout the evening for bestival 96 and join us back here tomorrow night for another edition of North Carolina now. Enjoy your evening. Good night everyone.