North Carolina Now; 4322; Interview with Anita Brown-Graham

It's Tuesday September 23rd tonight seeking economic parity among our schools in North Carolina now. Hello welcome to North Carolina now I'm Marina Mistry glad you could join us. Tonight we conclude our series on the history of the women's suffrage movement in North Carolina by looking at what that fight 77 years ago to gain the right to vote means for women today.

And breaking the cycle of poverty through community partnerships is the subject of this evening's interview. We'll speak with a representative from the Institute of Government on the importance of building public private partnerships to benefit the poor. But up first tonight efforts to benefit our state's poorest school districts. North Carolina spends four billion dollars a year on its public school system and an effort to be fair in the state it divvies that money to individual districts based on Roman but local governments spend millions of dollars on schools to school districts in wealthy counties can't afford to put more money into their schools than in the poorer counties. The question is are students in the wealthier schools getting a better education as a result. Tonight in the second part of a special report on school funding. Clay Johnson shows us how a recent court ruling may lead to a solution to the disparity in school funding. Look at the differences between Leesville Elementary School in Wake County and Carver Elementary School in Vance County and it's easy to see the difference money makes these bills five year old building has classrooms that meet or exceed state's

standards and an up to date computer lab covers 45 year old building has a leaky roof. Classrooms well below the size standard and compared to Leesville is sorely lacking in computer facilities where students have the benefit of the best supplies the best equipment. A lot of technology although a Wake County would say they need more of that. They do but go to Vance County and the students are without. It makes a difference it's tools teaching tools learning tools and so on that aren't there. It's also teachers. Vance County has a tougher time finding and keeping them. One reason is because Wake County Blues its teacher pay with a local supplement to their state salary. It's three to five times more than dance County salaries supplements. So you have the problem exacerbated in terms of the county with the least resources. Also has a tough time holding on to their best teachers because they're not in a competitive situation on salaries.

A recent study by the Public School Forum shows that Wake County is spending more than $2000 per student while Vance County is spending just over one thousand dollars capital expenditures alone things like school buildings and equipment amount to almost $900 per student in wake but less than $500 per student in Vance. Wake students are also outperforming their peers in dance on achievement tests in grades three through eight nearly 80 percent of students scored at or above their grade level in reading but only about 54 percent of students achieve that level in Vance in math. Again about 80 percent scored at or above grade level in White County while only about 54 percent achieve that level in Vance County Vance's one of 70 of the state's 100 counties that are considered low wealth counties. The study shows that the top 10 spending counties are outspending the bottom 10 one thousand four hundred thirty five dollars per student. Four hundred forty six dollars per student not counting capital expenditures. And when you're looking for a class of 26 students represents a difference of about

$26000 in terms of how much is being spent in Ben's County as opposed to how much is being spent in Wayne County. Gap $7000 per pupil between the wealthiest counties and the poorest counties. I really do have an amp packed all wrong. The number of opportunities in the nature of opportunities that are provided and the school setting the General Assembly created a fund in 1991 to help low Well school districts it's now up to about forty seven and a half million dollars per year. That's helped. But they have gone only about 25 percent of what was US to me would be needed in May 1994 five of the state's poorer school districts including Vance County sued the state declaring that its system of financing schools is unconstitutional. Their case hinges on these words in the state constitution. The General Assembly shall provide for a general and uniform system of free public schools were an equal opportunity shall be provided for all students.

This is America. Public education's always been for everybody. And we always write to memory that when it means being more equitable and her kids are not getting a fair shake. That's about why the case went to the state Supreme Court last July the court ruled that there is nothing unconstitutional about the state's method of funding schools. But the court did rule that every North Carolina student has a constitutional right to what it called a sound basic education. And for the first time the group defined just what that is an education that provides the academic skills students need to function in society. The knowledge they need to make informed decisions as citizens and the aptitude to succeed after high school in college or the workplace. Both sides see something of a victory in the ruling. Both welcome the way that it shifts the focus of the debate from arguments over money to arguments over quality. But the poorer school districts believe that that shift in focus will only bolster their argument that when it comes to quality education money does matter.

And as our papers in the court show there are so many situations where with the kids in these five low wealth counties are getting really doesn't it. To a sound basic education so money isn't everything but without adequate funding it's just impossible to do the job that the districts need to do in educating our kids. The state Supreme Court ruling sends the case back to the trial court for attorneys representing the lower Well schools will argue that their students are not getting the sound basic education. The state Supreme Court said they have a constitutional right to receive and they want you get insufficient funding is one reason why I frankly don't want to wait more and more years for the outcome of another court case before we decide that we've got cause to get out and revisit this issue of funding. Everyone acknowledges that there are funding disparities in the state's public school system but finding a solution really requires of almost Solomon wisdom and frequently additional millions and millions of dollars.

So most politicians would not relish getting into it with billions of dollars being spent on the state schools. Finding the solution to the funding disparities could be compared to so many a problem on a math test. The people taking this test would be the North Carolina General Assembly. This segregation of probably been the two thorniest issues in education. Several high Well school districts have joined in the lawsuit with the Lowell schools. They argue that because they're bearing the brunt of the state's growth and a rapidly increasing population with the students of special needs they too were not able to provide that many students with the education they deserve. Well still ahead helping the poor by banding together. But first let's head over to the news desk where Mitchell Lewis is standing by to bring us up to date on today's statewide headlines. Good evening Mick. Thanks Marina. Good evening everyone. Topping our news tonight BellSouth argues for access to the long distance market in North Carolina. The state utilities commission is holding a public hearing to determine if BellSouth has opened its local telephone markets to competition.

If the company can demonstrate its local phone business is low or no longer a monopoly. The commission will recommend to federal regulators that Bellsouth be allowed to start long distance service. Opponents argue that there is little or no real competition in such places as the Triangle in Charlotte. BellSouth could stand to gain a quarter of the state's long distance traffic. The public hearing is scheduled to run through October 3rd. A task force in Raleigh is working on a plan to win a share of a 24 billion dollar federal health insurance program for needy children. The program is designed to provide coverage for an estimated 5 million uninsured children across the country. The state's plan has to be approved by the federal government before the money. About 80 million dollars next year becomes available if approved the plan must also be endorsed by the General Assembly and the state must contribute about twenty seven million dollars in matching funds. It's estimated that 60000 North Carolina children could qualify for the new program. Flounder fisherman will have to wait until next week for a trial to begin on their suit to

overturn federal quotas on their catch. Lawyers for the Justice Department and the North Carolina Fisheries Association had hoped a federal judge in Virginia would rule yesterday without a full trial. But the judge says he needs more evidence about the economic impact of the quota before he makes his decision. In the lawsuit the fishermen want a little more than a million pounds of flounder reinstated in their quota for 1997. And now for a look at tomorrow's weather. High temperatures will only be in the 60s for most of the state. Low 70s will be on tap for Wilmington and Charlotte. Cloudy conditions are in the forecast wind rain is very likely in the western part of the state. Other areas have a chance for showers and thunderstorms as well. In business news the triad with its extensive business support network is ranked number four in a national ranking of the top 20 metro areas for small businesses. The October issue of Entrepreneur magazine ranks Portland Oregon first followed by St. Louis and Seattle. The Triad ranks fourth followed by Charlotte in fifth place the rankings

were calculated by judging cities and five categories government attitude toward business business performance economic growth and risk and affordability among mid-sized cities the triangle placed third this year. IBM signs its new line of computer servers for data intensive operations will be capable of being managed and serviced remotely. The servers will be built in Research Triangle Park and will cost between 16000 and $20000 each. The servers are aimed at businesses with large networks of users and companies that do business over the Internet. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. And one of every four North Carolina counties more than 20 percent of the population lives

in poverty according to the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A new institute book called Creating affective partnerships for Community Economic Development provides information on how residents can use partnerships with area organizations to improve working and living conditions for everyone. Here to tell us more is Anita Brown gram from the Institute of Government MS. Graham welcome to the program. It's good to be here. Let's start with you giving us an overview of just how big of the poverty situation here is in North Carolina. Well Merida North Carolina is a very interesting state as you well know of the last. A couple of years we've seen a real economic boom in the state and it would lead one to believe that things are going very well for all North Carolinians. Unfortunately what seems to be happening is that we're building two separate and distinct North Carolinas one for the highly skilled highly paid workers and one for low skilled workers who tend primarily these days to be unemployed because they just

don't have the skills necessary to meet the demands of employers as such as you mentioned. We've got a situation where in one out of every 1 out of every four counties we've got over 20 percent of the population living below the poverty level. We've got over two hundred thousand children in North Carolina who live below the poverty level. And it's becoming a more dire situation this is particularly true in our urban areas which we're starting to see for the concentrations of poverty. And we now in fact have census tracks in North Carolina where you've got over 70 percent of the population being unemployed. And it's important to remember that poverty in a community affects everyone it is not just the poor Tell us a little bit about that. It goes back to what I said earlier about building two North Carolinas. I think most of us are beginning to recognize that we're only going to be able to be so successful if we are able to reach out and somehow bring along that lagging CE section of our population. We're going to have to

provide skills for those who are unemployed and underemployed. We're going to have to provide livable wages. We're going to have to provide affordable housing. We're going to have to make our economy one that encompasses all of North Carolina. If the state is really to accomplish its real potential and obviously there's lots of the tension here but we're stifled. I think by the way those who are not benefiting from the prosperity these days and the institute's new book is about accomplishing those goals it's about bringing together partnerships of different community organizations correct. That's absolutely right. For a long time since the 1930s the federal government has been the dominant force in poverty programs. Over the last five six years some might argue up to 15 years we've seen a real retrenchment on the part of the federal government and a real sense that if solutions are going to be found they're going to have to be found at the state and local

level. And so even though the federal government continues to provide significant funding for community development programs it's starting to say you need to find those programs in a way that best meets the needs of North Carolinians. That's a real challenge for each state including North Carolina and it's a real challenge for local communities which are now having to find a way to fill that gap. Clearly the state government nor local governments are going to be able to do that. On their own they don't have the resources and quite frankly they probably are not best suited to come up with the most viable strategies for revitalizing our most distressed communities. It's going to require an effort of the community the larger community that needs to include the for profit sector lending institutions are local businesses. It's going to have to include the nonprofit sector which includes community based development organizations but also our churches our civic organizations everybody because we've all got a vested

interest in making sure that we've got communities that are safe and livable places for all North Carolinians and the book gives us an example of how successful these partnerships can be. Tell us about the there's an example out of Greensboro that worked with the partnership is running together. The book highlights to best practices what out of Greensboro and one out of Little Washington the one out of Greensburg was really interesting and signifies just how comprehensive community development needs to be. This community development organization which is a nonprofit worked with its local government the city of goings and also with the county. And the social services departments work with the Housing Authority worked with lots of banks in the area to revitalize what was once Queens Brose worst neighborhood most notorious for crime. They built houses. They made sure that they employed the residents of the community in the rehab of Titian efforts. They worked with the community colleges to make sure that

these residents were going to have usable skills. They worked with local employers to make sure that these people would have jobs after they graduated from community college. So when these people moved into their new homes they could afford to pay a mortgage they could understand the context between and Hansing the social fabric and the economic fabric. And now we've got a community in Queens where that everyone once shunned that people are hailing as a best practice of community development. It's exactly the kind of thing that we're starting to see in communities all over North Carolina. And it's really inspirational. How can people get their hands on the book. The Institute of Government will provide copies through its publications the partment the number for our switchboard is called 9 1 9 9 6 6 5 3 8 1. You just asked for publications they'll be able to send it to you. Okay great. Thank you so much for your time this evening Bridget you coming out and discussing a very fascinating

topic I want you well. Well thank you I appreciate it. We spent the last four weeks looking at the events that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment which 77 years ago granted women the right to vote. Tonight Christina Copeland concludes her serious with a look at what that struggle has meant for women in North Carolina today. On

August 18 19 20 women across the United States at last won the right to vote just the day before the state senate in Raleigh had tabled a decision on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. As a result Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the measure for North Carolina women. It was a bittersweet victory. They were in shock because on one hand their legislators had failed them. On the other hand very quickly within a day really Tennessee had come through for them. So they were left startled you know happy and disappointed all at once the anti-suffrage forces decided to accept the amendment and told white women that they should register to vote. It would be several decades more before black women and black men were seated equal political opportunities brought by the fall elections of 1920 the state's voter rolls had grown by a quarter of a million people.

One of the new voters was Lillian exim Clement of Asheville The 26 year old lawyer was also one of the newest members of the North Carolina House of Representatives becoming the first woman elected to a state legislature in the south. Well she was nominated by the male Democrats in power in 19 20 prior to women getting the vote. So that was that was concerned she would she won in the primary. So I believe there are a couple of us that she was on. Since then more than 100 women have served in the House and Senate narrowly several in leadership positions. But it hasn't always been easy for female lawmakers to win the respect of their male colleagues. As Marie Colton discovered there was kind of a mindset that number one that women were Medlen and that number two they weren't interested in front burner issues and of course every issue that the legislature deals with affects women.

North Carolina Women are also beginning to make their mark nationally. In 1992 Eva Clayton of Littleton became North Carolina's first woman ever and first African-American since the turn of the century to be elected to Congress. She was joined in 1994 by Sue Myrick of Charlotte Clayton says women still don't realize their full political power. The sleeping giant is in the numbers before women. And now in North Carolina just in America then they are men and they have more active voting but they don't vote in their own interest so the power is there. The vote is given to us. And while we're celebrating today 75 years of substance the right to vote we really have not fully use that power. The fact that North Carolina had failed to ratify the 19th Amendment certainly didn't prevent women from becoming politically active in the state. But still it bothered some people. And so in 1971 the state legislature decided to try to do something

about it. Willis which you're now an associate justice on the state Supreme Court was the lawmaker who introduced the amendment again in the state house. I was a freshman member of the house I was all of 30 years old. I had a constituent who was the lobbyist for the League of Women Voters and she had asked some of her skipper Bowles candidate for governor the next year to introduce the amendment in the Senate. And they asked me to introduce a bill to ratify it in the house. It was received far more favorably than it had been in one thousand twenty Maile I just laid off were stumbling all over themselves to show their support for this mailer talking about how important women had been in their campaigns and that sort of thing. It was of course purely symbolic at that point but some of our important in our society and a lot of us thought it was simply the thing to do.

It certainly would have been an important symbol to the North Carolina Women of 920 who worked so hard for the amendment but they didn't wait for state lawmakers to catch up with them. Gertrude Weil head of the equal suffrage league church her organization into the state chapter of the League of Women Voters becoming its first president. Charlotte Hawkins Brown continued as head of the Palmer Memorial Institute making it a model of black education in America. She also spent the next 50 years working to help the African-American population of the state and to improve understanding between people of all races. Well neither woman had children of her own. Both left an enduring legacy to all the daughters of North Carolina. Well that's our program for tonight thanks for having been a part of it. On tomorrow's edition of North Carolina now as our state becomes more and more racially diverse. Bob Garner will examine some of the challenges faced by some children as they try to fit in. Also tomorrow our guest will be the director of the U.N. see Greensborough theater which is celebrating its seventy fifth anniversary. And Maria Lundberg will introduce us to a

talented young musician who is carving out a unique niche in the music world. Have a great evening everyone we'll see you back here tomorrow. Good night.