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We forgot to post this earlier in the week, but six Guilford County schools are losing a big chunk of money for their student health centers.

Private foundations have provided about a quarter of the funding for the six health centers. But that money, about $200,000 will dry up at the end of the school year.

What should the school district do? Replace the money? Cut services? Or close the health centers completely?

Over in Gibsonville, the leadership of Eastern Middle is considering a plan to require students to wear uniforms. The proposal is based on Aycock Middle's Standard Mode of Dress, which was adopted for the 2004-05 school year.

The uniforms would consist of polo- or dress-style shirts and either slacks or skirts. It's not like the Catholic school uniforms you see in movies. Principal Joe Ferrell says he believes that a standard mode of dress would improve student behavior. But he also says he won't adopt this policy without buy-in from the parents.

A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the school.

So what do you think? Is this a good idea? And if we have any Aycock parents out there, how has this worked at your school?

Sunday's story about Dudley High School reopening really took me down Memory Lane.

In 2001, the fight by Dudley supporters to save their historic school probably was the biggest story I covered that year. I won't say it was as contentious as the High Point high school reassignment plan, but it was similar in a lot of ways. You had the school board on one side and concerned citizens on the other. And it seemed like something newsworthy was happening just about every day for a time.

I really enjoyed touching base with folks like Lewis Brandon, Goldie Wells, Heather Seifert and Mark Fields in writing this Sunday story. They were instrumental in the campaign to save Dudley and I talked to them all the time back in 2001. It's nice to renew old acquaitances.

But I wonder if there could be another parallel to the High Point reassignment plan. Ultimately, the Dudley parents and alumni were able to convince the school board to reverse their earlier vote and spare their school.

The board's membership has changed somewhat since then, but does the success of the Dudley supporters give hope to reassignment plan opponents? Or are we talking about two completely different issues?

Our latest unscientific poll shows that the new high school being built in the northern part of the county should take its name from its compass point.

Northern Guilford High School took 61 percent of the 82 votes cast in our weekly poll. Here are the results:

What should Guilford County's newest high school be named?
Northern Guilford High School 61 percent
Edward R. Murrow High School 25.6 percent
Other 13.4 percent

So, there you have it. Northern Guilford it should be, according to Chalkboard readers.

And that brings us to our next poll.

What should the school board do about the controversial High Point high schools reassignment plan? (Sometimes also called the choice plan, the lottery, and I've even seen it referred to as the "fat chance" plan.)

UPDATE: Read the latest story on the reassignment plan in today's News & Record.

I hope everyone has had a chance to read today's story on the High Point high school reassignment plan.

Since everything about this plan is so controversial, I thought I would pass along the official Guilford County Schools report on the 2005-06 lottery. I'm just going to cut and paste this report in three separate files:

File one

File two

File three

And don't forget to vote on this issue in our Web poll.

A new state Board of Education policy will require schools to offer 30 minutes of physical activity per day for all elementary and middle school students.

This doesn't necessarily mean P.E. It could mean recess, where the teacher takes students outside for a break. Or they could do some jumping jacks at their seats.

Proponents say that with childhood obesity rates skyrocketing, students need more exercise. There's little debating the truth of that.

But some critics, including the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, wonder if this mandate will burden teachers, who already have plenty on their plates. They also note that the state doesn't mandate how much time school should spend on any other subject.

So what is your take? Is the state Board of Ed right in requiring more recess? If so, is this the right approach? Or should this be left up to individual schools?

On Tuesday night, Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier will offer up his version of the 2005-06 budget to the Guilford County Board of Education. He outlined the proposal last week at a budget committee meeting with some school board members and county commissioners.

His proposal technically isn't due until May 1. Last year, he just beat the deadline and the board had about two weeks to go through the request and come up with a revised version.

Board members have more time this year. What will they do with it? The budget isn't due to county commissioners until May 15. Then the commissioners get to mull it over along with requests from their department heads before coming up with a county budget.

Last year, Grier recommended about a $13 million increase. The board shaved that down to about $10 million. Commissioners chopped that in half and gave the schools a $5 million increase.

This time Grier is again recommending about a $13 million increase.

The district's $500 million budget this year includes about $131 million in local money for operating expenses.

If you missed it, the News & Record on Sunday published this story about how rising diesel prices are hitting bus fleets hard. Schools have large bus fleets, and thus large diesel bills.

Guilford County Schools has gotten some help from the state, and has used some state transportation money set aside for other projects (painting, extending lifts so larger buses can be worked on)to pay for the higher fuel bill.

But it hasn't been enough to keep up with the rising costs.

And charging to the rescue is ... a mild winter?!

Savings in energy costs might be enough to cover the deficit from the rising fuel prices, according to Chief Financial Officer Sharon Ozment.

Last week's Web poll received 88 votes with two-thirds wanting to end the controversial High Point high schools reassignment plan. Here's a look at the breakdown:

How should the Guilford County Board of Education handle the High Point reassignment plan?

A. End it and go back to the way it was 43.2 percent
B. End it, but redraw attendance lines 23.9 percent
C. Continue as is 2.3 percent
D. Continue, but drop the computer lottery component 30.7 percent
E. Don’t know 0 percent

Question: I was surprised to see nearly 31 percent wanted to continue with the program if the lottery were dropped. A big complaint that we've seen here on the Chalkboard is that the programs have not been as "world class" as promised (i.e. puppetry and mime classes that Barbara Ann refers to and the difficulty of finding fulltime teachers in many subjects).

If the programs aren't worldclass, why do you think so many (about 27 out of 88) voted to keep them?

OK. Enough of that for now. It's time for the next poll question.

The school board was expected to speak about magnet programs at its Tuesday meeting. So we ask what the future of magnet schools should be in the district.

Now, lest there be confusion, we're using the word magnet to mean any of the following:
*school that has a special academic program (Spanish, arts, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Early College, technology)
*can receive federal or local funding
*can be open to all students districtwide or limited to students in a zone if there are other similar programs elsewhere in the county (think Jones and Kirkman Park elementary schools, which both will offer Spanish Immersion next year)
*can be a high school program (often called options or choice schools), such as the middle colleges, with limitations on which students will be accepted. Bennett Middle College, for example, is just for young women. The High Point high schools would fall under this because they offer special academic programs (technology, international studies, arts) and have limitations on enrollment, with the geographic area around High Point getting assigned first then students districtwide getting a shot at any leftover seats.

So, what are you waiting for? Go vote! Tell us what you think the district should do about future magnet/option/choice programs.

The March 29 poll question seems to be gaining in popularity. Last time I checked, there had been a mere 82 votes and Northern High School was the top choice to name the new high school to serve the northern part of the county.

Now there are 224 votes and Edward R. Murrow has taken a whopping 49 percentage point lead.

I learned Tuesday night about the poll's changed status from school board junkie Joe Stafford - he's the gentleman who speaks at most meetings and launched the effort to name the new school after Murrow practically before school board members finished voting to build the school.

The updated poll numbers, as of 11:44 p.m. Tuesday night:

Northern High School - 22.8 percent
Edward R. Murrow High School - 71.9 percent
Other - 5.4 percent

The board has not voted on a name yet.

A community member spoke at Tuesday's meeting saying that she had about 300 signatures from people who supported the Northern name. She also said some of the PTAs from schools that would feed into the new high school also back the name.

Stafford spoke again in favor of Murrow. "We have nothing against compass points," he said. "But how many is enough? The group I'm associated with wants real names."

So, in case you missed it, here's the "Name that school" Web poll from last month, back at the head of the class.

Neighboring Rockingham County has a much smaller school system - about 15,000 students compared with Guilford's nearly 68,000. But, like any school system, Rockingham has its share of troublesome students.

The most troublesome go to the SCORE Center, similar to Guilford County's SCALE School, which is for students on long-term suspension, usually for more serious issues, such as fighting and drug use.

Now Reidsville Police Chief Edd Hunt wants permission from the school board to use Tasers - stun guns - to subdue unruly students at Rockingham's SCORE Center.

Read the story in today's News & Record.

What do you think? Should School Resource Officers be armed with stun guns? Tell us here at the Chalkboard, or, since we know how much you all love our Web polls, you can vote here.

Here's an interesting read (registration required) from the Washington Post's Jay Mathews.

It is the story of Tonia Joyner, who questions what is going on at her daughter's school in Prince Georges County, Md.

All of the fourth-grade teachers quit mid-year. The school seems to be having more problems with troublesome students not following the rules than when her daughter first started there. At one point, there was no bus driver for the after-school program. Test scores are the lowest in the district. Her daughter rarely brings home homework, especially not for social studies and science, a class that didn't have textbooks from what the mother understood.

Here is an excerpt: "Misbehaving children could not be dealt with because of district rules, Joyner said the parents were told. Administrators said they wanted to remove one child from class after a series of incidents -- throwing wadded paper, talking when the teacher was conducting a lesson, and creating many other distractions. But, they said, the rules forbid them from doing so until finally the child assaulted a teacher. Many teachers lacked the training to control their classrooms, she said. One substitute threatened to quit because his students were so unruly."

Any of this sound familiar?

It is an interesting story, and part of a weekly column that Jay writes for the paper's online edition.

Last week's Web poll on magnet schools didn't get much traffic. Only 34 votes. Here's the breakdown, and a HUGE disclaimer on all Web polls - these are not scientific. It's just for fun and a chance to get people talking about different topics.

So for everyone rabidly following the Northern/Murrow debate on an earlier Web poll - it really doesn't mean anything whether Northern or Murrow is in the lead.

Speaking of Northern/Murrow, the school board could decide at its Thursday meeting what to name the new high school to be built in the north. Click here to read the board's entire agenda.

Back to the unscientific Web polls.

Results from last week's poll:

How should Guilford County Schools manage its magnet schools?

A. Add more programs 2.9 percent
B. Stop adding programs 47.1 percent
C. Create a plan for adding/dropping programs 50 percent
D. Don’t know 0 percent

And on to the next poll.

In today's paper we report that Eastern Middle School has backed off plans to implement a school uniform for next year.

Eastern was considering a uniform similar to one started this year at Aycock Middle School. Aycock has reported success with its uniform, or Standard Mode of Dress, which is just one part of a multi-step approach to address discipline and morale at the school.

So the question becomes, should public schools require students to wear a uniform? Vote in our fun, unscientific poll here.

Have I mentioned yet that these polls are fun and unscientific? (Smiley face emoticon goes here)

The school board will spend all day Friday going over the budget line by line, looking for what to cut - and perhaps more importantly, what to keep - for next year. The meeting is open to the public. It will start at 8:30 a.m. and, as Chief Financial Officer Sharon Ozment says, go "until."

That "until" could be well after supper. Last year the board started the discussion closer to 7 a.m. and I remember it being a pretty long day. That might be because it started so early, but, hey, any discussion about numbers tends to be pretty draining to my brain.

Anyway, the meeting is at the board's offices at 712 N. Eugene St. in Greensboro.

We'll be running a story on Tuesday also budget related. The superintendent and Ozment spent about 90 minutes Monday morning and again in the afternoon with PTA members for a Q&A on next year's budget. I'll post the story here once it is published.

In today's paper, we report on the decision by neighboring Alamance-Burlington School System to approve random drug testing of students involved in any extracurriculars - from baseball to band. Note to reader: The online story is a condensed version of the one available in the print edition.

UPDATE: Apparently the full version is available online at this link.

The NAACP is protesting the move, fearing that it will be enforced unequally and will trample the constitutional rights of students.

Law enforcement officials from Alamance County, Burlington and Graham, with the cooperation of the school system, operated an undercover drug sting in the district's high schools back in February 2004. The sting snared dozens of high school students and resulted in more than 50 people pleading guilty to felony charges relating to the sale or delivery of controlled substances.

If you'd like to catch up on the story, read these articles from our archives:

Drug sting; Most plead guilty; Busts shock local educators; Parents say drug busts unfair; Adult dealers, suppliers arrested.

Guilford County Schools does not perform random drug tests. To our west, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has done so for several years.

What say you? Is drug testing the answer?

If you'd like to vote in our (OK, I've got to say it, unscientific!) poll, check it out here.

I spent more than 90 minutes Monday morning listenting to parents question Superintendent Terry Grier and chief financial officer Sharon Ozment on the budget for next year. The story in today's paper is the condensed version of that meeting. You'll realize what I mean by condensed when you listen to the audio of the entire meeting that we've posted online.

One of the benefits of advancing technology is that we can make the entire meeting available to you. Unfortunately, that just isn't possible when writing a story. Space in the print edition is limited, so we have to pare down what happens at a meeting and try to hit the highlights.

I apologize in advance if the audio quality is not good. This is the first time I've used a digital recorder and posted the recording online. I hope it works out all right.

Check out the audio of that meeting here.

And don't forget, the school board will continue budget talks during a line-item review starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday. The meeting will be in the main offices, 712 N. Eugene St.

Hi, everybody; I hope everyone is doing well. One of our mainstays here at the Chalkboard, Barbara Ann, suggested I start a thread about the recent Day of Silence observed in a number of local high schools. Here's a story I wrote for some background.

Participating students didn't talk for one day in order to express solidarity with gay and lesbian students, who they say are intimidated into silence on a daily basis. Students at several schools - Eastern, Northwest, Page, Southwest, Grimsley and Western high schools; Southwest Middle; and the Early College at Guilford - joined in the protest.

Supporters say this is a peaceful, non-intrusive way for students to show support for fellow teens who may be going through a tough time.

But some critics say that allowing the Day of Silence is tantamount to the schools endorsing homosexuality. They also say a 2004 Guilford County Board of Education policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation represses free speech - students can't say they believe homosexuality is morally wrong, they feel, or they might be charged with violating the district policy.

Here at The Chalkboard, though, you can say whatever you want. So how do you feel about the GCS discrimination policy and/or the Day of Silence?

Man, do those Guilford County Board of Education members love to meet or what?

You already know about their Friday 8:30 a.m. session to conduct a line-item review of the budget. Well, the board is adding another budget meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

This get-together will feature public comment on the budget, so if you want to make your voice heard, you can do it here. Board members also will be taking budget-related comments at their May 10 meeting.

All three meetings will be held at the central office, 712 N. Eugene St. in Greensboro.

Well, it looks like there won't be classes at Oak Hollow Mall after all.

Yesterday, mall officials said they won't allow Guilford County Schools to use space in the mall for a proposed middle college high school. The school would have served about 100 students who struggle academically. The district is looking for another home for the school.

On one hand, we've heard from a lot of folks here who say the school district is starting too many new programs. This rings particularly true when traditional public schools are being asked to consider budget cuts.

But on the other hand, we've heard people say right here on The Chalkboard that High Point gets the short end of the stick from the central office. This was an attempt to give High Point students access to a service that has worked tremendously well in other parts of the county. These middle college high schools have proven successful in keeping kids in school.

So what's your take? Did the mall do the right thing by saying, "No, thanks," to the middle college or did Oak Hollow officials drop the ball?

Today's nearly four-hour meeting on the 2005-06 budget is being shown on the district's Cable Channel 2 (The School Zone) at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday.

If that isn't enough money talk for you, stop by the board's Greensboro offices at 712 N. Eugene St. at 6 p.m. Monday for yet another budget discussion. The special meeting was called for the board to go over the budget again and to give the public a chance to comment on it.

So, if you're interested in how money is spent on the High Point reassignment plan, magnets or transportation, Monday would be a good night to put your plug in for your program or school.

We'll have some highlights from today's meeting in Saturday's paper. The board combed through the budget today, looking at line items in areas such as human resources, technology and academic improvement. But board members mostly raised questions about particular expenses or programs. They should get those answers on Monday.

So Monday likely will prove to be a more meaningful meeting for those interested in what next year's budget might look like.

The final budget is due by May 15 to county commissioners. The school board has one more regular meeting before that deadline - May 10. Comments on the budget will be taken again that night before the school board votes.

UPDATE: Check out Bruce's story on Monday's meeting here.