PEMBROKE — Gov. Pat McCrory stopped by The University of North Carolina in Pembroke on Thursday to sign a bill that would appoint more educators and fewer parents to the State Advisory Council on Indian Education, and then made a short trip to raise money for his re-election.
While signing the bill, McCrory also touted what the $2 billion bond referendum to be held in March will do for Robeson County and the region.
“This bill builds on our commitment to improving the overall education for all North Carolinians,” McCrory said as he praised the state’s American Indian education efforts. “I am proud to sign this bill that makes important changes to the advisory council which has been a steadfast champion for American Indian students in our state.”
The bill, which was shepherded through the state House by Rep. Charles Graham, a Democrat from Lumberton and member of the State Advisory Council on Indian Education, makes it clear that the Board of Governors of the state’s university system and the State Board of Community Colleges are responsible for appointing an American Indian from higher education to serve on the advisory council.
The bill increases the number of American Indian public school educators on the 15-member council from two to five, and requires that one member be a Title VII director or coordinator who is familiar with Indian Education programs contained in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
It also reduces the number of American Indian parents on the council from eight to five, and clarifies the law to make it clear that parents appointed to serve on the council must have students enrolled in a K through 12 public school or charter school.
That allows valuable feedback from parents to be heard while also hearing more from teachers who are in schools and in the classroom, according to Olivia Oxendine, a member of the State Board of Education and liaison between the Board of Education and the advisory council. Oxendine teaches in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at UNCP’s School of Education.
“This bill clearly aligns the State Advisory Council with the five-year strategic plan of the State Board of Education, Oxendine said after the bill’s signing. “The children will be the real winners.”
Oxendine told The Robesonian that efforts to improve American Indian education across the state are working. The dropout rate for American Indian students has “declined incredibly over the past 10 years,” she said, adding that the high school graduation rate for American Indian students has increased during the same 10-year period.
McCrory signed the bill flanked by local and state legislators, educators and others associated with American Indian Education.
McCrory told the public officials, educators and others gathered for the bill signing that Robeson County will benefit greatly if the voters approve the the sale of bonds during the referendum.
Included in the bonds request is $23 million for the construction of a building to accommodate the university’s growing Business School. It also includes about $7 million for new construction and renovations of buildings at Robeson Community College, and $2.5 million for the Lumber River State Park to expand its reach to property that was once part of the N.C. Indian Cultural Center.
“Even with borrowing the $2 billion, we will have less of a deficit in five years than we have today,” McCrory said. “There will not have to be any tax increase to pay for all of this.”
McCrory said that the important thing about the referendum is that the voters of North Carolina are getting the chance to approve the way their tax dollars are being spent.
After the bill-signing, the governor attended a campaign fundraiser at COMtech business park, located on N.C. 711 just outside of Pembroke.
