School systems merger unwise, study shows

Consultants Dr. June Atkinson and Philip Price address Columbus County Commissioners Monday. (Deuce Niven, TLT)

By DEUCE NIVEN

tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com

     A merger of the Columbus County Schools and the Whiteville City Schools would cost more than $1 million in state funding for public education in the county with only minimal cost savings, a merger study report presented to Columbus County Commissioners concludes.

     “A merger would not be in the best interest of the public school students in Columbus County at this time,” consultant June Atkinson of Emerald Education told commissioners.

     Atkinson and Phillip Price outlined their findings in a detailed 47-page document.

     Savings, Atkinson said, would not come from eliminating a superintendent because a, 8,000 student school system would require from two to four associate superintendents “which would eat up any savings on not having two superintendents.”

     Read the full report here.

     Look for details on this story in Wednesday’s Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.