ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — As ABSS figures out how to handle a growing mold situation, many have wondered about the money side of things.
President of the Alamance-Burlington Association of Educators and ABSS Highschool Teacher, Robbie Alvis, says the entire state has faced funding issues when it comes to public schools.
"I think that the needs of our schools are very clear and largely what they need is a lot of care, right? And a lot of maintenance that's been deferred," Alvis said.
Counties are responsible for paying for school buildings and maintenance. Alvis says he thinks the state should provide more.
"In my opinion, the General Assembly has been derelict in its duty, they haven't been funding our schools adequately for the past decade or more. Personally, I think that something like a school construction bond or school remodeling bond is long overdue for our state. Our schools have been lacking funding for a long time," Alvis said.
Alvis also says the school system has also struggled with funding at the local level. As WFMY News 2 has reported about previous mold update meetings, there's a lot of back in forth between the Alamance County Commission and the ABSS School Board.
"On the other hand, locally, within Alamance County, we also been caught in this conflict of you know, struggling to get money from the county, but also struggling to put that money where it really needs to go. So there's kind of a dual responsibility here on part of the school board and county commission," Alvis said.
He this isn't a matter of finding who to point fingers at but he does say it starts with better money management on all levels.
Meanwhile, some state lawmakers who represent Alamance County are keeping a close eye on how this transpires. In a statement, Senator Amy Galey wrote "Student and personnel safety is always our top priority. While I commend ABSS for being transparent about the situation and tackling it head-on, many people are concerned about the timing and why issues were not identified over the summer. I will work with the ABSS school board and other local leaders to be sure that our schools are safe and funds are appropriately spent."