Burke County Public Schools

Teaching Tomorrows Leaders Today Arthur W. Stellar, Ph.D. Superintendent

May 1, 2010

Donna James, EdD. Director, NC SACS CASI College of Education Western Carolina University 152 Camp Building Cullowhee, North Carolina 28732 Dear Dr. James, We are looking forward to your visit! Please accept the accompanying report as evidence of the highly significant progress which the Burke County Board of Education, Burke County School District, and entire community have made regarding the twelve recommendations from SACS-CASI/AdvancED (SACS). We believe you will be impressed at all that we have accomplished since your last visit. We have actively engaged the entire community in multiple projects to solicit input into a myriad of issues impacting this school district. A most significant issue at the present time is the development of the budget for 2010-11 - which in this case means dealing with a budget deficit of approximately $6.6m. Virtually anyone who wants to share an opinion has been afforded the opportunity to do so, and more importantly, their views have been taken into serious consideration and in many cases their suggestions have been implemented. In a similar vein, the development of board policies and the strategic planning process (including the Mission and Vision of the school district) were created based upon the input of hundreds of individuals representing every demographic group in the community. All of this progress would not have been possible without the SACS catalyst which identified certain standards and compelled the formation of teams to meet our goals. While this may have occurred without the involvement of SACS, it would have been more difficult without SACS guideposts and assistance. In the best of circumstances it would likely have taken two years to achieve what has been accomplished in 9 to 12 months. We have at least one file cabinet full of documentation to substantiate what has been accomplished. We can document the many hours of time that various individuals have spent in this worthy endeavor. However, what is most important is that attitudes and behaviors have changed - particularly those of members of the school board. Because of the intense training the board members received, they will be recognized at the North Carolina School Board Association conference in the fall as having earned
P.O. Box 989, Morganton, NC 28680-0989 Website: http://www.burke.k12.nc.us An Equal Opportunity Employer Phone (828) 439-4312 Fax: (828) 439-4314