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Watauga Schools Services for Gifted Students Contradict Statewide Audit Findings

Story by Kathleen McFadden

In mid-February, North Carolina Auditor Leslie Merritt released an audit of the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Academically or Intellectually Gifted program (AIG). The state auditors discovered that DPI does not closely monitor the spending and the quality/effectiveness of AIG programs. As a result, some academically gifted students across the state are likely not receiving the educational services they are supposed to receive.

In a statement about the audit findings, Merritt said, “Taxpayers allocate $63.3 million to ensure that North Carolina’s best and brightest students can compete on the global stage. Our audit reveals that a portion of these funds were diverted away from gifted students, and that the state did little monitoring to ensure that intended AIG benefits were actually delivered.”

Merritt began the audit in May 2007 in response to parental concerns that AIG program funds were being used for other purposes and AIG students were underserved. The audit examined AIG policies and procedures, state laws, parent satisfaction survey results, and financial and enrollment data maintained by DPI for fiscal years 2003-08.

According to the audit’s findings, one school district transferred 99 percent of AIG funds out of the AIG program in 2007, and transferred away 98 percent of AIG funds in 2006.

That’s not happening in Watauga County. According to AIG Programs Director Gail Ford, the 2007-08 state allocation for gifted students in Watauga County is $196,861. The funding is based on 4 percent of the average daily membership (ADM—an average of the number of students attending local schools). All the other school districts in the state receive the same 4 percent of their ADM for gifted programs. Larger districts, of course, receive more money because their ADMs are higher.

Although funding is allocated at 4 percent, the percentage of identified gifted students in Watauga County is 12 percent. But according to Ford, those students are well served, despite the differential between funding and the gifted population.

According to Ford, Watauga County Schools offers a variety of AIG programs. “We have at least a half-time AIG teacher at each of the elementary schools based on numbers of students identified,” Ford said. “One of our schools has two full positions, making a total of eight full positions serving the K-8 schools.

“Our local school board adds to the money received from the state to cover the rest of the salaries and benefits,” Ford continued. “During this school year, this amount would be approximately $427,960. So you can see that our teachers, administrators and school board are dedicated to providing services for our AIG population. If I only had the state's money, we could only afford to have 2.5 positions. None of my salary comes from these funds.”

The AIG teachers in Watauga County stay busy. They offer enrichment/acceleration to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and teach advanced classes in math and language arts. They offer services to county teachers on a consultative and collaborative basis. They also sponsor, coach and supervise a variety of programs including the Chess Club and Model UN.

Plenty of people have the chance to provide input about the program, Ford said. “Parents, teachers, principals, and AIG students receive surveys every three years when the county AIG plan is revised,” she explained. “In addition, each school’s AIG teacher does a survey yearly with a specific population and meets with each parent yearly to devise an instructional plan for his/her child. Parents serve on AIG advisory committees at each elementary school, and a parent rep from each school, including Watauga High School, serves on the countywide advisory board. Each of these groups meets four times per year to evaluate programs and make suggestions for improvement.”