For decades, area schools have been battling an achievement gap problem.

At Thursday’s Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board meeting, some said the 2015-16 budget should put more money into narrowing achievement gaps between groups of students – for example between white and black students.

Greg McElveen, chair of the NAACP Education Committee, spoke during public comment periods to suggest ways the district could reallocate funds to help students who lag in academic performance. He said the board should look at how the district funds school resource officers (SROs).

“We believe that given these tight times . . . perhaps we don’t need SROs in middle school,” said McElveen.

He said violence is rare in area middle schools, and rather than increasing payments for SRO services by $100,000 as proposed, the district could find other ways to ensure the safety of students.

School officials will look at data on how SROs are used in middle schools and whether SROs need to be in school buildings all day.

Board member Michelle Brownstein expressed concern about removing SROs from schools.

“We have set up what we’re doing now, in terms of crisis management, with them being there,” said Brownstein. “So if they’re not there, we have to make sure our principals, our admin and our teachers have what they need” to keep students safe.

According to Board Chair Mike Kelley, only half of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools have SROs.

School officials said the district is using strategies from Max Thompson, project director of Learning-Focused, to help increase student achievement.

Along with other specific requests, McElveen said the board should study initiatives that have been effective at supporting under-served students, such as supplemental math instruction. Then the district should implement those effective programs widely.

You can view the superintendent’s recommended budget here.

Upcoming budget calendar dates from CHCCS:

April 16    – Budget discussion and approval of budget to be submitted to the county
April 20    – Submit Board’s budget request to the county
April 28    – Joint meeting of school boards for budget presentations to the county