DURHAM -- When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits Southern High School today, Eric Becoats wants him to hear from parents, teachers and students.
"To hear some of the concerns people have in terms of the level of funding that's provided to public education," the new Durham Public Schools superintendent said during a welcoming ceremony for him Wednesday.
"It's very clear to me and many other people in our community that we have to have quality teachers in the classroom to ensure that our children are getting what they need to be successful later on in life," Becoats said.
Becoats, chief administrative officer for Guilford County Schools, starts his new job July 1 and has begun meeting with the local school community. He replaces Carl Harris, who left in December to become a deputy assistant secretary with the U.S. Department of Education. Hank Hurd, chief operating officer of Durham schools, is interim superintendent.
Duncan will make two stops in Durham. He will give the keynote address at a symposium on the future of historically black colleges and universities held by N.C. Central University. He will then participate in a panel discussion on teacher jobs with Gov. Bev Perdue at Southern.
Duncan's visit comes as districts across the state struggle to save teacher jobs.
In Durham, the district originally planned to lay off 237 teachers, but thanks to $6.1 million in the county's proposed budget, school officials are now seeking to save 127 of those jobs.
Federal stimulus money is paying for 241 Durham teacher jobs, funding that school board Chairwoman Minnie Forte-Brown worries could dry up. She wants Duncan to see how Southern has changed. The school has been under fire in recent years for poor academic performance.
"I want him to see that there are teachers there working hard in a challenging urban environment and that we need our resources so we can continue to do the job better and better," she said.
