The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-08-12
HYDE SCHOOL SETUP
REVAMPED AT MEETING
HELD LAST THURSDAY
(Hyde County Herald)

OOuHIy HldulldItU SCIiOOl SySUcIl-
chiefly the discontinuance of three
of the county's elementary schools
and the setting up of two school
districts, the West Hyde School
District and the East Hyde School
District-and the assignment of all
Pioneer pupils who formerly at
tended the Belhaven school to at
tend school at Swan Quarter high
lighted a meeting of the Hyde
County Board of Education last
Thursday afternoon.
Schools discontinued were
Sladesville, Fairfield, and Carmur.
This leaves four schools remain
ing: at Swan Quarter, the Swan
Quarter High School, which the
board renamed West Hyde High
School, and the Hyde County
Training School; at Engelhard, the
Engelhard High School, which was
renamed East Hyde High School,
and the Davis High School.
The action of the board in as
signing the Pioneer pupils was I'M
der a new law passed by the legis-
lature giving this power to county
boards instead of the state board.
The action was by a 2-1 vote of
the board, despite an appeal by
Pioneer patrons to allow the pupils
to continue attending John A. Will
kinson High Schol in Belhaven. A
petition opposing the proposed
change signed by 100 per cent of
the PIONEER patrons was presented
to the board by a delegation of
five Pioneer residents, who pleaded
that there were numerous advan-
tages in their children attending
school in Belhaven.
Board chairman J. G. Berry was
the one who made the motion to
assign the Pioneer children to Swan
uarter. He told those present that
he was thinking of the future and
the betterment of the county
schools as, a whole.
Points brought out by the Pom
ger delegation included: the pupils
will have to travel several miles
further to reach the Swan Quarter
school than they have been travel
ing to get to Belhaven, they will
be changing to a smaller school
with more-limited facilities, at
Belhaven they can get piano les
sons that are not available at
Swan Quarter, the Belhaven school
has a broader athletic program
complete medical facilities are
available at Belhaven but not al
Swan Quarter, and in numerous
ways Pioneer is in closer touch
with Belhaven than with Swan
Quarter.
The other two board members
split, Gene T. Balance voting
q against the motion, and Charlie
7 Caravan voting in favor of the
motion. Mr.. Balance explained he
felt that the Hyde schools should
be built up as much as possible
before Pioneer children were taken
out of Belhaven's larger school
and sent to Swan Quarter.
AS they left, the Pioneer spokes-
men warned the board not to ex-
pect all forty of the Pioneer pupils
to be enrolled in the Swan Quar-
ter school.
Voting to discontinue the SHADES
vile and Fairfield schools were
Mr.. Berry and Mr.. Balance, with
Mr.. Caravan voting negatively in
each case. The board unanimously
agreed to discontinue the Carmul
school.
Upon motion by Mr.. Berry, Sec
onded by Mr.. Balance and passed
by vote of 20, with Mr.. Caravan
abstaining, the board set up the
following boundary line for the
two school districts that were es-
tablished: on the north side OF
Mattamuskeet Lake, all children
living on the Florida Canal Roac
to bridge and all children living
on road going west from Fairfield
toward Piney Woods beginning al
the present Fairfield sign post will
be assigned to the West Hyde
School District; and all children
beginning at Florida Canal bridge
to Highway No. "a on Newlands
Road and all children living east
of Fairfield sign post on Piney
Woods Road will be assigned tc
the East Hyde School District. Or
the south side of Mattamuskeet
Lake, all children living west Of
the Outfall Canal will be assigned
to the West Hyde School District
and all children living east of the
Outfall Canal will be assigned tc
the East Hyde School District.
New district school committees
were appointed as follows (expira.
ton date of each committeeman
shown in parentheses): West Hyde
School District, S. R. Clayton
1889, Leonard Smith (195sl, Ray
M. Spencer 1857, John Griffin
(1957), and r. w. Berry 1856
East Hyde School District, S. A
Dudley (195S), Lindsey T. Mooney