ROANOKE RAPIDS — The issue of public school consolidation in Halifax County continues to swirl throughout the community, and one woman, approaching from an historical perspective, feels things should stay as they are.

Former Roanoke Rapids Graded School District board chair Sarah Adams, at her home in Roanoke Rapids. Roger Bell | The Daily Herald Advertisement

Sarah Adams, widow of former Roanoke Rapids mayor Kirkwood Adams and herself former chair of the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District Board of Education, has seen this issue arise previously.

During her time on the board, from 1957-1975 — she was chair from 1969-1975 — she felt the issue had been resolved by the federal government.

“The validity and sanctity of the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District line was forever written in stone by the federal government,” Adams said.

“When we were ordered to integrate the schools, we were summoned to the department of health and human services and met with a young lawyer there. He listened to the things we were saying, but none of that was important to him.”

After listening to the talk of the three Halifax County districts, Adams said the federal official made a quick decision.

“He said, ‘Those students within the lines of the Roanoke Rapids School District, no matter what color they are, will go to city schools. Every student who lives in the county district will go to county schools, and every student living in the Weldon district will go to Weldon schools. There will be no exceptions.’”

Adams does not believe race factored into drawing it. “I do not believe in my heart at that time race was an issue.”

Adams went on to say people have used the line as a political tool over the years.

“The use of that line today is almost always associated with a political agenda,” Adams asserted. 

As for consolidation, Adams agreed with comments made by Weldon Superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy III and school board member Hugh Credle, who spoke against consolidation last week.   Adams shared, “If you consolidate all the schools, you would have to hire more administrative staff, because a superintendent would need more help to manage the district.”

Adams also said consolidation could adversely impact students, “The number of students in each classroom would increase.

“It’s been shown over and over that students, generally speaking, can do better if they have some individual attention.”

In a larger school district, which presumably would have fewer schools, opportunites for athletics would be diminished and other extra-curricular activities would have fewer openings for a larger student body, according to Adams.

Consolidation, from her perspective, doesn’t make much sense on two levels.

“Overall, it is my understanding that consolidation does not solve the problem of children’s education,” Adams stated.

“There is some information that it solves an economic issue, but there is also some question about that.”