BY SUSAN DICKERSON
SALISBURY POST

Bureaucrats work slowly, especially when it comes to efficiency.

The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education and County Commission have tangoed over the proposed school efficiency study for more than a year.

Now, both boards have finally decided split the cost of a $200,000 study to have a professional auditing company to examine the schools operation.

At the school board’s retreat Monday night, the board decided 5-2 to use $100,000 of its already low fund balance for its half of the study. School board members Vick Bost and L.A. Overcash voted against funding the study out of the schools’ budget.

County Commissioners first asked for the efficiency study after agreeing to increase school funding to the state per-pupil average.

Once school board members and county commissioners ceased arguing over the premise of an efficiency study, the two groups had to agree on what areas of the school system an independent group would evaluate. Then both groups sought bids.

But the bids came in at double what commissioners had expected, so the idea fell to the wayside during last fall’s election.

The topic resurfaced again except modified. Commissioners proposed forming a community study group to study the schools.

At the beginning of Monday 6:30 p.m. school board meeting, Chairwoman Dr. Bettie Starr said she and Vice Chairman Bruce Jones had met with county commissioners Newton Cohen and Frank Tadlock about the study. That group decided ‘‘it might be better to go to our original position to go to an outside firm to do this efficiency study,’’ Starr said.

Jones told other board members he didn’t want to do the study ‘‘if it’s not a truly meaningful document to look at ... and to see if there are items we could improve upon.’’

Bost disagreed. The commissioners wanted the study done, and to do it, they were going to foot the bill, Bost reminded fellow board members.

Board member Dr. Ada Fisher said, ‘‘I don’t want us to waste money foolishly, but I don’t want to continue to spend money if we don’t know that money is working.’’

Though she wanted the county to pay, Fisher said she didn’t mind splitting the cost.

‘‘There’s the question of whether we can take an objective view of ourselves,’’ Fisher said. ‘‘You need an outside opinion.’’

Board member Clyde Miller agreed. As a retired employee from a large company, Miller remembered brainstorming in-house to improve efficiency. And then when an outside firm came to look at the same things, ‘‘they can see things that we have overlooked that we have gotten used to.’’

After more discussion, Jones moved to approve the 50-50 deal and a $200,000 study.

The motion passed 5-2.

Also Monday, the board also discussed whether to have an attorney present at all the meetings and what the board wants to focus on for the 1999-2000 budget year.

With six topics left on its agenda, Starr joked, ‘‘Well, it’s 8:30 ... At least we got through 75 percent of the topics. That’s proficient.’’

With a motion to adjourn and a second, Starr said, ‘‘All in favor, leave.’’