These are remarks made at the Nov. 7 meeting of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education by Chairman Richard Miller: 

Over the years, several of you have heard me us the phrase, “There is never a wrong time to do the right thing.” For me, there is no more appropriate time then now to apply this phrase to the completion of the Central Office project.

It is time that we, as a Board of Education, show courage, fortitude and most of all leadership to end this 25-year drain of energy and resources from our school system and community. Every day we delay increases the building costs and limits the resources available to us to focus more fully on improvement of student achievement and educational excellence, our primary objectives.

It is time that this community tangibly demonstrates that it places a high value on developing a top of the line educational system through both qualitative and quantitative forms.

It is time that we recognize that a state of the art central office is integral and essential to achieving student excellence, staff excellence and community excellence. An efficiently functioning central office supports every classroom every day with teaching support, curriculum support, safety support, food service support, bus safety and student transportation support, special student needs support, parent and volunteer involvement support, physical plant support, financial support — and the list goes on.

Excellence in 21stt century classroom is not the sole responsibility of a teacher. Excellence is not achieved in isolation. Improved student achievement is a result of all the essential ingredients blended together in perfect harmony, much the same way that the Bible describes the body having many parts that must work together for good, in I Corinthians chapter 12.

It is time that we practice this same Biblical valuing of the contributions and distinctions of the many parts as integral to the success of the students and the greater Rowan-Salisbury communities.

It is time that the building of the central office stop being used as a political saber to slice and dice the Board of Education and the greater Rowan-Salisbury community with political agendas that have not standing in supporting improved student achievement.

It is time that we present the gift of closure to the incoming Board of Education on the central office issue. By so doing, the board can truly focus on the other important issues of improved student achievement and performance excellence of the system.

It is the right time to bring completion and closure to the central office question.

It is time to approve the central office project and to concentrate the board’s energies and resources on developing 21st century education excellence.

I ask each of you to join me in the final approval of the central office project.