HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20031016APPROVED 11/5/2003
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Public Hearing on the Potential Impacts of a Possible School Merger
October 16, 2003
7:30 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in for a Public Hearing on the Potential
Impacts of a Possible School Merger on Thursday, October 16, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chapel
Hill High School's Hanes Auditorium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr.,
Alice M. Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County
Managers Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be
identified appropriately below)
NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE
KEPT FOR 5 YEARS.
Opening Remarks -Chair Margaret Brown
Commissioner Carey said that this meeting would be shown on The People's Channel at
8:OOp.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2003.
Chair Brown welcomed everyone and said that the meeting would have a 30-minute
presentation and then there would be the public hearing. She pointed out the orange
cards available for written citizen comments. She then read the public charge.
PUBLIC CHARGE: The Board of Commissioners pledges to the citizens of Orange
County its respect. The Board asks its citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful,
courteous manner, both with the Board and with fellow citizens. At any time should any
member of the Board or any citizen fail to observe this public charge, the Chair will ask the
offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control.
Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until such time that a
genuine commitment to this public charge is observed.
2. PowerPoint Presentation -County Manager John Link and Assistant County
Manager Rod Visser gave the presentation.
An Analysis of Potential Impacts Resulting from a Possible Merger of the Orange
County Schools and
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
January 2003 -Commissioner Moses Carey proposed that the BOCC consider
whether Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools should be
merged
March 2003 - BOCC adopted a FY 2003 goal (Appendix A of report) tasking staff to
prepare an analysis of implications of a potential merger of the two school systems
April 2003 -Focus of merger evaluation narrowed primarily to legal, organizational, and
financial considerations
September 2003 - BOCC receives staff analysis of potential impacts of school merger
in Orange County
Report Availability
. Internet - www.co.orange.nc.us; "What's New" tab; "School Merger Reports and
Information" link
Next Steps
^ October 2003 - BOCC to conduct public hearings to receive public comment
regarding potential merger of the Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro
City Schools
^ November 2003 - BOCC work session to further discuss potential merger and
consider citizen comments
^ December 2003 -additional public hearing
Public Input Opportunities
October 16, 2003 - 7:30pm
Public Hearing @ Chapel Hill High School
October 23, 2003 - 7:30pm
Public Hearing @ Cedar Ridge High School
December 4, 2003 - 7:30pm
Public Hearing @ Battle Courtroom, Hillsborough
E-mail to
possiblemerger@co.orange.nc.us
Scope of Analysis
^ Report is not a formal merger study or merger plan
^ Draws on statutory provisions, experience of jurisdictions that have considered and/or
implemented merger
^ Intent of analysis is to present factual information rather than opinion
^ Examples of questions not addressed in analysis:
. What school would my child attend in a merged system?
. What programming (e.g. elementary foreign language instruction) would be
available at individual schools?
. Would savings be achieved by merging school systems and if so, how much?
School Mergers in North Carolina
^ During early 20t" century, numerous NC municipalities received authority from State
legislature to create special chartered school districts
^ Number of school systems in NC peaked in late 1950s at 174
^ In 1960, Mecklenburg/Charlotte was first approved administrative unit merger in the
State
^ Currently, there are 117 local school administrative units in the State
Merger Consideration in Orange County
^ BOCC appointed School Merger Study Commission in 1985 to examine
potential impacts of merger
^ Recommendations of Study Commission (Appendix E)
^ Equalize per pupil funding countywide
^ Fund construction of new schools based on cooperative facilities plan developed
by both systems
^ Encourage school districts to investigate areas where economies may be
affected by joint operations such as transportation, food service & maintenance
^ Encourage school districts to pursue areas of educational cooperation such as
special services
Collaboration Efforts
Since 1988, funding for school construction and renovation projects has totaled $277
million
. Includes four voter approved school capital bond referenda (1988, 1992, 1997 and
2001)
BOCC approved policies, standards and funding
. Capital funding policy that earmarks annual non-debt revenues available for
school and County capital projects
. Construction and funding standards for elementary, middle and high schools
. School construction impact fees to offset cost of new school construction
. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and Memorandum of Understanding
(SAPFO) to pace development with the County's fiscal ability to build new schools
. Joint venture in bus transportation/maintenance/fueling
Funding Equity Between Systems Remains a Challenge
. In early 1990s, after examining numerous approaches and tax rate impacts
associated with achieving funding equity between the two school systems, BOCC
adopted "Equitable School Funding Goal"
Efforts in some years to reduce or hold the gap from growing have been impacted in
recent years by need to raise CHCCS district tax rate to address new school startup
costs
CHCCS special district tax accounts for funding disparity
. Produces about $12.5 million for FY 2003-04
. Equates to about $1167 per student in additional funds
Funding equity remains a challenge for the BOCC
. In accordance with State statutory formula, local current expense funding for
schools is driven by the number of students in a school district
. Historically, annual student growth in CHCCS has outpaced OCS, leading to more
dollars for CHCCS
Methods for School Merger in North Carolina
North Carolina Statutes Provide Four Ways to Merge School Systems
Merger of Units in Same County
Initiated by boards of education
Requires approval of board of county commissioners
Merger of Units in Adjoining Counties
Involves merger of county school units in one or more adjoining or contiguous
counties with a city school administrative unit
Requires approval of the "tax-levying body for the school units"
Merger of units by local boards of education
City school unit notifies State Board of Education that it is voluntarily dissolving
itself
State Board required to adopt a merger plan for the administrative unit
County Commissioner Initiated Merger
Board of County Commissioners adopts plan for consolidation and merger of
local administrative units located wholly within the county into a single unit
Appendix F of report contains excerpts from North Carolina General Statutes
explaining the types of school mergers in further detail
County Commissioner Initiated Merger
Preparation and approval of this type of merger consistent with a school
administrative unit initiated consolidation and merger with three basic exceptions:
County Commissioners must provide local funding for all students at the
highest level of any local school administrative unit in the county during the
preceding five fiscal years before the merger
Boards of education "shall not participate in preparing, entering into,
submitting, or agreeing to the plan"
"The plan shall not be contingent upon approval of the voters"
North Carolina General Statute § 115C-67 provides that after the plan of
consolidation and merger is approved by the State Board of Education, it "shall be
deemed to have been made by authority of law and shall not be changed or
amended except by an act of the General Assembly."
Implementation and Elements of Merger Plan
Timetable
^ Individual merger plans detail their own timetable
^ State Board does not specify a schedule for implementation
^ For purposes of this analysis, the following hypothetical timeframe has been used:
^ Year 1 -Board of Commissioner decision regarding merger
^ Year 2 -Should the BOCC decide in favor of merger, Year 2 would be a year for
transition activities to occur
^ Year 3 -Merger would take effect July 1
Merger Plan Must Include the Following Related to the New Board of Education
^ Establishment and maintenance of a board of education which shall administer all
the public schools of the newly created administrative unit
^ Termination of any terms of office proposed in the reorganization
^ Method of constituting and continuing the board of education
^ Manner of selection of members of the board of education including (I) number of
board members, (ii) method of their election or appointment, (iii) whether members
shall be nominated, elected or appointed from districts or at-large, (iv) manner of
determining the nominee, (v) whether the election shall be partisan or non-partisan
^ Length of the board members terms of office
^ Dates of induction into office
^ Organization of the board
^ Procedure for filling vacancies
^ Compensation to be paid members of the board for expenses incurred in
performance of their duties
School Board Composition and Roles
Laws Authorizing Merger Offer Limited Flexibility in Creating Board of Education for
New Unit
^ Election plan can allow for board of education to be elected one of three ways:
. District method
. At-large method
. Combination of district and at-large method
^ Can be partisan or non-partisan
^ Election plan must comply with State and Federal Constitution and 1965 Voting
Rights Act and be approved by the United States Department of Justice prior to State
Board of Education approval
Public Referendum
^ In accordance with NC General Statute 115C-68.1(c), BOCC initiated consolidation
cannot be subject to a referendum
^ In the absence of authority from the General Assembly, such anon-binding
referendum should not occur
^ Referendum associated with Guilford County merger was the result of a local act of
the General Assembly
Responsibility for Operation of Schools During Merger
. In reviewing other jurisdictions' merger studies and plans, there appears to be some
variation and flexibility
. Examples include:
Existing school boards continue to operate for some defined period
. Either through the end of the current fiscal year or until the effective date of
merger
Interim board may be appointed by BOCC for a period of time, such as one
fiscal/academic year
Focus on decisions that must be made and implemented no later than the
effective date of merger
Composition of board tailored to specific circumstances of individual mergers
Typical for merger plan to specify that certain number of interim board
members will be appointed from existing boards and that the Board of
Commissioners may decide to appoint one or more members of their choosing
to the interim board
Selection of Superintendent for Merged System
^ Merger plans reviewed by Orange County staff reserved selection of a
superintendent for a newly merged system to the interim board of education and the
newly created permanent board of education
^ No role for the Board of County Commissioners or the existing school boards
State Funding of Merged System
. Merged units continue to receive existing State allotments of funds for two fiscal
years following the effective date of merger for the following functions:
. Central office administration
. Vocational education
. Special needs
. Limited English proficiency (LEP)
. For example, although there would be only one superintendent position in a newly
merged unit, State funding would continue for two years for any other superintendent
positions that may have existed in the other school systems prior to merger
Role of State Board of Education in Commissioner Initiated Merger
^ State Board's critical role is to review and approve the merger plan
^ Process for approval
. Board of Commissioners adopts a merger plan and transmits it to the State Board
for consideration at its next meting
. Typically, merger plan reviewed and approved within two meetings of the State
Board
^ Approval of merger plan has effect of law
Programmatic Considerations
* Information compiled by CHCCS and OCS staffs
* Comparison of twelve major program areas outlined in report
* Program details included at Appendix K
Financial Considerations
Context Of Financial Analysis
Most local school funding (e.g. current expense, capital) is now provided on a per
pupil basis
Staff analysis focused on the funding difference between systems related to CHCCS
district tax
Post-merger funding must be at highest five year historical per pupil rate upon
effective date of merger
. Analysis based on reasonable assumptions, but other scenarios are possible
Focus on "scope and scale" of potential financial impacts, not precise figures - "tax
rate" impacts rather than "tax bill" impacts
. "Hold harmless" assumption does not imply no increases in other aspects of
education funding -that would be an annual budget process decision by the BOCC
Tax Rate Impact Of Hypothetical School Merger
^ Major assumptions
. Effective date of July 1, 2005
. Produce same $1,167 per pupil as CHCCS district tax does in 2003-04
. Uses certified student membership estimates derived from SAPFO forecasting
models
CHCCS district tax proceeds replaced for 2005-06 with countywide funding
proceeds; district tax rate at zero
Four year revaluation cycle continues, leading to lower required tax rates in later
years
^ Estimated Countywide tax rate increase of 17 cents per $100 assessed
valuation
Mathematical Calculation of Amount of Funding Required for Merger (Appendix M)
Mathematical Calculation of Amount of Funding Required for Merger
(If Merger Had Occurred July 1, 2003)
Estimated Tax Bill Impacts Related to Merger (July 1, 2005)
CHCCS district tax assumed at zero as Countywide tax increases by 17 cents per
$100 valuation
Generally speaking, post-revaluation impacts of merger should be minor on tax bills
of properties in the CHCCS district that appreciate around assumed average of 25%
Examples of net increase in annual tax bills of properties of various taxable values in
the OCS district:
. $100,000 - $170
. $200, 000 - $340
. $300, 000 - $510
. $400, 000 - $680
Changes in individual property tax bills will be affected by actual changes in property
value as of January 1, 2005 revaluation
Capital Investment Plan and SAPFO Implications
^ Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Memo of Understanding would need to
be reworked among new parties to agreement
^ School Impact Fee Technical Report update needed to reflect student generation
rates in a merged system
^ Combined available building capacity could allow unused space to be filled through
student reassignment
^ With addition of new capacity already "in the works", further new school opening
timelines could be delayed beyond current 10 year CIP cycle
CHCCS Middle School Student Projections
Average Projection Model Only
Combined Middle School Student Projections
Average Projection Model Only
Other Potential Financial Implications
^ Affect on percentage of General Fund budget earmarked for education and 48.1
target
^ Future disposition of CHCCS district tax unresolved
^ Not automatically abolished by merger plan
^ Could be discontinued as result of referendum, or by General Assembly legislative
action
^ Could remain on the books but unlevied
Other Approaches To Equalizing Funding
^ Countywide Supplemental Tax
^ Increase Countywide Ad Valorem Tax Rate
^ Financial implications essentially the same as for Countywide supplemental tax
^ Implementation of Orange County Schools Supplemental Tax
Hypothetical Countywide Supplemental Tax
^ Could be part of a merger plan, or an alternative thereto
^ BOCC may initiate, or may pursue in response to Board of Education-approved
petition
^ In either case, subject to affirmative vote in referendum
^ Proceeds distributed on per pupil basis
^ General Assembly has previously approved legislation permitting implementation of a
countywide tax without a referendum
Hypothetical Countywide Supplemental Tax
^ Major Assumptions:
. CHCCS district tax incrementally reduced to zero
. CHCCS "held harmless" by continued funding of $1,167 per pupil
. Tax base growth of 3% in non-revaluation years, 25% in revaluation years (2005,
2009, 2013)
. "revenue neutral" tax rate adjustments in revaluation years lead to lower tax rates
in out years
. Student membership based on certified SAPFO projections
^ Estimated tax rate impacts
3 year scenario - 16.9 cents
5 year scenario - 16.5 cents
. 10 year scenario - 10.6 cents
Three Year Scenario to Achieve Equitable Funding with Countywide Tax
Five Year Scenario to Achieve Equitable Funding with Countywide Tax
Ten Year Scenario to Achieve Equitable Funding with Countywide Tax
Hypothetical OCS District Tax (Appendix P)
Requires majority vote in referendum; maximum rate of 60 cents per $100 valuation
Would take effect fiscal year following vote
Board of Commissioners may initiate election; must call for election if school board
petitions
Would operate simultaneously with CHCCS district tax; assumes CHCCS is "held
harmless"; BOCC establishes tax rate annually
. One cent on an OCS district tax would generate less than one cent on CHCCS
district tax
Estimated 2003-04 tax rate needed to generate $1,167 per pupil would have been
22.4 cents
Hypothetical Tax Rates Necessary to Provide Equal Per Pupil Funding from CHCCS
and Possible OCS District Taxes
Public Hearing
PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC HEARING:
We are glad to have this opportunity to hear from the citizens of Orange County on the
potential impacts of a possible school merger and we hope that as many as possible will
be able to speak within the time allotted.
• CHHS Auditorium will not be available to the general public until 6:30 p.m.
• The Public Comment Sign Up will begin at 6:30 p.m.
• The Sign up area will have several sign up sheets, as well as informational
handouts (please print)
- Executive Summary
- PowerPoint presentation
- Question/Comment Cards
• Speakers may only sign-up for themselves, to insure speakers are present.
• The maximum speaking time allotted will be 3-minutes/per speaker.
• Please: We ask that you do not yield speaking times (in order for the County
Commissioners to be able to hear from as many citizens as possible)
• In case you do not have the opportunity to speak at the Public Hearing, you are
invited and encouraged to fill out and submit the orange question/comment card
at the sign up tables. This information will be reviewed by staff/Commissioners
and efforts will be made to develop and post responses to the most commonly
asked questions. Staff will also prepare a compilation of all the comments
received on the orange cards and make this available to the public.
• A copy of the September 15 Staff report "An Analysis of Potential Impacts
Resulting from a Possible School Merger" is available on the county's website at
www.co.orange.nc.us/schoolmerger/index.htm
The Commissioners will be glad to provide a speaker and/or presentation for
your group/organization on the "Potential Impacts of a Possible School Merger".
Please send your written request (no emails) to:
Clerk to the Board
County Commissioners Office
P.O. Box 8181
Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278
PUBLIC COMMENT: (verbatim)
Mark Peters: I speak tonight on behalf of the SGC and the PTA of Seawell Elementary
School, and we have not yet taken a stand on the position of a merger. However, we
are concerned that the rapid pace of the possible merger does not give ample
opportunity for the public's questions to be answered before proceeding; that the
process lacks mechanisms to poll the public's will in this matter; that the alternatives to
merger are not being more seriously considered, for example, the BOCC currently has
the power to raise the ad valorem tax and unlevy part or all of the city district tax without
referendum and provide OCS with the appropriate or equal funding; that the perceived
social injustices have not been identified so that they can be studied in light of
alternatives, such as funding equity and school district collaboration; that the currently
planned schools may not be built or may be unnecessarily delayed during any possible
merger; that bigger is not necessarily better; that the Commissioners have an obligation
to represent their constituents, and that no current Commissioners were elected on a
platform of merger.
At this point, there was applause and Chair Brown asked to make a comment.
Chair Brown: If you all would please hold your applause or make any noise, I think it
would be much better so that anyone who is speaking is not interrupted or feels under
any pressure from anyone. So I would very much appreciate that.
Mark Peters continued: That the city schools may not be held harmless in the long
run because funding increases that may have otherwise passed in the city schools may
be less likely to pass in a merged system; that the time and resources spent studying
and executing a possible merger would be better spent focusing on the education of our
children and focusing on ABC inequity initiatives; that two elected school boards could
be replaced by an appointed school board; that our children may attend schools that are
an unreasonable distance from their homes, thereby depriving them of time to
participate in other activities or making it more difficult for parents to participate in their
children's education. Note that the State recommendation of a maximum of 76 minutes
bussing time is two and one half hours per day on a bus. And finally, that a merger
would increase the public pressure to develop the rural buffer. We also propose that in
lieu of a referendum, the BOCC should poll the School Governance Committees (SGC)
and PTAs to gauge stakeholder opinion on merger. We propose that 2/3 of the SGCs
and PTAs should be in favor for the proposal of the proposed merger to proceed. And
today the Seawell Family Outreach Team endorsed the above concerns. Would all
those who agree with these concerns please stand?
Now I would like to speak to myself. I would like to point out that there is an informed
website at 4schools.us. And I would say, before today, it seemed clear to me that
Orange County's schools are not being appropriately funded and this needs to be
corrected. I have spoken with folks from Orange County who are friends of mine and I
have received mixed reviews. All are against the merger, some are in favor of a tax
increase, and some are not. Also, I repeatedly asked Mr. Carey to enumerate the
currently known alleged social injustices so that citizens can have meaningful discourse
on how best to address them. Mr. Carey has stated that merger is not the only solution
that our alternatives would perpetuate social injustices, but no evidence has been
provided to support this. At this point in time, there is severe lack of compelling
evidence to merge the school systems. The BOCC must seriously consider other
alternatives.
At this time, there was applause again.
Chair Brown: I know you want to really express yourselves, but I'm sure that you also
want to hear all the speakers, and we sure want to hear them all. So I'm going to ask
you again, please do not start or interrupt the speakers. I think that would be very nice.
I'm sure if your children were here and they were asked not to do that, they would. If
you would please follow the same form, I would appreciate it. Mr. Peters, did you leave
us the questions that your SGC had? I want to make sure that we have a copy of it.
Christopher McLaurin: Hi, my name is Christopher McLaurin, and I am the Chapel Hill
High School Student Body President. The Student Government of Chapel Hill High
School conducted a poll of all students on the topic of merger. In an attempt to make
this an educated poll, key issues and the effects of the proposed merger were shared
with all students. Of the 1,073 ballots that were returned to Student Government, 1,002
students voted against the proposed merger, and 71 voted for it. I believe this is a clear
indication of how the students of Chapel Hill High School feel in response to this
proposal. On ballots, many students wrote that they felt left out of the merger process.
What has been done and what will be done to ensure that students are heard on this
important issue, an issue that affects students the most? The County Commissioner
initiated merger does not allow for sufficient input from people who would be affected by
it most. Because the merger affects not only students, but also parents, teachers, and
the people who live in Chapel Hill, why was the issue not brought up so that a
referendum was possible? Thank you.
Ursula Council: Hi, my name is Ursula Council, and I'm speaking as a parent. I didn't
have anything written down. Nothing was prepared, or what have you. But my main
concern, being a minority parent, I am worried about the merger taking place and with
the money that would stagnate and what have you, the effect that it is going to have on
the continuing, furthering of the education of the minority students. I guess I'm afraid
that, with all of the politics and the red tape and stuff, they can fall through the cracks
easier. And we're just working really hard to close that minority gap. And I just feel that
the merger is not in favor, it's not going to do good for that, because we are really
working hard for that. And it needs to be done, and we need to address those things,
and for us to merge, I just don't know if we're thinking of the students as much as we
should be, especially the minority students.
Mary Copeland: I'm Mary Copeland; I'm a lifelong resident of Orange County. My
husband and I have run a business on Buckhorn Road for 25 years. My children are in
businesses in Orange County, and I know most of the farmers in Orange County. I was
raised on a farm. We can't stand another tax, and I don't understand why it is always
that money equals education. Money does not equal education. If it did, Washington,
DC would have the best schools in the world. And if you will look at the small third
world countries that spend very little money, but they educate their children. And we
have to look at the problem in the schools and not call for more taxes, more taxes. Let's
find out how we can better teach our children. How about we get back to phonics and
back to the basics and take care of our children instead of bussing them all over the
County. If you're worried about pollution, think about the gas and fumes spewed out in
this County by sending busses from one end of the County to the other. Merger is not
the answer. Thank you.
Seshi Hargett: Hello, I'm Seshi Hargett; I'm Student Body Secretary here at Chapel
Hill High School. Here at Chapel Hill High, we've worked really hard to improve the
achievement gap through equity training for all of our staff. Gwen Singleton, who is a
leader in equity training and the issues around that, said that to close the achievement
gap you must have your lower students meet your upper level students there and not
have the upper level students come down. I'm curious to know how, with the merger,
would the equity work here at my school be maintained and continued.
Jonathan Collins: My name is Jonathan Collins and I'm a member of Student
Government, and I'm also the Editor in Chief of our school yearbook here at Chapel Hill
High School. Chapel Hill High School is not the only school with high academic
standards, but also a school where students participate in a plethora of clubs and
student organizations. CHHS has 88 clubs that have been created to attract diverse
interests. These clubs meet at lunch so that students may be involved in varsity sports
and so that there won't be any after school transportation issues. We are concerned
that Orange County High School has a split lunch period, which would interfere with this
process. How can you ensure that if the two districts are merged, CHHS will not be
changed into a split lunch schedule, and therefore hurt club participation? And also,
considering the difficulty in which Chapel Hill High School and East Chapel Hill High
School have in aligning their own curriculums, how will the same difficulties be
prevented when curriculum must be aligned between four high schools? Thank you.
Robin Staudt: My name is Robin Staudt, I'm from Efland. And I want to thank all of
you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you tonight. As some of you may know,
CSE, Citizens for a Sound Economy, the group I represent, is opposed to merger. We
believe that smaller government and local control of our lives and property, especially
where are children are concerned, is a paramount concern. The school merger the
BOCC, or Moses Carey, proposes removes that local control of our schools both for
Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school districts. As all of you may
have noted, there is a small but very vocal group that is pro-merger. Their outcries of
social injustice and unfair distribution of funds has been long and loud. Make no
mistake here. They do not speak for the majority of Orange County parents or voters.
They would and do say that Orange County school is under funded. In terms of local
funding, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School is the first best funded in North Carolina and
Orange County is the third best funded in North Carolina. Why not look around us?
Durham ranks fifth best funded, while Chatham ranks ninth. And then there's
Alamance/Burlington ranking 50t". It is clear that Orange County Schools ranks very
well in North Carolina. Statistics have shown spending is not analogous with
achievement. There was clear evidence of this presented at the informal forum, which
some of you may have attended. But I would like to expand on this point. Our
international ranking in spending is at the top in the world, yet our achievement ranking
averages in the middle of industrialized nations. In September 2003, the Associated
Press published, and I quote, "this analysis encompassed 25 nations." The U. S. spent
on average $10,240 per student from elementary through college in the year 2000. The
average for the other 25 nations was $6,361. The U. S. spends more on public and
private education than other major countries, but its performance doesn't measure up.
In math, we rank 19t", reading, 15t", science, 14t". Let us search for more compelling
avenues of bringing the best we can afford to Orange County Schools, but merger is not
the answer. Please keep parental input paramount. Let our individual communities
decide how best to improve our schools. In the meantime, Orange County school
district has a new superintendent who to date, under great pressure, has performed
brilliantly in her short term with us. Dr. Carraway deserves the time and respect to
prove her value to the County. It does not take a merger to accomplish improvement of
our schools. Thank you.
Bob Tyson: I'm Bob Tyson, husband of Terri Tyson, candidate for Chapel Hill Town
Council. She is not able to be here because there is a forum tonight, which I'm sure
you'll watch on tape after this. She asked me to read this statement. Terri Tyson,
candidate for Chapel Hill Town Council, opposes the proposed merger of the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro and Orange County School systems. The merger will require extensive
long-distance bussing to attain socioeconomic balance and equalized test scores
across the County. The long bus rides are a harsh addition to children's already busy
lives and will deprive them of sleep and after school activities. Also, volunteering will
decline in the sense of a neighborhood school will be gone. The merger may also
erode the Town's residential tax base. A merger perceived by the real estate market as
a success, may unleash extensive development in the central and northern parts of the
County. Terri rejects the notion that merger is a County issue and not a Town issue.
Rather, she believes that the proposed merger is the most serious issue that confronts
the citizens of Chapel Hill. It's been suggested that merger is a civil rights issue and
opposition to merger is bigotry. Terri doesn't agree with this but contends that the right
to vote is a very precious civil right. The voters should be allowed a right to vote on
merger in a binding referendum. The law that forbids a referendum in Commissioner
initiated mergers is obviously a bad law in defiant opposition to basic democratic
principles. The legislature should be asked to repeal the law or at least to pass a local
bill allowing referendum in this case. There is no urgent reason to merge; you can wait
another year to let the people be heard.
I also oppose merger. Terri and I have four children; all of them have spent their whole
school careers in the city schools. We don't know anything about the County schools
really, whether they are good or bad. Whether they are or not, we don't want to take
long bus rides to go to other schools, we are happy with the schools that are nearby.
We just went through what to us was a bruising redistricting in the city schools and
ended up with what we thought of at that time as a long travel distance of six miles,
which is really quite short compared to some of the likely distances that will happen if
we have a merger. And, of course, the bus rides' purpose will be socioeconomic
balance and make all the test scores at the various schools come out the same,
creating an appearance of equality, but really not creating any benefit to those on the
bus. And really, the Countywide redistricting would be the mother of all redistrictings.
don't ever want to think about it and hopefully won't have to go through it.
Michelle Lewis: Good evening. My name is Michelle Lewis, I live in Chapel Hill, and
I've been an active member of INFORM. Merging two school systems should not be
done lightly. It is a very serious extreme measure that will cause a lot of change to two
school systems that are already tops in this State. It is not as if we have one excellent
school system and one so-so system. We have two excellent school systems. Each
system is a little different, and that's because the people of each district want slightly
different things from their schools. School systems are not born overnight; they are
cultivated like gardens by the people they serve. The parents of Chapel Hill-Carrboro
system have labored for many many years to make their school system exactly what
they want. So have the parents of the County schools. There is no reason why two
school systems need to be exactly the same. Indeed I would argue that our State and
our community at large benefits by having diversity. That having been said, I believe it
is high time for the 1986 merger studies recommendations to be implemented. We
absolutely need to have the funding mechanism adjusted for the County schools, and
we absolutely need to have more collaboration between the two systems. I, along with
a lot of other parents in Chapel Hill-Carrboro stand ready to support a major
collaborative effort between the two systems. We know that the major thrust of this
collaborative effort needs to come from our district, and we stand ready to make that
happen in a serious, sustained, effective manner. I have talked with many many Chapel
Hill-Carrboro parents, and can assure you that they want to find a solution that will be
best for all children of the County. I believe, and these parents believe that the 1986
merger study had it right -that is that the best solution is to fix the funding problem and
have a serious, high level of collaboration between the two school systems. The
collaborative steps outlined in Dr. Pederson's proposed options to merger are a good
first step. So let's get to it. We've been dawdling around for 17 years since that study.
Let's finally implement it. Thank you for your time.
Jim Baumhauer: Thank you for this opportunity. I am also a spouse of somebody
running for Town Council who has the same multiplex issue as Bob Tyson. He read a
prepared statement from his wife. I'm a 15 year resident of Chapel Hill with two school
aged children. I come to you tonight because I believe that merger is not the solution.
Merger could very likely lead to profound unintended consequences that would not be
beneficial to the children of either school district. The bottom line for me is that first we
must do no harm as we seek ways to raise the collective quality of education for all the
County's children. That means that the pace and process of decision making on this
very complicated issue should be incrementally measured, not precipitous, not
emotional, not driven by an artificial timeline. We should explore, and actually exhaust
all alternatives that encompass raising the funding for the County schools, collaborating
on academic programs, and taking advantage of economies of scale in the operational
aspects of running schools. This is exactly what the 1986 merger study report
concluded. I commend Dr. Pederson's proposed options to merger. This is the kind of
measured, thoughtful, proactive analysis that is needed. And based on what I know of
the people of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, they will be happy to support collaborative programs
such as those outlined in Dr. Pederson's letter. While I have been on the campaign
trail, I cannot tell you how many parents have said to me that they would be happy to
have the resources of our school district be shared with the County. The fact that many
Chapel Hillians do not want merger is because they like the school system that they
have carefully built over many many years. And they like local control, notwithstanding
the fact that people have been referring to our school system as the City School District,
we very much do not feel like a city. In fact, you probably know that our Town Manager,
Cal Horton, is quick to remind people that Chapel Hill is a town, not a city. We may no
longer be a small town, but we feel like a town, nonetheless, and we want to keep local
control over our schools. It's that simple. And I think we can find a better solution than
merger. A successful outcome to this issue can be achieved through 1) more active
collaboration between the two school districts; and 2) an adjustment to the funding
mechanism for the County schools. Merger is not the solution. Thank you very much.
Jack Nestor: Good evening, my name is Jack Nestor, I'm a County resident, and I
have two children at Grady Brown Elementary. I'm here tonight to express my support
of school merger in Orange County. Hold your applause. For after exploring the
various funding options available to us, merger is the only one that truly addresses the
current funding dilemma facing Orange County School system. The Chapel Hill district
tax subverts the basic principle that each child should receive the same amount of
funding per year from the County. If the district tax is indeed considered a supplemental
tax, then both school systems have been seriously under funded in the past few years,
and the Countywide property tax should have been increased accordingly. But in
reality, the district tax does not function as a supplemental tax, but rather figures into the
basic operating expenses of the Chapel Hill school district. In this way, Chapel Hill has
enjoyed a great flexibility in meeting its operating budget each year. Whereas, the
same option has not been available to the County system. Merger would eliminate this
complication and ensure equal funding throughout a single County system. Very recent
proposals to launch a separate County district tax are disingenuous and ill considered
and impractical. They are no more than quick fixes that don't address long term and
capital needs. And I hope they will not distract you from a thorough and fair
examination of merger. I would just like to say also, the County residents don't want to
diminish the Chapel Hill schools in any way; we just want to see that improvements are
made in the long term way to our schools.
Anne Lutes: I have two children, one of them in the Orange County Schools and one
of them starting next year. There are a lot of people here tonight to make their voices
heard, but I'd like to remind the County Commissioners that there are 6,500 people who
are not going to have their voices heard tonight, who won't have their voices heard in a
vote, and those are the school children now enrolled in the Orange County Schools.
How many more are not in school yet, like my younger daughter, how many more who
are not even born yet; children whose parents can't afford a $300,000 house in Chapel
Hill; children who will miss opportunities for whom doors won't open to break the cycle
of poverty. Who will speak for them? Every child in this County, including the ones in
Chapel Hill, and including the ones in Orange County, deserves an excellent education,
not just the ones privileged to live in Chapel Hill. Merger is the only way to permanently
ensure that. Nothing else in 17 years, despite what I believe is all of your best
intentions, has worked. Doing the right thing is seldom easy and is seldom comfortable,
but we are not always called to be comfortable. We are called to do what's right.
challenge you, all five of you, to lead us, even if it's to a place that some of us don't
want to go. If you won't speak for the children of Orange County, who will?
Arlene Furman: Thank you for this opportunity to speak, my name is Arlene Furman,
and I have two children attending Grady Brown Elementary School in Hillsborough, and
I'm very proud of the Orange County Schools. And I would like to present one simple
fact, which is that all of us here tonight are neighbors, whether we live within the city
school district or out in the County, whether we have an address in Efland or in
Carrboro. We are all citizens of Orange County who must rely upon each other.
believe that neighbors should respect each other, look out for each other, and that good
neighbors should strive together to reach a common goal; that goal being the education
of our children. I believe we can attain greater things for children in Orange County
together rather than apart. I believe every child in Orange County should enjoy the
same basic academic opportunities. I believe we should first take care of our students
with the greatest need, whether they are academic, or social, or physical. I believe that
notions of distinct cultures within our County, in fact, mask prejudice and fear on both
sides, both within the city district and in the County, which need to be addressed and
expelled forever. And I support school merger because I believe all of our children
deserve excellent schools and an excellent education. Excellent schools within
supportive communities produce good citizens and good citizens make good neighbors.
Thank you.
Tim Godsey: Hi, I'm Tim Godsey. My family and I live in the northwestern part of the
city school district, and this area is affectionately known as the Northwest Territory. I
have a son, Eric, who is in the fourth grade at McDougle Elementary School. He has
attended this school since kindergarten. Not only does Eric feel that this is the best
school in the whole wide world, it is only five minutes from our home. Not only does
Eric feel that he has the best teachers in the whole wide world, it is only five minutes
from our home. Can you hear me now? Because our school is so close, we, as well as
many of our neighbors, have spent countless hours participating and volunteering our
time at school. Why am I here speaking tonight? Quite frankly, I don't want Eric on a
bus for 45 minutes to an hour, when our beloved school is only five minutes down the
road. If merger were to occur, I can envision a massive redistricting plan, with busses
crisscrossing the County. Bussing is a big issue for parents, and I for one, would like to
know, if you vote for merger, where are the children going to be bussed. I don't want to
know after the fact, I want to know now. To use an analogy, it's as if we all agree to
build a house somewhere in the County, but no one will tell you how many bedrooms it
will have, no one will tell you how many bathrooms it will have, no one can tell you for
sure how much it will cost, and best of all, no one can tell you where it will be. And for
what? Both Orange County School district and Chapel Hill School district are excellent
school districts. In fact, Orange County has done well despite the lack of funding. I am
here because Orange County School district should receive all the funding it needs, but
I don't feel that merger is the only solution. Bigger is not better. I would venture to say
that most parents in both districts want autonomy for their district. I feel we should
negotiate a compromise that is a win-win for everyone. This should include the
following: 1) increasing the funding for Orange County School district either with a
district tax or some other creative mechanism with permanence and increased
collaboration between the two school boards. Let's make both districts even better than
they are. I realize that you haven't even voted on the issue yet, but if you should vote
for a merger, please remind us what the benefits are for our children before we send
them off on a long bus ride. Thank you.
Vince Wingate: Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is
Vince Wingate and I have two children in Chapel Hill schools. Many of the points have
been covered, so I won't go over them, but the thing that's infuriated me with this whole
thing, is the process that's totally undemocratic. I'm amazed that this would happen in
Orange County of all places. This is totally illogical. The County Commissioners are
hiding behind the State law, in my opinion, and especially, I'm sorry to say, Moses
Carey. The Commissioners should work to change the State law so that the people can
decide what is best for our community and children. A number of things have been said
like, "Why can't the County vote if they want to have higher taxes?" I mean, that's the
democratic process. We're just throwing it out with the bath water. I thank you.
Camille Webster: Good evening, my name is Camille Webster and I'm Student Body
Treasurer at Chapel Hill High. It's obvious that both school districts have their own
strengths. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district has a strong focus on AP
classes, while the Orange County district has a strong backing in international
baccalaureate courses. How do you propose to merge these two very different
programs and still keep both of their strengths? Is it possible to have both programs at
all schools? Thank you.
Valerie Summers: Good evening. As a relatively newcomer to Chapel Hill-Carrboro,
this being the largest community I have ever lived in in my life. I grew up in farm type
areas in a horrendously bad school system. I used to live in Robeson County, which I
know is not one of the top school systems in the State. So I'm going to try and bring to
you a little different perspective. It has been stated that expenditure per student does
not equate with student performance. I will tell you what four statistical things do.
Family situation - do you have two people in the home taking care of the children?
Number one. Number two -maternal educational level. Number three -paternal
educational level. Do the mom and dad have more than a high school diploma? Do
they have a high school diploma? Do they have grad school education? Next thing is
the age of the parents at birth, when a child is born (i.e., older parents seem to do a
better job). So, is the solution merging systems when none of these things will be
affected by merger? I don't think so, because it's going to, I believe, affect times on
buses as everybody stated, which isn't going to be a good thing. I don't think we've
seen good effects from this in Wake County. As a matter of fact, in Delaware, which
have a little bit of personal experience with, even though I grew up in Pennsylvania, has
totally gotten rid of the idea of bussing children from one end of the state to the other
because it's non-productive. Instead, what we should do is single out the children who
are having trouble -whether this can be based on EOG scores, based on
socioeconomics, based on family educational level -and instead give these children
some individual learning in an after school environment. Yes this is going to cost some
money, but maybe we can at least see where the money's going rather than just
pouring water into a sieve with ideas that have no foundation and just watch the water
flow away. I don't think the people in Orange County want to have their taxes raised
without somebody having some reasonable plan as to where this money is going to go.
I'm going to state to you EOG statistics. My children go to Estes, 94t" percentile math,
95t" percentile reading. Hillsborough Elementary - 96t" percentile math, 97t" percentile
reading. Two percent higher. Grady Brown - 90t" percentile math, 92nd percentile
reading. Two to three percent worse. Is that of statistical significance, I don't know, find
a statistician. Ok? State averages, by the way are 88 percent math and 85 percent
reading. Both school districts are obviously doing better. Should three people make the
decision that's going to affect 17,000 children and at least 50,000 people?
Matthew Barton: Good evening Commissioners and Manager Link. Thank you for
inviting us to speak tonight. I'm speaking as the legislative liaison for the McDougle
Elementary School PTA. My name is Matthew Barton and I live in Carrboro. I have two
children in the public school system. I won't read this entire statement. Much of it has
been said much better by other speakers already tonight. I will just say that on
September 17t", the McDougle Elementary PTA Board discussed the merger issue and
adopted principles that if felt should guide the PTA Council as they try to move towards
a position on the merger. Firstly, we felt that no merger should be effective as soon as
2004, that would really be too rushed. Secondly, we felt that merger should not be
undertaken unless it was the only way to improve the quality of education for the
student of both school systems. There are a number of some bullets there. We felt that
Commissioners could and should address the funding equity issue through their annual
budget process. We felt that the Commissioners should appoint a task force to
undertake a thorough review and it should run for at least six months. Certainly bond
committees run that long. Finally, we do have a list of about eight questions, specific
questions that we are hoping to get an answer by that task force. It would be the things
that have already been mentioned like what academic programs would be, would there
be money savings, how would teachers and support staff be allocated, would teachers
be reassigned between schools, what would school attendance zones be. And finally,
the representatives of the boards of education and the PTAs should get a chance to
examine the results of that review and comment on it. So, that's the position that a
group of roughly 20 parents sitting in the art classroom at McDougle Elementary School
took. And I hope you will take it to heart.
Randy Sharpe: I'm Randy Sharpe, a parent of two children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
school system. One of the primary reasons that my wife and I moved to Chapel Hill was
the excellent schools. When we were house hunting, we only considered homes in the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district. Based on real estate listings, it is apparent that the
school system factored into the decision of many other families that now live in Chapel
Hill. One of my concerns is that families outside of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school
district would not be willing to support the funding necessary to maintain the programs
that we value. I'm concerned that my children's education could be compromised. And
I can't see how it could possibly be improved by merger. I am opposed to the merger of
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County schools.
Mike Kelley: Hello, my name is Mike Kelley and I'm a parent, live in Chapel Hill, and I
have four children. I don't have prepared comments, but I would like to share with you
an example from my professional life that I think is applicable to this particular situation.
But first I'd just like to thank Moses Carey, because I think one of the things that has
come from this is the realization of what excellent schools we have in both systems.
Going on to my professional experience here, I am a physician, and I am frequently
faced with very difficult decisions, and this is clearly a very difficult decision that you will
make. In making decisions as a physician, there is a very simple principle that we use,
and that is self-determination. We don't make decisions for patients if we can avoid it -
especially difficult decisions. And I ask you to respect that, which is also a principle in
our government. Thank you.
Joe Nanney: Good evening. My name is Joe Nanney, I have a son who is a second
grader at Scroggs Elementary, I have a daughter who will be in kindergarten at Scroggs
next year. I've heard a lot of talk about how to make the merger happen. We are
blessed with a wonderful staff who could tell us how you do it. They have demonstrated
that they understand, grasp the concepts, but what we're not talking about is why. And
think that's the fundamental question that is before you that needs to be answered in an
open or public way. What are the goals and how do we achieve those goals? Is
merger the way that we achieve those goals? In 1986, the study commission said,
"We're not going to do it now. It's not time to do it now. Maybe in the future, it will be
time to do it, but not yet." My question is what has changed? In the 17 years, our
community has changed, there's no question. I moved here in 1988, and between that
time and now it's changed, dramatically. But what's the basis for the conclusion that
now is the time? There are more questions than answers at this point. A lot of people
think you have made up your mind and it's a done deal. It can't be. I'm not here to
advocate for or against the merger. I don't know what the right answer is. What I know
is I have too many questions to make that decision, and I hope you do too. What I'm
here to advocate is that you participate, either directly or indirectly through a new study
commission in a deliberative process that examines all of the questions and that you do
so in an open and public way so that everybody understands where you are going and
why we are going there.
David Weinberg: Commissioners good evening. My name is David Weinberg, and I
speak tonight on behalf of 50 families from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district who are
opposed to merger. Tonight we'd like to propose a compromise on the merger issue.
We ask the Commissioners to work with the school boards to equalize fundings in the
two districts, to exact a guarantee of greater collaboration from the two boards, but to
stop short of merger. All of us support equalized funding for Orange County, or
whatever levels of increased funding the residents of Orange County Schools support.
The Orange County system clearly would benefit from language classes at the
elementary level, dental care for teachers, improved library collections, and many other
items. However, the effort to help one group of students should not come at the
expense of another group. Merger would inevitably lead to bussing across the rural
buffer. For those children who are bussed into Orange County to fill empty seats, there
will likely be bus rides of 45 minutes or longer. This will make it more difficult for
parents and students to participate in school activities, and it will very possibly cause
some students to become separated from their peers as they move into the middle
school or high school levels. There may also be a domino effect with bussing, in which
Orange County students are affected, and no one has really talked about whether we're
going to try balance SES across the entire County. That would lead to quite a bit of
redistricting. Finally, the merger concept will destroy our community-based system,
which many of us in our district, and I'm sure many in the Orange County district
cherish. This debate is not about discrimination, nor is it about separate but equal. Mr.
Carey has introduced phrases into this discussion that resonate with some of the
watershed events of American history -such as the Civil Rights Movement. Yet all of
us feel deeply that segregation and discrimination are not what we are about. From a
local funding perspective, the Chapel Hill district ranked first in the State of North
Carolina in 2000-2001 and Orange County ranked fourth out of 117. By comparison,
Wake County ranked tenth. The minority populations are almost identical. And on the
NC Report Card, the Orange County district, which I'm sure you've all seen, had a very
high number of schools of distinction. This is hardly a situation that reflects gross social
injustice. What it reflects is that there are two districts in Orange County, both excellent,
one who's funding and scores are somewhat higher than the other, and that's all it
reflects. We asked BOCC to find a compromise and equalize funding without merger.
A compromise which strives to have greater permanence. We ask you not to dissolve
two excellent school systems simply because of a failure of imagination. We ask you
tonight, do you stand for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro kids as much as you do for the
Orange County kids? If you do, we ask you to seek out solutions that are less
disruptive, and we ask you to find solutions that work for everyone. There are dozens of
people in both districts who stand ready to help you. Thank you very much.
Judy Margolis: Good evening, thank you. Most of you already know me. I need to
say that I feel that your investigation of a school merger ignores the best interests of the
children and the families and the will of the majority of the citizens. Why not eliminate
the disparity of the funding with a tax and ask the voters. I want to reiterate what many
have already said. Rosemary Waldorf, our recent Mayor wrote recently, "I see
uncertainties and obstacles. A scrunched timetable and a quick process are not what
we are used to in Orange County. The County Commissioners require more time and
process for decisions of lesser consequence than the rather drastic step of mandating
merger, and in effect disbanding two duly effective, elected school boards." Rick
Martinez of the News and Observer wrote, "How will students in a merged district
benefit from the increased tax funds. I hope this question would be answered, but it
wasn't. If these two systems were to merge, it's a good bet that the diversity would be
lost. North Carolina does not need another homogenized mega school district. Merger
is also not very democratic. If the need for increased funding of County schools is so
overwhelming, it should be taken directly to the voters." Keith Cook, Chair of the
Orange County School Board has said, "We can and should address the issues -the
funding gap, higher student achievement -without merger." He proposed a countywide
tax, increased gradually to accomplish his goals. Dr. Pederson, Superintendent of the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools pointed out that the merged districts would require the
County tax to increase by approximately 25%, an amount that can be expected to be
not only unpopular, but a real financial hardship for many people. The disparities in the
current funding would be hard to defend if they were a deliberate attempt to under
educate a population of students. As you've heard repeatedly tonight, that is not the
case. I want to ask you to support a solution that creates the opportunity to equalize
funding with the two districts with flexibility, allow two of our highest performing and best
financed school districts in this State to retain their unique and important identities,
retain the school districts that can be most responsive to their constituents, and avoid
the potential of major redistricting and distant student bus rides and commutes that will
decrease the critical parental involvement that is so critical to students' success, and
retain the authority for decision making in the hands of publicly elected school boards.
Both districts' parents are involved in and proud of their children's schools, and parental
involvement will suffer from a merger. We need to speak for the teachers; we need to
hear from the children. And also, I really appreciate the students from Chapel Hill High
that got up and spoke tonight. I'm impressed that 16, 17, and 18 year olds can stand up
and speak, because for most of us, it's pretty overwhelming. Thank you.
Stacy Lee: My name is Stacy Lee, and I am an Orange County Schools teacher and a
parent of two Orange County Schools students. I've been a Hillsborough resident and a
taxpayer in Orange County for 16 years. I have appealed to you several times during
those years at the request of my superintendents, for more money. I often wondered if
had crossed the line with my words. But tonight I come to you asking that you do that
very thing -cross the line. Not only cross it, but erase it. Erase the line. This time for
me, it is not all about money. You see, if it were all about money, I would be speaking
to you tonight as a Chapel Hill-Carrboro teacher. If it were all about money, I would be
speaking to you as a resident of Chapel Hill and as a parent of two students in the
Chapel Hill district. Instead, I am speaking to you as a very appreciative member of this
community; one who has chosen to make Orange County my home - a place to raise
my children, make lifelong friends, to put down some roots. I know of no lovelier county
in our State. I so enjoy the rural area in which I live where I can watch deer frolic in my
front yard and greet the cows each morning as I drive to work. I appreciate all of your
efforts that have been made that make those experiences possible. However, I also
enjoy strolling down Franklin Street; cheering on the Tarheels at the Dean Dome;
shopping at University Mall; and dining at Top of the Hill, Redmans, and Mama Dips. At
no time during my travels across this County has anyone asked which side of the line I
live on or where my children go to school. You see, I love this County, this whole
County. I love, respect, and admire its wealthiest members, and its poorest ones; its
most educated, and its most underprivileged; from the old well, to the Schley field; I love
this County. However, I do not love what this invisible line has done to the citizens of
Orange County. It has perpetuated the mindset of a village community and a share-
cropping community. This invisible line has penetrated my workplace, my house of
worship, and my home. Imagine my embarrassment and shock when my ten-year old
reeled off what the Chapel Hill kids were like and asked innocently where the boonies
ended and the city began. So I come to you a public servant and ask that you begin the
tedious, painful task of removing that invisible line that now only exists in our school
systems. I ask you to change the course of history -unite this County by very gently
chiseling away at the prejudicial stereotypes that are in place. Unite this County by
putting the children first, all children first. Say to this community that doing the right
thing may be unpopular, even politically suicidal, but still right. Have your names written
in the Orange County history books as the ones who cared enough to initiate change, to
have realized that it was not all about money, and to acknowledge that the future of our
County can no longer be hindered by a nearly century old invisible line. Thank you.
Dana Thompson: Good evening, my name is Dana Thompson, and I have three
children in the Orange County School system. The point tonight is for you to collect
information. The irony is that most of what is said tonight you've heard before and you
already know. You already know that the districts are unequal. The County district has
a much higher number of disadvantaged students than the City district. You know that
many of the factors that correlate with students' success -higher income, higher
education level of the parents -are found predominantly in the City district, but not so in
the County. You know that the tax bases are worlds apart. You know that many of your
land use policies, good solid policies, aimed at preserving the rural parts of Orange
County, are the very policies that limit the growth of our tax base and County district,
and limit the growth in our schools. You know that every year the budget process, as
well as the bond process for the schools, is a thinly veiled struggle between the districts.
And you know that the battle is won every year by the school district that is bigger and
faster growing. And this is what we will face for years to come. You know that you
have a construction standard that makes school buildings equal between the two
districts, but no standard that makes teachers equal or students equal. You know that
the value of our children is infinitely greater than the value of our property. You know
that for all of the panic of the distant possibility of long bus rides for City children,
County students already experience this in rides of more than an hour each way for
many of our students. You know that the recent momentum behind the district tax in
Orange County or collaboration between the two districts won't accomplish what our
students need most - a guarantee of equal access to the excellence our County can
offer. You know these things, and now thanks to this process, parents in the County
district know these things as well. They know, and they won't soon forget. They've
figured out the problem, and they've figured out the solution. They know that merger
offers the only guarantee to our children. Please take this courageous step, take it now,
and let all of the parents begin now to work for the good of all the children.
Cathy Saylor: Thank you, my name is Cathy Saylor. My husband and I and our son
and daughter have lived in northern Orange County for the last nine years. Between
them, our children have spent 13 years in the Orange County School system. In that
time, they've had many excellent and dedicated teachers. However, you don't have to
look too closely at the two school systems to see the result of the funding disparity
between them. I don't think that this happened because anyone made a malicious
decision, but there is a major difference in the educational opportunities for the children
in the two systems. I have attended County Commissioner meetings in the Hillsborough
courthouse where the meeting was packed with parents begging the County
Commissioners to fully fund the Orange County Schools' budget request, but under the
current arrangement, that can't happen. So, I would like to thank you, the County
Commissioners, for having the courage to tackle this politically unpopular issue, and
urge you to do the right thing. And if the right thing turns out to be merging the two
school systems, and to give our children equal educational opportunities, then please
do it. Thank you.
Kathy Hartkopf: Good evening. Thank you for hosting these forums to hear from the
public. My name is Kathy Hartkopf, I live in Hillsborough. I'm really glad I'm speaking
right now, because I am not pro-merger. I'm very concerned about the proposed
merger of our two school districts. We moved our family from Durham where a merger
had just occurred between their two school districts. We made the choice to move to
northern Orange and have been absolutely delighted with the quality of education our
daughters have received and continue to receive. I appreciate the high percentage of
funding that the Orange County Board of Commissioners allocates to the education of
all of our children in Orange County. That came into play with our decision to move to
Orange County. I stand before you tonight as a parent of these two young girls who are
thriving in their Orange County School district. I stand before you tonight as a parent
with a lot of unanswered questions. I respectfully request that the general public be
provided with more detailed analysis about what a merger would actually mean for our
children and for all of our families. I studied the merger report, and I attended the
presentation in the hopes of becoming informed. I've attempted to learn more about
mergers by studying statutes, historical data, the differences and similarities between
the two school systems. I've spoken with DPI merger specialists, superintendents from
merged districts, and legislators. I've read papers, I helped plan the INFORM forum,
and I attended the pro-merger forum, because I feel that it is important to hear all sides
of the issue. I appreciate the fact that you also have questions. On the evening of the
presentation of the report, many of you expressed concern over the lack of information
about a variety of issues. If you have those questions, then surely you can understand
how the parents of our County must feel. On the evening of the presentation of the
merger report, Commissioner Halkiotis reminded the rest of the Board that he had once
likened what had happened to the merger debate to a speeding train. You'll have to
pardon me, I think I've used your analogy before, it was very effective. Although in
recent weeks, I do feel the train slowing just a little, I still believe that train is in motion
and the conductors and the passengers do not know if there is enough tracks to reach
their destination, or even if the destination is somewhere we even want to go. I ask you
for all our sakes to please consider stopping that train while its passengers can get the
information they need to decide whether they want to remain on or get off at the next
stop. Thank you.
Emily Maginn: I'm a senior here at Chapel Hill High School, and I'm also a member of
Student Government. Is it possible to wait until the next election before the proposed
merger is voted on so that candidates can run on this issue and be elected based on
the response of the voters? Many of the students at Chapel Hill High School are able to
vote in the next election and therefore will be able to voice their concerns. From past
meetings of County Commissioners, it is obvious that redistricting plans have not been
made as of now. Considering this, how can the people, as well as the County
Commissioners, be informed, and therefore make an educated decision on the topic of
merger. The issues that affect all stakeholders such as bussing, redistricting, and
curriculum alignments have not been addressed. Thank you.
David Laudiciua: Thank you. We applaud the Commissioners for attacking the
educational inequities existing in our two school systems and attempting to end the
economic segregation the County district must contend with. One of the major reasons
inequities exist is the financial environment the two systems operate under. The County
system budget requests are rarely fully funded, causing the County system to be
consistently faced with an operating shortfall every budget cycle. Lacking other sources
of funding, the County system does not have the capability to make up these shortfalls.
This causes many new County system programs to be unrealized and continually
widening the educational opportunity that Chapel Hill system students enjoy over
County system students. The Chapel Hill district usually achieves close to full funding
of its budget requests when the district tax is factored in. The disparity the County
system will face in the near future is in the funding of new buildings. The future calls for
$99 million worth of new buildings for the Chapel Hill district, while only $20 million for
the County district. That means that the City system holds a five to one advantage over
the County system in the amount of money it would get from bonds. In other words,
County system residents will have to pay five cents for every one cent worth of buildings
they get. A County district tax is only a partial solution and only resolves operating cost
disparities. Given County demographics and historical bond issue voting patterns, it is
highly unlikely a County district referendum would ever pass. We believe a merged
system would resolve both operating and building cost disparities and provide equal
educational opportunity for all students in Orange County and end the economic
segregation the County system must contend with. A merged system would also allow
synergies to be realized in new buildings and postpone or eliminate a significant amount
of future building needs. We ask you to set aside all the politics and make this decision
based on what is best for all of the children of Orange County. Bussing -you want to
talk about bussing? Come on down to southern Orange County, we bus our kids a
couple of hours a day. Collaboration -I've been waiting for collaboration for ten years.
Promises are hollow anymore. We urge you to merge.
Katharine Everson: My name is Katharine Everson, and I'm a teacher in the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Thank you for the opportunity to share my opinions and
concerns. I am speaking tonight to voice my strong opposition to a merger of the two
school districts. I also wish to voice my strong support for equalizing funding between
our districts by raising funding for Orange County schools. I believe that increased
funding for Orange County schools is long overdue and would be well supported. So
why would I be opposed to a merger? Because I believe the objective of equalized
funding for our districts can be achieved without compromising quality, the sense of
community, or the mission of either one. Why is it that we cannot support two distinct
districts equally well? Exactly what will it cost us both to devote our human and
financial resources to negotiating through the maze of merger. Chapel Hill is already
grappling with the continued growth of our system. Since my arrival in 1983, the
number of elementary schools has nearly doubled. How could we possible support the
opening of a new high school at our current levels of local support and local services as
our district tax is reduced and we are held harmless during the phase-in period of a
merger? What about the cost in student achievement and staff effectiveness. What will
happen to our unique commitment in the areas of curriculum alignment, locally funded
assistance to support inclusion of special needs students, and powerful uses of
technology and technology specialists? How could this not compromise our efforts to
provide equity for minority students? To that end, we have invested in community
partnerships, we have finally begun a serious assault upon institutional racism, we have
wrestled personally with our prejudices, we are finally celebrating diversity in the
classrooms on a daily basis, and we are beginning to see promising gains among our
African American students. We still have much work to do. But what will happen to that
focus in the face of a merger and the energy and resources that such a merger would
entail? Your own staffs report on the possible impact of a merger states that many such
questions will be on the scope of your analysis. Where is the thoughtful study of such
questions, which assures me, as a professional educator, that a merger is the soundest
educational direction for all our students? As a professional, I also have to ask about
the impact of this merger on my present salary, and therefore future retirement. I began
teaching in 1970. Clearly, I am not in this for the money. But as a National Board
Certified Teacher, would I be reassigned in order to equalize teacher resources? These
are just some of the sobering questions the merger issue generates. I urge you to
support alternatives to a merger as you initiate equalized funding between our two
districts. Thank you.
Tom Rankin: I want to first thank Moses Carey for at least putting this discussion in
place. It always takes somebody to point to a problem to even have any discussion,
and the Commission for facilitating tonight and many other nights to come. In both
school systems, school children learn that the State motto of North Carolina is to be
rather than to seem. This seems an appropriate place to begin to talk about flaws in the
funding of our two separate school systems. While it may seem that each school
system is equally and adequately funded, we need to look deeper to understand that
this simply is not the case. We may seem to have two separate and equal systems, but
in reality, we don't. To be sure, this is not by design. Those who promoted a Chapel
Hill district tax many years ago never intended for there to be any harm. Nevertheless,
the disparity exists. One school system's budget is negatively affected formula now in
place. The disparity is a problem of serious magnitude and one needing leadership
based on principle and fairness rather than expediency and politics. What I'd like to
see, and some of what we see from the County Commissioners is not so much a heated
public debate about the merger with all the misinformation, prejudgment, and territorial
protection that any talk of merger has and will foster. Rather, we first need to commit
ourselves, all of us who care about public education in both systems, to solve the
fundamental inequity. If we declare that as a community, as a County, as a society, we
stand for principles of fairness and equality for all our citizens, even the non-voting
students in our two systems, then we will be moving in the direction of creating an
important solution to a vexing problem. As a parent of children in the Orange County
schools, I can vouch for much that's good in that system. I can also vouch for many
unfunded needs and underserved students. Having said that, no solution in the funding
disparity should harm the quality of the existing Chapel Hill-Carrboro system. Much has
been made about changing the particular culture of perspective systems, much
hyperbole about how we'll all suffer. I've heard folks in Chapel Hill say they don't want
their kids to go to school with those kids in Orange County. And likewise, please,
similar kinds of stereotype and prejudice are heard from Orange County parents who'd
rather hold tightly to the status quo than change. Doesn't some of this resistance on
both sides sound familiar? Haven't we been here before in past to equalize access to
public education? As Commissioners, you are responsible to serve citizens of Orange
County equally, and that includes ensuring the children in this County have access to
equal educational resources regardless of the location of their house. We have no
option but to fix our flawed system. But if this County wants to be rather than seem
about the business of education and equality, we have no choice but to embrace
change -change that will in the end make all of our communities stronger, better
educated, and more diverse. Merger, perhaps, if it's necessary. But fixing the system,
fixing the flaw is a must.
Amy Levine: I'm Amy Levine, and I'd like to speak against merger. I have three
reasons. First of all, this is an expensive option for the residents of the County district.
Keith Cook outlined at the forum hosted by INFORM that the County schools could fund
their list of needs and priorities at about half the cost to taxpayers the merger would
dictate; and over a longer period of time, to further reduce the financial impact to County
residents. A special district tax for Orange County could be flexible in years when more
funds are needed, opening a new school, for example, it could be raised, and then it
could subsequently be lowered. My second reason -merger creates a larger
educational bureaucracy that would be less amenable to local citizen input than two
smaller systems that are more geographically accessible to the constituents. Number
three -merger may harm certain special education and English language non-proficient
students in the City school district. The City school district has a larger proportion of
these students than the County. They are more expensive to educate and State funds
are insufficient. So if funding is forced to be equalized, then either you have to reduce
the programs and services to these kids, or if you want to hold the level of programs
and services to these kids constant, then you have to reduce services to somebody
else. Neither of these options is acceptable. Let's not harm any group of students by
forcing a merger. Let's slow down the process and carefully anticipate and weigh the
consequences so there's no negative impact on this particularly vulnerable group of
students. So, in closing, let's allow the Orange County voters to consider a special
district tax that is a less expensive option, that is more locally flexible and responsive to
citizen input than a merger, and let's allow two smaller and more locally accessible
school districts, and especially, let's not inadvertently harm special ed and English
language non-proficient students. I have two autistic kids in the Chapel Hill school
system, and I don't want my kids to fall through the cracks in this merger situation.
Thank you.
Gayane Chambliss: My name is Gayane Chambliss, I'm an Orange County parent,
and I thank you for providing the opportunity to come before you. First, I'd like to quickly
address one thing about bussing. I live seven minutes from my son's school. If he were
to ride the bus, it would take him 50 minutes to get home, so I pick him up everyday for
that reason. Also then, we have heard from some that actually Orange County Schools
are doing just fine. Well, they are, thanks to the dedicated teachers we have who make
the best of the limited resources that they have with which to do their jobs. Yet there
are still students in various grade levels in the Orange County school system that are
going without textbooks, and they are failing their grades in those classes that don't
have textbooks. We wonder why they're failing. No textbooks. Over the past few
years, there have been a number of items removed in the Orange County school budget
after the final County appropriations. For example, just this year alone we requested
one nurse. We didn't get it. One nurse coordinator, we didn't get it. One AG teacher,
we didn't get it. One guidance counselor, we didn't get it. One reading recovery
teacher, we didn't get it. However, federal funding from title 1 did give us the funds to
get that. One reading resource teacher, we didn't get it. Six Spanish teachers, we
didn't get even one. Five custodians, we didn't get any. We also asked for an increase
in the teacher's supplements so that we don't lose qualified, wonderful teachers to
school systems who can cherry pick the very best. You guessed it, we didn't get it. And
the list goes on totaling $1.8 million in this year alone for cuts. But it is not just about
what we didn't get. It is about opportunities. It is about the opportunity for a student in
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system that wishes to learn a trade. If you as the elected
officials choose to do what's best for the entire County and create a union of the two
currently separate systems, that student could have the opportunity to learn a trade.
What about the parents of a child in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system who desires the
opportunity to place a child in the year round program. There are many benefits to a
year round program which have been well documented. Orange County has such a
program both in the elementary and middle school. Wouldn't it be wonderful to offer
that opportunity as a magnet school? A high functioning autistic child in the County
could have the opportunity to get the resources and education by attending a school in
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district compared with what he gets in the Orange County
district. If an unwed mother in the Orange County school system had to drop out
because her school does not have the opportunity to have care for her child, so she
didn't get an education, she could at Chapel Hill High School. You see, there are many
opportunities to benefit all the children, and at the same time put an end to the issues of
funding disparity, polarization of the County, and equality of education for all.
Sometimes in management the people in charge have to make unpopular decisions.
But true leadership is about making hard decisions about what is right for everyone.
What is right for the future, and not about waiting for the future to see when the time is
right but then too late. The time is right now -merge.
Russell Woods: My name is Russell Woods. I am currently attending Chapel Hill High
School. I am a senior; I am a member of Student Government and many clubs, and am
the assistant teacher for a first period class. I would like to ask the Board how would
students of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district not be held harmless in the
proposed merger. It would seem that by freezing the annual per pupil allotment as to
ensure that it can't decrease would also mean that it can't increase. This seems an
injustice to a district that is experiencing considerable growth. Thank you.
Deb Love: My name is Deb Love and I have been a co-founder of INFORM. I am not
anti-merger and I'm not pro-merger. I just don't have enough information at this time.
However, I have been very critical of the process by which we've been affecting this.
speak as someone who has had 25+ years experience in organizational change and
affecting change on a large-scale basis. And it seems like what we have here is the
cart before the horse. We have suggested and are considering a possible solution
when we haven't gotten alignment about what's the problem for which this is the
solution. There are two ways to do change. There is imposed change, which you
clearly have the power to do. You clearly can vote and make this happen and impose
this change on us. And you can see the resistance that even the consideration of this
has engendered. And that, I think, could have been foreseen. The other alternative is
to do involved change. That's change where the people who are potentially affected by
that change have an opportunity to reach alignment around what is the problem for
which we need a solution, to explore various solutions, and then to make
recommendations and be participative in affecting whatever solution seems best. So,
you have a choice about whether you use imposed change or involved change. I think
that there's still a chance to slow this train down, to go back and get alignment, get
common ground around what are the issues that we need to solve here. And I think
there's openness in this community now in a way that there wasn't several weeks ago,
several months ago. I know that there are parents in the Chapel Hill school district who
now understand much better what the funding differences are and are concerned about
those. I have never ever heard a parent in Chapel Hill say that I don't want my student
to go to school with those kids -ever.
Leslie Lee: Good evening. My name is Leslie Lee, and I will read a statement from the
Mary Scroggs Elementary School Parent Advocacy Committee. And most of the things
that I have to say, I'm afraid you've heard by now. The Mary Scroggs Elementary
School Parent Advocacy Committee believes that every child in Orange County should
be provided with the best possible education and that every school should receive the
necessary resources to accomplish this goal. We believe there are disparities between
our school systems. However, given the information we have at this point, it is unclear
to us whether merger is the answer. The recent report on the potential impact of
merger raised many questions -questions we believe should be answered before a
decision is reached on whether to vote on the issue of merger. For example, in the
event of merger, what would a likely redistricting plan look like? What would the
transportation needs be and how would they be met? Would the funding and salaries of
city schools be frozen until the two school systems become equal? How would
academic programs, staffing, and resources for these programs be affected in the time
leading up to merger and following merger? All schools follow a State mandated
curriculum, yet have the flexibility to implement the curriculum according to their needs.
How would an impending merger or the merger itself impact ongoing curriculum
planning and development? Would teachers be reassigned in order to equalize
staffing? Parents and staff value greatly the opportunity to provide input into the
running of their schools. What effect would an impending merger have on site-based
management and long-term decision-making? Would a larger school system be more
effective than two smaller ones? In addition to these questions, we believe there are
other issues which are harder to address, but should also receive careful consideration
before a decision is reached. Would stagnant funding of City schools in the time
leading to a merger result in the loss of qualified teachers and staff in a time where all
schools are struggling to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act? The County
Commissioners required the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education to
adhere to the principles of smart growth with design of the third high school. Could
merger be accomplished in a manner compatible with the principles of smart growth?
How would urban sprawl be restricted? Given the Triangle area's recent smart growth
report card, we believe this is an important issue. We urge you to carefully and
thoroughly consider all potential consequences of going down the merger path, since it
will not be possible to turn back, to seriously consider all alternatives, and to study other
examples of merger and their outcomes. Most importantly, we ask that a merger vote
not proceed without swell-developed plan that addresses all of our questions. Thank
you.
Patty Courtright: Hi, my name is Patty Courtright, and I have a child in the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro City Schools. I am opposed to merging the two school systems. We have two
excellent systems. Parents in each school system are supportive of our schools and
are proud of their respective school system. In all the information that's been
presented, I have heard no good reason for merger. What I have heard is the need to
increase funding for the Orange County school system. As the County Manager's office
has pointed out, there are many options for creating this necessary funding that do not
require merger. I urge you to adopt a County district tax that will provide the needed
funding and is fair to the taxpayers in the County. In addition, Dr. Pederson and Mr.
Cook have discussed ways for the two systems to collaborate so that students in both
school systems can take advantage of unique programs offered by each system. This
would benefit all our students and would avoid the unnecessary expense of duplicating
programs, services, and administrative costs. So I ask you to please create a district
tax for the Orange County School system, encourage the creative collaboration
between the City and County schools. Don't merge the two school systems. Please
remember that your responsibility is to act in the best interest of all our children. And at
this point, I don't have enough information to claim that merger is the best option for our
children.
Bobby Clapp: Hello, my name is Bobby Clapp. I have three children in the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro School system. If my interests were self-motivated this evening, I wouldn't
be here, quite frankly. My kids are going to be out of the high school by the time all of
this takes place. My interests, however, are in broader community respect that relates
to my wife's and my involvement in the schools and community activities. I do have a
few prepared comments I wanted to read to you. Let's set the context first and not be
distracted. There is currently a great deal of discussion, publicly and privately,
regarding the possibility of merging the two school systems. It's not surprising there is a
growing level of frustration with the concept that has drawn a lot of attention. One of our
community's most important assets, all of our communities -Orange County, Chapel
Hill, and Carrboro - is that we embrace a unique lifestyle in our approach to
neighborhoods and community inclusive of our schools. County and City government
has traditionally made broad policy and development decisions in a manner which
reflects our community's wishes for diversity. We need to recognize that this same
distinction in respect to the education of our children, in respect to the community and
village model of nurturing our children through the school system, and not to corporatize
a model that we don't want. Our elected officials will debate road projects and circus
animal regulation, often accepting a financial premium for a loss in order to reflect the
wishes of all elements of our community in such matters. The high level of scrutiny by
government authority regarding property development in order to protect the landscape
of our communities and neighborhoods is another example of the way our local
government has viewed our uniquely Orange County approach to lifestyle. This should
extend to schools, which are the backbone of our neighborhoods, and I fear that we are
not being consistent on this matter. Instead, we are being shaped into a merger mold.
The issue of the County Commission seems to have become distracted with merger
itself rather than equitable funding for our educational system in Orange County. The
issue is not merger; in fact resolving the funding issue for Orange County students is
long overdue. We look to the County's leadership to accomplish this. Instead of
focusing on the real issue of equitable funding, the public has been exposed to red
herrings. What are these red herrings and how are they dispelled? First, merger
facilitates the opportunity to fix the funding inequity. I think we've heard tonight and
know very well that there are other alternatives that are creative to deal with that.
Secondly, we hear that Orange County is one of only four counties in the State without
a merged school system. There are numerous examples of how our County leadership
has taken up issues in a way, which is contrary to other local or state governments. We
don't have to fit into that mold, and we've exhibited that in the past. The whole issue of
authority in referendum, we are compliant now with our current system, and yet we're
not leaning on that as a reason not to make change and not to make creative change.
This is a divisive and disrespectful issue for our communities. My chauffeur is not out
there waiting to take me to my mansion here in Chapel Hill. I have a great deal of
respect for my Orange County counterparts, and I am supportive of what they wish to
accomplish through this effort. I'm not saying that we should not discuss, debate, or
consider merger periodically. I am saying, however, that this is not the time to proceed
with merger of the two school systems. I also would challenge you, as was done with
the first speaker, I don't think the County Commission has the public support or credible
platform to consider this issue and make a decision on it at this time. You were not
elected with this openly a part of your term agenda. I've checked the relative election
statements, and none of those speak to school merger. Therefore, the public did not
have an opportunity to consider this in electing the Commissioners, who are here to
represent all constituencies. And lastly, with all due respect, I do note that none of the
Commissioners have students in any of the public schools in the County. Thank you.
Vicki Hill: One main reason that my family moved to Orange County was to attend the
year round school and to live in the country. We are 15 minutes away, and for six years
have driven my daughter to Hillsborough Elementary, and we've picked her up.
Hillsborough Elementary, being a year round school, has a very limited bus system.
You cannot compare Hillsborough Elementary's end of grade scores with Grady Brown.
They are different schools, their sizes are different, their resources and humans are
different. Every school in Orange County makes a big effort to help educate their
children, but they're all autonomous and very unique. I've been very active as a
volunteer at Hillsborough Elementary. I've coordinated volunteers and I'm involved in
the community. Being there for six years, I've gotten to know the faculty and staff and
the administration. My daughter has been an academically gifted child in class since 2nd
grade. So from 2nd to 5t" grade, she was receiving academically gifted coursework
outside of the classroom. There was one AG teacher -the school was 390 kids. That
teacher in 3rd grade, when my daughter was in 3rd grade, had 13 children learning
algebra. She said she'd never had that many children learning algebra at one time
before in 3rd grade. The next year and the year after, she did get an assistant. And
each year that possibility of keeping her assistant has been challenged. So that's one
AG teacher for a school of 390, and each year the enrollment, and the children being
recommended to academically gifted classes at that school has increased, but the
resources weren't. There are children who fall through the cracks and that's not fair.
When parents come in as volunteers and help raise those end of grade scores like
they've done at Hillsborough Elementary, which has been named for two years as a
school of excellence, some of the other children fall through the cracks. There's an
alternative school that has yet to open this year, I believe, in Orange County Schools.
That alternative school has children who are high school level and they are not able to
go to school for some reason during the daytime. This alternative school would meet at
night, and in the past when it's been held, it met at night, and the teenagers would have
computers and maybe one human to interact with them. The alternative school in
Chapel Hill, as I understand it, is a daytime driven school and there is more than one
person there to help the teenagers interact and learn. I urge the Commissioners to
please keep in mind the efforts that have been considered here and the options, and to
be creative with your own resources and help us bring each other together and find a
solution.
Dabney Grinnan: Hi, I'm Dabney Grinnan; I'm a parent in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
School district. The thing that no one's talking about here is why is a merger, why do
we need a merger? We need a merger because it would be irrevocable. Why does
Orange County need an irrevocable merger? Because it's population has consistently
not voted to support the funding that the Chapel Hill district has. And that's tough. My
heart goes out to these parents in Orange County who can't get the services for their
kids. It's rather like, you know, for a liberal living under the current administration, I'm
constantly frustrated that nothing good ever seems to happen. But the bottom line is
that's how those people voted. That's what America is really about. I might have really
loathed Jesse Helms as my Senator, but I had to accept that that was the will of the
State that I lived in. Orange County has voted consistently to not fund the schools at
the level that these parents want ithem funded. And my heart goes out to them. But the
answer is not an irrevocable thing like merger that raises all the other questions. I
wonder is there some irrevocable way to raise taxes in Orange County. That seems to
me to be what the issue really is. You want a solution that's going to permanently fund
the district higher, but your district has not been willing to vote for it. If that's the case,
merger is really not what the issue is about. The issue is really about Orange County
has not consistently voted for the funding that these parents want. And that's a tough
issue. But I urge you to work on solving that issue, because that's what the real issue
is. The issue is not Chapel Hill versus Orange County. The issue is really about how
do you get the tax revenues to support the school district you want. I really ask that you
all focus on that question rather than the very thorny issues, the organizational issues
that come up with the merger. Thank you.
Susan Houck: Don't leave Dabney, because I'm going to give you a couple of
examples why Orange County has not voted in a district tax, if I can fit it in three
minutes. I'm Susan Houck, I'm an Orange County parent, and I've been pretty involved
in the merger discussion. And I'm afraid, like some other speakers, like we're all
forming opinions about merger without actually understanding the problem. And this is
exemplified in the Chapel Hill School Board claim that they are aself-contained
community. This attitude actually gets to the root of the problem, the problem being
school funding inequity. The inequity exists specifically because we are not self-
contained. What takes place in the County affects the City and what takes place in the
City affects the County. No one is self-contained. Here are a few quick examples. The
Chapel Hill district tax -the City school district tax places a ceiling on what Orange
County Schools can receive. This is because in order for the Commissioners to allocate
the per pupil request by the Orange County School Board, the City schools would be
over funded. A district tax in, for instance, Guilford or Wake school district would not
affect us adversely. But the Chapel Hill district tax has a negative impact on our school
funding because we are one community, One County, and interrelated. Now people
say, like Dabney, why don't you have your own district tax. A district tax in the County
would not generate enough funds and would not solve the inequity. More than half of
our land is in the use value tax program. There's 105,000 acres of farmland in our
district compared to 6,000 in the City district. Farmland is taxed at six percent of its
value at the 84.6% rate. That means $1 million worth of farmland would generate the
equivalent of what a $60,000 house would generate in taxes. Maintaining this rural
nature to our County is to the benefit of the whole County but Orange County children
pay the price. Additionally, City water comes from the land situated in the Orange
County district. This large area of land has property restrictions, thus posing another
limitation on a residential and commercial tax base. Orange County people do not vote
for a district tax, not because we don't care about education, but because it is not a
good solution, it does not generate the needed funds. Now, Chapel Hill needs water
and we all enjoy a higher quality of life because our area has a nice city with a university
surrounded by beautiful countryside. But with the system the way it is, Orange County
children pay the price. Orange County parents are not talking about whether or not our
children get an A or a C in Spanish or AP English. We're talking about whether or not
our children actually get to take Spanish. Some are not given the opportunity until Stn
grade. And whether or not some of our children actually learn how to read. We have a
serious shortage of reading recovery teachers. As I drive around Chapel Hill, which I do
almost everyday to work, for shopping, to take my kids to music lessons, so far I have
not had to scale a wall to enter the so called self contained community. It's time to
realize that we are one community, that we are interdependent and do not live in
isolation from each other. People deserve information about the problem, the funding
inequity, in order to form an opinion on merger. I truly do not believe that Chapel Hill
people, at least the ones I know, would be satisfied with the way things are if they
understood that their children are receiving a superior education at the expense of a
large segment of our children in our own County. We need to address this now.
Elizabeth Brown: Thank you. Well, first of all I want to say voters are often and
usually and sometimes right. And it's a good thing we didn't ask them about integration.
"I don't want my kids to go to school with those kids." You know, I'll be honest. I do
have a good friend who said that to me, and it was early in the summer before this
whole thing sort of got as far as it got. I still like her fine. But I think we all carry small
prejudices and I have heard that. Smaller school district, I agree, it's wonderful. Chapel
Hill has doubled in the past ten years and you're going to double again. It's only five
minutes from the home. I live five minutes from McDougle, and my kids go to two
different schools. They ride the bus for a half an hour and 45 minutes. And I love my
schools. And if we were to merge, I wouldn't want my kids redistricted to McDougle at
all. And in the past redistricting in Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill School Board upheld its
policy of not redistricting children in a walk zone. And I think that makes common
sense, and I don't know why people are afraid that in a merged system, common sense
would somehow be superceded. Maybe I have a little more faith, maybe not. So why
are we here? It's math. Because Chapel Hill asked for 15% less per pupil than Orange
County did this year, so Orange County got 85%, 100-15, of our request. The fifth year
in a row, without money for basic budgetary needs, not to mention expansion items, like
elementary Spanish and teacher pay increases. We're here because the poverty rate in
Orange County Schools is twice that in the Chapel Hill Schools. One third of our
students receive free and reduced lunch. We also have 46% more African American
students. Why does Chapel Hill ask for less than Orange County and still get 30% more
in local funding? Because it has a district tax. But you don't understand the impact of
that district tax is to drive down the per pupil amount available for Orange County. It's a
flawed funding mechanism and it needs to be changed. And the change needs to be
permanent. It can't simply be a campaign promise. I wish it could be, but so far, that
hasn't worked. Over the next ten years, Chapel Hill will need to spend $100 million on
new buildings. Why should Orange County residents have to pay for their rampant
growth? We need to fix the mechanism. Would a district tax do it? We don't have the
20% commercial base that Chapel Hill and Carrboro have. When you get taxed 20
cents, you really are paying 16 cents. And because we're in the same County we will
always have to pay catch up based on that district tax in the larger Chapel Hill district.
It's important to note that in your presentation tonight you neglected to say that the
three-year, five-year, and ten-year scenarios also work in a merged system. It's on
page 24 of your report. Sure, we could remain separate but collaborative; each student
still carrying his or her small prejudice in their pocket, secure in their particular culture.
But what would we be teaching our children? I'll end it. Isn't it time to stop asking how
can we fund these systems and instead ask how can we serve every child? Thank you.
Ann Hill: My name is Ann Hill. I have three children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City
School district. I also have friends that have kids in the County school district. I would
be glad to have my children go to either one, from what I know of them. I've had the
pleasure to meet members of both school boards who do not feel that merger is a good
idea. I did go to the last merger meeting where Keith Cook had some excellent
information about the merger. I do feel that both systems can collaborate much better.
I look forward to working with that. I get very concerned about the tax burden that this
might put on people. I know that the County people have a lot more people that do not
have children, and I think that's reflected in how they do vote for the taxes. I would ask
that you look at all alternatives before voting on the merger. I also ask you to look at the
different outcomes that would happen. One thing I've not heard tonight is that if this
merger does go through, what would be the expected growth in the County. We have
been feeling this in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district and have been dealing
with this for the last ten years that I've been here. What would that growth be? I would
ask you to get those projections out to us. That will play a part, especially on the
County students, but on the whole County as a whole. The other question that I haven't
seen that I ask you is when is this vote going to take place? I've seen all the public
hearings, but I don't know when you're actually going to vote on that. Those are my two
questions for you tonight. I really worry for the children about the growth that would
come to the County students. I think that that impact has not been even stated or felt.
And as a constituent, I would say that we don't have enough information to vote on this
yet, to really slow it down, and lick it. I'm not saying one way or another whether it's
good or bad, but I think there needs to be more options, especially that growth. After
living with it in Chapel Hill, it needs to be looked at. And let's support the children and
teachers in the community in the most economical way possible. Thank you.
Chair Brown: Miss Hill? I would like to get you the data that you've asked for on the
school projections, because we certainly have all that information. So if you could leave
your name and I'll get that to you. Thank you.
Kelly Monroe-Porco: The IB program at Cedar Ridge High, which we are in danger of
losing because of funding, has a credo. Part of the credo states: We hope that
students may become critical and compassionate thinkers, lifelong learners, and
informed participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the shared humanity that
binds all people together, while respecting the variety of cultures and attitudes that
makes for the richness of life. I think we can all agree that we want that for all of our
children. We definitely have that in common. But I want to focus on the word culture.
Because it's been tossed around quite a bit lately by school officials and people in both
Chapel Hill and Orange County. I believe that my perspective on this issue is valid. I've
been a teacher for almost 20 years. I've taught in New York State, I've taught in Chapel
Hill schools, and I know tutor students from both Orange County Schools and Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City Schools. People on both sides of this issue are using culture and the
preservation of it as a reason not to merge the school districts. I would like someone to
define for me what culture means. I want somebody to say it. Is it rich versus poor?
Northern attitudes versus southern values? Educated versus uneducated? White collar
versus blue collar? Liberal versus conservative? Nobody wants to say it. But culture, I
think, is a euphemism for prejudice, on both sides. And I'm tired of it. Prejudice that is
based on the fear of the unknown, and I dare say that many of the people who are
espousing the culture argument have not visited or been heavily involved in both
districts. I have and I know that kids are kids no matter where they live. And despite
their socio-economic backgrounds and the provincial views of their parents. My
daughter goes to school with Orange County kids, but she dances, swims, plays soccer,
and socializes with friends from Chapel Hill. They have much in common. And I
contend, so do their parents. After all, we're all here tonight. Otherwise, how is it that
we all work and live together in every other aspect in this County? American educator
and former U. S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa once said, "If you see in any given situation
only what everybody else can see, you can be said to be so much a representative of
your culture, that you are a victim of it." Commissioners, in your wisdom, I ask that you
not let all of us become victims of our so called cultures, and recognize that all children
rely on you to give them the same opportunities in public education within the same
County. I ask that your solution to protect these opportunities be one that cannot be
overturned by future Commissioners. That solution is merger. Anything else is only a
band-aid on a wound that can be opened again and again.
AI Hartkopf: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate the opportunity to
address you this evening. Let me begin by saying I really appreciate you taking this
time to listen to all of our input, and let me echo my wife's sentiments that Hillsborough
Elementary rocks, absolutely. I have two daughters that go there. As of the end of the
2nd grade, the oldest one was reading off the scale. That's because she works hard. It
doesn't really have that much to do with money. I must say that there have been a lot of
people here tonight who have put forth a lot of points and put them a lot more eloquently
than I could have. So I'll just take my time to set some of the incorrect rhetoric straight.
I am offended deeply by the politics of lack and the prejudice talk and the destructive
sentiments that have been spoken here by some from the County. I come to Chapel
Hill all the time, and there seem to be an awfully lot of really good people down here,
and I don't think you hate us at all. I don't think you want to do anything against us.
don't want to hear about what we didn't get and what we wanted. We could have gotten
those things. I don't want to hear that we didn't get the chance that we never voted on a
district tax because it is a bad solution. The reason we never voted on a district tax in
Orange County ladies and gentlemen is because we never got the chance. The group
that stands before you tonight and talks about prejudice is run by the people who have
taken that opportunity for us to vote on the district tax last year. Thank you very much.
Mr. Keith Cook, I'd like to echo him as well. We don't need to match Chapel Hill dollar
for dollar, we need what we need. We know what we need. We've put that on the table
for you and we do each and every year. If we could have some way to equalize the
funding, I'd get behind it. I think it's a good thing to do. We wish we'd had the
opportunity to vote on a district tax last year, but we didn't get the chance. I wonder if
when the friends of the people who actually robbed us of the chance to vote on the
district tax say that recent attempts at the district tax for County are disingenuous, ill-
conceived, and impractical, that they really mean that about the very people that came
with them here tonight. Thank you.
Georgia Gamcsik: I don't think I can really express any better things that have already
been said except that I'll just give you my perspective. Seven years ago I relocated to
North Carolina and landed in Durham. I happened to come during a time when Durham
was going through their merger, and also at the same time, Wake County was going
through a fair amount of upheaval. And when we decided that we were going to stay in
North Carolina when my children became school aged, we decided we'd better start
looking at schools. I think everybody makes a choice where they live -some people
want rural living, some people want more urbanized living. I think it's inexcusable that
some children don't have textbooks or whatever; the basic needs are not being met.
don't think merger is necessarily the answer, and I think that you really should seriously
take a look at what happened in Durham. Did they really achieve what they wanted to
achieve with their merger? Their issues are probably different than ours are. But in the
final analysis, did they get out of their merger what they wanted, or take retrospectively
any of the mergers that have occurred in some of the other counties that may have
been sited. It doesn't really matter what the issues are. You have to look at the before,
and what was wanting to be accomplished, did that happen, and decide whether
something that's going to be so expensive, time consuming, possibly divisive in the
community is going to be worth it in the long run. That's all I had to say.
Anne Lindsey: Hi, I'm Anne Lindsey, I'm a parent of an Orange County student, a
senior at Cedar Ridge. I'm very proud of his progress through the school system and
the school system. But I do know that we have many shortages. What I want to say
tonight is really better said by Stacy Lee, and Dana Thompson, and Elizabeth Brown,
and Susan Houck, and others. But I want to reiterate it. I want you to rise above the
fear mongering that I've heard tonight -fear on both sides of the district line -the anti-
tax folks in the County, the worries about bussing because we don't really understand
what that might or might not be, whether we'll redistrict, when we might redistrict if we
merge. And all of these are fears that are promulgated. I do believe that merger is the
best solution to our problem of the disparity of the funding, but I also think it's the better
solution for the vision of us as a County. As I understand it, every other aspect of this
County is managed as a whole unit. Only the education system is divided into these
two systems. And the division is just that; it's division. The separation of City and
County into school systems has had for many years the undesirable result of creating
an "us" versus "them" mentality on both sides of the line. This unfortunate animosity is
an unacceptable handicap to County management. The irony of our two-system
approach is that truly the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. As Chapel Hill and
Carrboro grow they grab more of the resources available to both systems. Because of
the nature of the two districts, the high commercial base and the higher, what I call lean
base, in the north, the farming and forestry in the north, the south will continue to have
exponential growth while the north will grow very little. Citizens in Chapel Hill and
Carrboro benefit from water supplied from north of the line in the Cane Creek Reservoir,
they benefit from the landfill space provided north of the line, and from the rural buffer
that adds green quality to the lives of Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents. I know the
Commissioners have worked hard to ensure that farms and forestry practices can
survive, but there is a cost to this, and that cost is reflected in lower growth rates and a
lower tax base for the north versus the south. There's no hope to equalized funding in
the north with a separate district tax because there is not enough of a commercial base
in the north. I don't think anyone's answer is to eliminate our green base. It is time for
both the north and the south to understand that we compliment one another and are
better managed as a unit. Others have and will continue to speak about the many
specific advantages of merger, and others have and will speak to the specific problems
of a separate district tax for Orange County Schools. I wish tonight to emphasize the
vision we all want for our County -quality education for all of our children in one unified
system. Please vote for merger. Thank you.
Mark Costley: Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I am a parent of a 2nd
grader at Scroggs Elementary in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system and a preschooler
who will be in the system as well. I came here tonight in large respect to be educated
about the issue and I suspect that I may not have it right. But it seems to me that, in
large respect, the problem that has been described tonight is one of money, primarily.
And the couple of speakers who said it wasn't about money primarily haven't been on
point. It seems to me it is about money. It seems to me that it is about political will, the
political will to explore alternatives other than merger. It also seems to me that it's
about process. But ultimately, for everybody, it seems it ought to be about results. We
all want what is best for all of our children. We want to find a solution that does not
come at the expense of some children. We also are in a situation where we're dealing
with something that is the most passionate and important issue for everyone. I know
scores of families in Chapel Hill-Carrboro who live there because of the school system;
who chose to live there because of the school system and who obviously are frightened
by the prospect of merger. The things that you are talking about doing are undermining
the very choice that they made to live in this system. And they're afraid of change. And
can understand that and I hope you will. But, again, when you're talking about this
large an undertaking, you're talking about something that does have a very high risk of
creating problems, you have a very high risk of actually making both systems worse,
and I would ask you to consider whether or not there aren't alternative approaches for
dealing with the funding issues, that simply require a little more political will than both
the citizens and maybe the Commissiers are willing to exhibit. Is there an alternative
way to address it? Well, I've seen several thrown about. Is there less risk to children,
less risk to the good things about both systems from those alternative approaches? It
sounds to me like there probably is less risk from those approaches. And then the last
thing I would say is that the process that you follow makes a difference on the outcome.
can imagine merger for these systems in 20 different worlds, in 20 different scenarios.
And I can imagine that a process that isn't supported by the people in both communities
that leaves people afraid, that leaves people not understanding the reasons, that leaves
people suspecting the motives for the process will actually be radically less likely to be
successful, radically less likely to be supported, and radically less likely to be good for
the children in both systems. So I ask you to consider a process, not just being about
the democratic process, but also being about the results. How likely would a merger
that you're considering be successful? I have some real questions about the process
and think it might have a negative impact on the result if you did choose merger. Thank
you.
Allen Spalt: I'm Allen Spalt. At your work session on the merger report in September,
you each asked questions of the public, and I'd like to respond to some of them.
Commissioner Carey, you asked if we were starting today, would we design our schools
with two districts as they are now. The answer is probably not, but that's not reason
enough to merge them. There are many current institutions, including county lines for
that matter, that would almost certainly be different if we were starting today from a
blank slate. We are not however starting from scratch. We have two good local
systems that have long traditions, active involvement of parents, students, and staff.
They should not be abolished lightly. I've lived in this County too long and been to too
many hearings on school budgets to believe that two school systems have been forced
on the County as a way of maintaining an inferior system. Circumstances are changing
and we can change to meet new realities while minimizing disruption rather than
maximizing it.
Commissioner Gordon, you asked if people were more interested in equity and
equalizing funding or in merger per se. Perhaps the most important information to come
out of the examination of merger is that equity can be achieved without merger. You've
heard a lot about that tonight. And that being so, it is preferable to do so.
Commissioner Halkiotis, you asked if bigger were better. The more we learn about
schools, the more we find that smaller is better -smaller districts, smaller classes,
smaller elementary schools, smaller middle schools, smaller high schools. They foster
more personal attention, greater parental and community involvement, and better
student achievement. Why would we trade two smaller systems for one bigger one?
There would have to be compelling educational and not just fiscal reasons. If they exist
they have not yet been documented. A merged system would not be big by some
standards, it would be much smaller than Wake or Mecklenburg, but it is bigger than
necessary or desirable. Few here would trade ours for those systems. Since both
systems are growing, the merged system might start at about 17,000, but it would grow
to about twice that. Thirty thousand is big.
Commissioner Jacobs, you stated that the goal was to eliminate major disparities in
funding and opportunities. I agree with that. I think it's pretty clear we all agree with
that. Going about that in the least disruptive way seems to offer the most benefits. We
now know that disparities can be eliminated and the integrity of the two systems,
community based systems, can be maintained. Merger is not necessary to eliminate
those disparities.
Commissioner Brown, you asked what is the impact on the Adequate Facilities
Ordinance. Applied Countywide, SAPFO would be a much weaker tool. It seems after
we have spent years working out SAPFO based on two school systems to now consider
radical change before it has had a chance to be effective, why did we bother? You are
the one that taught me what concurrency meant. Let's give it a chance to work as
adopted.
And I want to say one last thing, and that is, I have nothing but the utmost respect for
the Orange County school system, understand that its parents want the best education
for their children too, and express and continued, and I stress continued willingness to
help pay for excellent schools throughout the County. But we don't need to merge to do
that. Thank you.
Dan Evers: My name is Dan Evers. I recently moved to Chapel Hill with my wife, three
kids, and we have one on the way. That vote right has been taken away from us in this
particular issue and that kind of makes me mad. I'm a pretty simple guy; I like simple
answers to anything I look into. The only two reasons I can figure that Commissioner
Moses brought this thing up, and correct me if I'm wrong Commissioner, was that some
County residents wanted County students to get the same money per student as
Chapel Hill students. My simple answer, just like everybody before, or most everybody
before, get a district tax. And don't be fooled, it can work in the County, they just have
to raise it, it might be more than 20 cents per hundred because there's less tax base. A
district tax in the County will work and could work. And if you spend half this time and
effort that we're doing here and half the money that all that paperwork has cost you on
getting a district tax in the County, I really think it would work. The second reason, it
seems like some County residents, and I've heard more of this tonight and I just can't
believe it, perceive race or class inequality between the two districts. Now, again, I just
moved here a couple of months ago. My simple answer is, if you perceive this race or
class inequality in the schools, move to Chapel Hill. It is America. Move to Chapel Hill.
Anybody can move to Chapel Hill. You can rent in Chapel Hill. Someone mentioned
the houses are $350,000 - I didn't buy a house in Chapel Hill, I can't afford it. But did
move here because the schools are better? Yes I did. I'll be honest about that. And
I'm renting a house in Chapel Hill. Believe it or not, you can rent in Chapel Hill still. So
that's my answer. I really think County people could get together and raise a district tax.
But if you can't, and you just want to put your hands up, just move to Chapel Hill where
believe the school system, it might be a little better for you down here. Thank you.
Robert Rosenberg: I came into here with an open mind about merger. I'm not for or
against; I appreciate the opportunity to hear the arguments on both sides of the issue.
guess the one point that seemed most important to me listening is the idea that
informed change is likely to be stronger and more lasting than the imposed change that
was mentioned earlier. You have the power to impose the change, but it seems to me
that the likelihood of success in the long run is greater when we have an informed group
of involved citizens. And having three debates doesn't seem enough time and enough
debate to form an informed process. So I advocate that we do more of this, that this
has been useful on both sides for us to hear the arguments either way, and I think that
we can come to a stronger consensus, a democratic strong consensus, it we take the
time to have this kind of debate and not rush the issue either way.
James Wilde: My name is James Wilde; I'm perhaps the only speaker who doesn't
have kids in school right now. But I've had three -I've been PTA President, I've been a
member of the PTA Council. So I've had some history here after 38 years in Orange
County. What I'd like to address is the funding differentials that exist and not the
merger issue. There seems to be some confusion among some of the speakers and in
the letters to the newspaper about the supplementary school tax which is levied in
Chapel Hill and Carrboro. By State law, this tax cannot be activated without the
approval of the County Commissioners. The 20 cents cannot be approved without the
approval of the County Commissioners. Neither can the Orange County district impose
an extra property tax for its citizens without the approval of the County Commissioners.
Either or both of these districts can request such a tax at some level, but it won't be
enacted unless the County Commissioners say yes. This is certain. What is less clear
is how the Commissioners have handled a situation in which two districts see different
levels of funding for their respective students. Let us be clear that the desired funding
level can come from, differences in that funding request can come from a variety of
sources. It may come from differences in income, it may come from differences in
educational philosophy, and it may come from cost differences, property value
differences, or just general priorities about how we wish to spend our money. Suppose,
for instance, that the Orange County Schools wish to spend $3,000 of local funds for
each of their children, a number which is, I think, perhaps a little bit in the ballpark of
what happened this past year. While at the same time, Chapel Hill wished to spend
$4,000 per student. I would like to know how the County Commissioners wrestle with
these different requests. How should they handle that? This is something that only the
County Commissioners at this point can wrestle with. But I'd like to suggest that equity
is not the same thing as equality. I would like to suggest a solution in that case where
Orange County wishes $3,000 per student and Chapel Hill $4,000 -that the County
Commissioners approve $3,000 for the whole County funded by Countywide property
taxes to get the kind of schools that Orange County wishes to have, and then approve a
supplementary tax for Chapel Hill to give them the extra thousand that they wish. This
would meet the wishes of all the citizens of this County. I suggest this is a fair result for
all of Orange County.
Chair Brown: Mr. Wilde, do you have a copy of the issues you brought forward? If
you'd like to, just bring it over here or email it to us, that would be fine too.
It is our adjournment time and we could take one more person, then we would have for
our next meeting, and we definitely wanted to have you come to the next meeting,
which is next Thursday up in Hillsborough at Cedar Ridge High School. Our
adjournment is at 10:30 always, unless the Board would like to continue.
Commissioner Gordon: I would like to continue.
Commissioner Halkiotis: Let's just continue.
Rick Kennedy: My name is Rick Kennedy. I have three girls in the Orange County
schools. And I'm here to tell you, this is a turning point for Orange County. You can
believe that we have a long way to go in the Orange County schools. We do a lot of
things right, but there is a long way to go. And this is a chance, a tremendous chance
for you to use your influence to affect the lives of countless children for years and years
and open up opportunities that they are not going to see otherwise. It may be true that
people in the County don't vote what they ought to vote for, but sometimes we need to
step in, we need to protect the rights of minorities, despite the majority. And these kids
are really suffering because of this. When I went to the college fairs at Cedar Ridge and
Chapel Hill East, it was never more clear in my life what we're telling these kids when
they walk out those doors. It is not the same folks, I am telling you. The possibilities for
these kids are completely different. The message they get is completely different.
That's why I'm here tonight. This is not about finding the right answer. The right
answer is to merge and work together and educate all of our children. This is more
about finding the courage to do what you know is right. And that's hard to do. It is hard
to stand here when you have a room full of people saying that you're wrong. Imagine
for a moment what it would be like if we don't merge. Because we cannot go back the
way we were. With this discussion, we have changed everything in Orange County.
Every election for County Commissioners will be about protecting Chapel Hill schools,
protecting Orange County schools, avoiding that merger -different people, different
reasons. But those kids in Orange County will suffer because of that. You can't get a
word in edgewise for the County Commissioners if you're from Orange County because
Chapel Hill will run those elections. That will be the one and only issue. When Orange
County has a district tax, the school board elections will be nothing but a tax referendum
every two years and all the energy and all the trouble, all the funding will go into that
one issue. Educational issues will be out the window and those kids will get stuck in the
middle. That will happen. For all these things people talk about that might happen, who
is going to do that? A merged system has the majority of people from Chapel Hill
constituting that board. You're not going to let those things ever happen. I don't think
anybody wants that to happen. I don't want to make Chapel Hill kids suffer; I want to
make people in the County step up to their responsibility to pay to invest in education
like they should. And the only way to do that is through merger. A district tax is not
going to fly, and they cannot find any other way to make it happen. And not only that,
but you'll miss opportunities to unite this County and work together instead of working at
cross purposes, which is what we do every single year at budget time. You'll miss the
opportunity to share our strengths, miss the opportunity to expand the experiences of
our students in both the systems. You'll miss opportunities to gain savings and
operating expenses, and capital expenses. We need to look back on these years from
now and know that we did the right thing. If you've thought about these kids, then use
your authority to do what they need you to do. Don't find a solution of convenience;
don't find an easy way out. You need to stand strong and take responsibility.
Tammie Stephenson: Hi, I'm Tammie Stephenson and I am neither from northern
Orange County or southern Orange County. I'm from eastern Orange County, I guess,
I'm up near the Orange/Durham County line. And I'm a bus driver for Cedar Ridge.
And I'm a bus driver because I have the choice to be a bus driver and it's not for
income, and I'm glad to do it. And I'm here to speak for the Orange County citizens that
deal with day to day that don't quite understand what's going on and I don't think they
would come to voice. I do agree that there is a correction of Orange County School per
people, but monies that need to be changed, and it needs to be more balanced. I do
understand that the merger could cause unnecessary bus rides, inequitable
assignments, and there are other alternatives to be seen. So far, all I'm really hearing is
financial, and I'd like to see more quality with the student and the impact it would have
on them and the administration. A 17-cent tax for the County citizens would strongly
impact them and I'm not sure how many could afford it because I work out in the park,
so I don't represent the average northern County system. Achievements will not
necessarily result from equal funding. Do not rush your decision, for unforeseen
consequences will result, and without an alternative plan, the students and faculty will
suffer. I do agree that we have two unique and sound school systems, and I request
that I have a choice. That I have a choice to be heard, to have an input, to choose
where my child needs to go to school so that he can be academically and socially met,
and a choice for children to go year round and a choice of whether to be able to ride the
bus or to be a community school, not because my district was changed because of a
merger. And I'm not for or against the merger. I just want your leadership in
establishing a sound resolution to the inequities in the Orange County and Chapel Hill
school systems.
Jim Rabinowitz: Thank you for staying so late to hear me. I've been a resident of this
area for 23 years - 19 of those in Orange County. I've seen large changes in the
County during that time. Currently, I'm a Chapel Hill school district parent. It has been
stated that the County school district is under funded, and it is a natural result of the
special school district tax in Chapel Hill. The relevant question appears to be how can
the funding in the Orange County school district be improved without harming the
Chapel Hill school district. The County as a whole needs to find a remedy for this
problem. Combining the two school districts may perhaps solve this problem if the
taxes raised a sufficient amount to properly support the new system. I would support
such a change and would urge you to support such a change if I were convinced that
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School district would not suffer from a merger. I'd like to just
point out that you can have merger, you can't get more money unless you raise taxes
somewhere. I agree with the sentiment attributed to Commissioner Carey that if we
were creating a new school system, we wouldn't divide the County, it wouldn't be fair.
However, we're not creating a new system. I've heard that already today, and I'll try to
be as brief as I can on this because I know we're trying to leave. I'm only aware of
some of the history, however, I do know that there are few residents in the various parts
of Orange County that were not fully aware of the perceived qualities of the different
school districts in the County and the taxes that supported the school districts when
they made their choice of their place of residence. Many current residents of the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro School district chose to live there, at least in part because of the
school system. Almost all of the residents of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district
made this choice knowing their taxes would be higher, and by making this choice
they've indicated their willingness to pay these taxes. Residents who chose to live in
the Orange County school district made choices based on lifestyle issues, perhaps also
relating to school district, or the issue of lower taxes. I lived in the Orange County
school district for many years. I chose to live where I did at the time in order to take
advantage of a more relaxed and outdoor lifestyle. Because some people have made
these choices, at least in part, because of their willingness to pay taxes to support
schools, I am concerned that the merging of the two school systems will create a
problem that is inherently unfair. On the one hand, the people of the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro school district have always been willing to pay taxes to support their school
system, and they may not obtain sufficient support for their schools because of the
resistance of other County residents in a merged school district to pay higher taxes. On
the other hand, residents who have chosen to the live in the Orange County school
district because of the lower taxes may be forced to pay higher taxes. Clearly, the
history of the school districts makes consideration of a fair merger much more difficult. I
thought about this for a long time and I heard the solution from somebody else, but I
want to say it again. One solution that I see is that the County Board of Commissioners
should not consider Chapel Hill-Carrboro funding when considering Orange County
funding. If this requires over funding the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district, then
Chapel Hill-Carrboro has the option of reducing their taxes, or you have the option of
reducing their taxes, apparently. So it seems to me that if you separate them, you've
got a solution to the problem.
Art Beldon: Thank you for staying a little later. My name is Art Beldon; I have two kids
in the Chapel Hill school system. Michael is 14, he goes to Philips and Leah is 11 and
she attends Rashkis. I'm very encouraged about tonight, about the debate that we've
all been a part of, and to listen to all of the eloquent speakers talking about the issues.
However, I don't think Chapel Hill or Carrboro is ready for this kind of change. We just
went through a redistricting; our kids have just adjusted to that. Merging, I don't think
that's the solution, but I don't know for sure. But I do know that if this is imposed on
Chapel Hill-Carrboro in a short time frame like you're talking about, you're going to have
a huge political uprising. This community will not stand for that to take place. It will
react to it, and it's going to be uncomfortable for everybody and it's not going to help our
kids. We will resist this. I'm not so sure that we know what's right or wrong, but if it's
imposed on us before we have an opportunity to really understand it; I'm coming here
having just learned about this in the last couple of weeks. Tonight was an educational
experience for me. Our kids are our most important part of our lives, besides our
husbands and wives, and we are going to react, if we feel like we're being unfairly
treated. So please understand that. We want to love each other, we want to take care
of our neighbors, and we care about everybody in the County, but I'm really concerned
about the political issues that are arising right now and I don't want that to happen to
this community.
Andy Seligman: When I was in school, we went on a field trip and we saw how a canal
was operated. And so there was a barge that came along and there a loch, and the
loch helped to equalize levels along the canal. So the barge came along and the loch
operator let water into the lower portion, and the barge rose, then they opened the loch
door and it continued on its voyage upstream. What they did not do was open up the
loch door before water had been put into the system and the barge had risen. Now it's
obvious that if you did that there would have been a tumultuous, violent equalization of
levels and the water would have just sloshed out of the top. That would have been
destructive up there, and it would have also been destructive down on the bottom. You
don't just pour water from one system into another. You don't just open the doors.
Same thing with air locks, you don't just open the door. So I think we have something of
a comparable system. A lot of the resistance I'm hearing has to do with the fact that we
right now have this big difference of funding, and I haven't heard anybody in this room
support that. Now I hear people from Orange County saying that they want the funding
that they've requested for their kids. And I hear the people from Chapel Hill saying,
"Yes, this is outrageous and that system needs to be properly funded as well." But
think that that ought to precede an effective merger, because otherwise, there is going
to be this great sucking sound of resources from one place to the other. You know,
we'll just look and say, "Hey look, this library has got lots of books, this doesn't. We're
going to move printers; we're going to move teachers." If we merge the systems
equitably, it would require that we immediately devote all resources to Orange County.
How could it not be so? You've got to put them where they're most needed, and that
would be to the detriment of the existing schools in Chapel Hill. So I'd say we need to
come up with a funding mechanism and properly fund Orange County. That's a
prerequisite to the merger; it shouldn't be the result of it. Once that was done, I can see
potential advantages to merging. You know, year round schools, different paths, that's
all very intriguing. But we've got to solve the funding issue first, not look to the merger
as a way of accomplishing that goal. Thank you.
Harold McFarland: I'm Harold McFarland; I'm a parent of two kids in the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro school system. And I've heard a number of things tonight that I just can't wrap
my mind around in relation to other things that I've heard about this. One is an
assertion that we'd get better use of facilities, but it won't necessarily result in more
bussing. I don't see how that's possible. Some of the financial projections don't take
into account the fact that taxes would inevitably shift to the north as a result of property
values going up there as they are higher in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district. It
may be that they go down here, I doubt it. It also bothers me that the figures seem to
disingenuously assume that property values will continue to increase much faster than
the actual cost of providing education so that ten years out you can rely on the growth
and property values to keep the tax rate down. Well, if property value is going up, in all
probability, so will the needs of the school systems. And consequently I don't see those
gains being in the cards. I think the bottom line here is that this is an end run around
local democracy. I mean, that's what people are trying to do - do an end run around
local democracy. Democracy can be damned inconvenient. But the people in the
north, who, even though they cry poverty, they have about the same tax base per
student as people in the south. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro district could vote to equalize
your taxes. They choose not to. That's their right. I guess that's my bottom line.
Thank you.
Gloria Faley: I wasn't going to speak tonight, but I am bothered by the slurs that have
come back and forth across lines. I am especially bothered by the statements that have
been made about Chapel Hill-Carrboro citizens, about being prejudiced or being elitist.
These are the same people that backed three separated bond packages, and those
three bond packages had funding for Orange County schools, and they never
questioned it, it never bothered them, they supported it. And I wanted to understand
where were these slurs from. It's fear. It's fear because not all the questions were
answered, and when we make a statement, "well maybe we can answer the questions
after the process is done" that fear grows even more. All the questions need to be
answered. All the angles need to be looked at. That takes time -reasonable,
responsible, definitive solutions take time, take conversation, and take research. And if
you think that the fear will subside after the merger, then look at Guilford, look at
Durham, and especially look at Charlotte/Mecklenburg, where they actually showed that
after the merger there was a definitive resegregation of schools because schools and
redistricting now became battlefields. "By God, I will protect my school at all costs."
And that happened and there were poor schools, and there were rich white schools.
That occurred and is still occurring in Charlotte/Mecklenburg. And the one thing that I
thought of and I hope that you look at the report that came out from Dr. Pederson that
the Board was going to look at this evening but ran out of time because we were trying
to make it to this meeting. There was a certain amount of wisdom to the 1986 study
that took awhile. And there were recommendations that came out of that -
recommendations that did not turn into action. Does that mean that we can't take that
action now? We can. And as one very final comment, a 7t" point bulletin in Dr.
Pedersen's report, it says, "It avoids a merger debate that would divide residents
throughout the County and replaces it with a model based on goodwill and trust that two
districts can and will collaboratively work effectively together and best serve the
students of this County." Thank you.
Chair Brown: We ask that if you would like to speak at our next meeting next Thursday
at Cedar Ridge High School, please, we would want to hear from you.
A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
adjourn at 11:00 p.m.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Margaret Brown, Chair
Donna S. Baker
Clerk to the Board