HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19810129~.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners'met in joint session with
the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Boards of Education in a
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
JANUARY 29, 1981
special session on January 29,'1981, at 7:15 P.M. at the Stanback School
Cafeteria in Hillsborough, North Carolina. .
Commissioners Presentr Commissioner Anne Barnes, Chair, and Commis-
sioners Norman Gustaveson, Norman Walker, Richard Whitted and Don Willhoit.
Orange County Staff., present: Kathy Battern, Acting Finance Director,
Joe Bradshaw, Assistant County Mana.ger:Eve Folgeman, Administrative
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Assistant, Sam Gattis, County Manages, and Paulette Pridgen-Pond, Clerk to
the Board. '
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board;. of Education members present: Phyllis
Sockwell, Chairperson, and Edwin Cald;vell, Jr., Ver1a Insko, Ted Parrish,
Barbara Thornton. and Ann Wileman.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Staff present: Pamela Mayer, Superintendent,
Carolyn Freeman, Finance Officer,'and George Fleetwood, Director of Instruction.
Orange County Board of Education Members present: pscar Compton,
Chairman, and. Lindsay Efland, Walter Faribault, Jr., James Ray Freeland,
Norman Haithcock, Max Kennedy, and John Thomas Walker.
Orange County Schools staff present: Mike Simmons, 5uper•intendent,
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and Tom Rickman, Director of Business Affairs.
Fallowing the dinner at 6:30 P.M., Commissioner Barnes called the
meeting to order at.7:15 P.M, and introduced the various staffs and
boards, Chairs Compton and Sockwell welcomed Boards, members and staff.
Agenda Item 2:
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Capital needs--Short Range
Long ~Ra'n~ge
Mr. Compton, Dr. Simmons and Mr. Rickman spoke for Orange County
Schools listing priorities: Renovation of Stanback/replacement of Stan-
back; providing access to all schools for handicapped; enlargement of
cafeteria at Orange High and reduction of teacher/student ratio. They
feel that renovation of Stanback would be unrealistic; Stanback is
multi-levelled and cost to provide handicapped access would be prohibitive.
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Messrs. Compton, Rickman and Simmons expressed. concern for the safety
of the children if renovation were chosen and queried where to provide
instruction for the children during the renovation process.
Mr. Rickman, responding to a question from Commissioner Whitted,
said to abandon Stanback would cost about $5.2 million, excluding land,
engineer's and architect's fees; cost of access for the handicapped
would .cost $280,000 (excluding.Stanback) for all County schools; a
new cafeteria would 6e approximately $121,500.
Mr. Kennedy spoke in favor of retaining Stanback while Mr. Efland
noted the lack of sidewalks to Stanback and questioned the safety of
children who walked to school.
Ms. 5ockwell said the needs of the-Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools
were reduction in class size, renovation of some buildings, an enlarged
cafeteria for the high school, provision of access for the handicapped
and renovation of the science and guidance labs at the high school.
She estimated cost over the five years as approximately $7 mill.ivn. Ms.
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Insko mentioned some library and bathroom facilities at the alder ele-
mentary schools as areas of vital concern.
Commissioner Barnes, in response to a question from Mr. Caldwell,
said the County had been under a State mandate to build a new jail and
consequently other building programs had been halted. She expressed
hope there would now be sufficient funds to enable the schools and the
County to go forward with programs.
Agenda Item 3: State Bond Referendum
The Commissioners and Boards' members exchanged ideas,-concerns
and expectations about a State Bond Referendum and/or an Orange County
Bond Referendum. They agreed guidelines and priorities were needed. Mr.
Kennedy said the November election indicated to him that people wanted
less government at all levels and that elected persons would have to
demonstrate fiscal conservatism before a bond issue would pass in the
County.
Agenda Item 4: pistrict Tax
.Commissioner Barnes said one frustration the Commissioners faced
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was providing equal education to children county-wide where one school
district had a special supplementary tax. She noted that one system
always knows beforehand that it will operate with less money. than the
other system, therefore, the question is what is basic education? She
said the Board of Commissioners wants to be certain that every child in
Orange County, regardless of which school district that child lives in,
receives a basic education.
Mr. Haithcock asked what the Chapel Hill-Carrboro District spent the
supplemental money on? Ms. Sockwell, Ms. Insko, and Ms. Freeman responded:
smaller classes, increased salaries for teachers, increased maintenance
staff, more teachers, the Exceptiona.l~:.Chi'ld Program and improvement of
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existing programs.. The feeling from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of
Education was if the citizens warited,~the additional programs and were
willing to pay the tax. then they should be permitted to have the extra
tax. The Orange County Board of Education acknowledged this right of
the other school district but felt they were unable to compete far the
best teachers and in other programs. 'The feeling from Orange County was
that a similar supplemental tax would not be supported by the citizens.
Ms. Insko suggested that what one system considered supplemental might. 6e
considered basic by the other system. Commissioner Whitted suggested that
might be called "purse control education."
Agenda Item 5: B_ud9et Information and Budget Format
A budget format from the Mecklenburg-Charlotte schools was presented
to the Commissioners and the Boards of Education. A consensus was that
it was too late in the budget process to switch to anew system but
both Boards seemed to like the concepts within the budget format, i.e.
three year's data for comparison, constant money, a staffing column and
enrollment comparison. They .felt it would enhance the present format.
The Commissioners thought it would mike it easier for them to understand
and relate specific line items requested by the schools. The Chapel Hill-
Carrboro Board of Education said if the .Commissioners would let them know
what they wanted the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education would sub-
mit the requested documents.
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Agenda Item 6: School Finance Committee Report
A. Background explanation of draft reports.
B. State School funding •outlook.
C. General Discussion:
Commissioner Gustaveson said this report was hot to provide ex-
planations but to develop a good series data base from which to examine ~
questions such as: What is basic education and an inquiry into the ~ ~ ~
historic and current "funding partnership" between the County and the
State. (A copy of this School Finance Committee Report is on file in
the Clerk's offi.ce.)
Commissioner Barnes thanked the-5chool Finance Committee for its
work on behalf of the three Boards, _.-.
Agenda Item 7: ~ Update--Basic Education Program
Dr. Simmons presented the findings of the State Board of Education
which had been directed to define a basic education. The de-
finition of a basic education as defined by the State Board of Education ~`
is the "minimum level of learning opportunity and support services !
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necessary that .should 6e made available to alT North Carolina public y (,:1 ,..
school students." '--=~1
Agenda Item 8: U date--Le islative Trans ortation
Committee
Dr. Simmons said that transportation costs had increased drastically
and he ahought totally State funded transportation was beginning.ta end.
Fora copy of Dr. Simmons' report see page ~ ~~ of this book.
Commissioner Barnes thanked the respective school boards for meeting
with the Commissioners and the Orange County Board of Education fo.r pro- ,
viding a delicious meal. Mr. Compton thanked everyone for attending and
felt that it was a very productive meeting.
Commissioner Barnes declared the meeting adjourned. '.
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Anne Barnes, '~
Chair ,
Paulette Pridgen-Pond, Clerk