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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19930602 347 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 2, 1993 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session at 7:30 p.m. in Superior Courtroom, new County Courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina to hold a public hearing on the Manager's recommended 1993-94 budget. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. ,' and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis, Verla C. Insko and Don Willhoit. COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr. , Assistant County Managers Albert Kittrell and Rod Visser, Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe, Budget and Management Analyst Donna Dean, Personnel Director Elaine Holmes, Budget Director Sally Kost, and EMS Director Nick Waters PRESENTATION BY JOHN M. LINK JR. John Link used transparencies to outline the 1993--94 budget highlights. In summary he stated that the total budget cost is $60, 577, 088 . Additional debt service on the $52 million education bonds will total 2. 1 million. The increase in current expense appropriation for the schools from $15.7 million to $16.8 million is a 7.2% increase. The per pupil amount would increase from $1,310 to $1, 330. He is recommending 2% COLA for County employees and a revised merit plan. The budget includes 17 new permanent full-time positions, many funded through reallocation of other funds or revenues generated. The recommended budget establishes the general fund property tax rate at .83 cent PUBLIC COMMENTS Katie Starrett, 10th grade student at Orange High School, talked about the programs she wished were being offered at Orange High. She asked for increased funding so new programs could be offered. Mikey- Starrett, talked about the class size and that there are too many students in most of his classes. He asked that the Board give their schools enough money to stay great. Terry Thomas, New Hope Elementary School parent, feels the budget is outrageous. He asked for continuation funding to keep the current programs going and additional money to start new programs. She endorsed higher pay for the teachers because they are being lost to higher paying jobs. Susan Dovenbarger, citizen and parent, feels that as long as County budgets are inadequate, the demand for services from the Department of Social Services and law enforcement will increase. " She feels that an investment in quality education will mean an increase in the tax base. Inadequate funding forces the school system to fall behind each year. She asked the Board to prove that the kids in the Orange County system deserve the same opportunities as those in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro system. Liz Waters, teacher and parent in the Orange County system, emphasized that there 'is not enough funding for students, programs, instructional supplies or teacher supplements. She stated that the surrounding systems compensate their teachers at a higher rate and that Orange County will lose their good teachers to other systems. Although the classrooms have 348 technology, the teachers need training in how to use this technology. The teachers were promised that if the career ladder was discontinued, the- .,, would not lose salary, but that is not true. Many salaries will be' le:. . because of the discontinuation of the career ladder. Carlynn Ashley asked that the Board of County Commissioners make teacher . salaries competitive and watch the staffing so there is not a large student/teacher ratio. She asked that the Board of County Commissioners support the superintendent's budget as presented. Leigh Peek feels that the schools have never received adequate funding. She and other parents provide paper and books to the schools. She asked that the teacher/student ratio be kept low and that the Board of County Commissioners understand that the basic things are not being taken care of. She stated that teachers are leaving the system and asked that the Board provide an incentive for the teachers to stay in the system. Lorraine Tuck, teacher with three children in school, stated that the trend has been a yearly decrease in their salary. She encouraged the Board to approve Dr. Overstreet's proposal to increase their supplements. David Laudicina noted that they cannot attract the best teachers because of the low salary. The Orange County system expect 240 additional students next year with no new teachers which will cause the teacher/student ratio to increase. He noted that the SAT scores are low and urged the County Commissioners to maintain what they have. NOTE: it was clarified that every additional student will receive an allocation from the County and that the State will provide the teachers for the increased student population. Kirk Kennedy noted that the budget is way off target. The dropout rates= are up, discipline problems have increased and the SAT scores are low. He asked if the kids in the County are any less valuable than those in Chapel Hill. He sees no plan to fix the problem. He feels the problems need to be tackled and that people need to take their anger and turn it into action. Only 40% of the student population is going to college. He asked for good schools for the kids. Hope,Bulane _ g p cts_ her students future and the Mellon, teacher County's future.New She works on hours fo --- _ asked that the County commissioners fund the request as r presented by She Orange County school system and that the teachers e fairly r compensated. Daine Starrett, member of the Orange County Federation of Teachers and a parent of two children, asked that the Board of Commissioners fund more than what is in the manager's budget. She wants a quality school system with a decent teacher/student ratio. County teachers are leaving for other systems because they can make higher supplements. She asked that the Board of County Commissioners make a big stand for education in the northern part of the County. She feels they have tried to increase the quality of education and that they have a good superintendent with a lot of new ideas. She spends approximately $600 a year on supplies for her classroom. She has taught for seventeen years but because she is tired of the politics of teaching and tired of teaching under these circumstances she is leaving the profession. sue Outterson spoke about the inadequate funding of the schools. Sh( is concerned that her youngest will not receive the quality education hey other two children have received in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro system. The schools are overcrowded. She feels her voting rights have been taken away Y 349 because the district tax is held the same when she authorized more. Jo Hunt, Orange County parent and volunteer coordinator,- noted that the schools are understaffed. She reminded the Commissioners that children are an investment in the future. Funding is needed to encourage the kids to be competitive. She asked that the Board of Commissioners fund the children., teachers and the future. Charles Stewart noted he will be the principal of the new middle school when it opens in the fall of 1994. He spoke about those items that will be needed at the new school that are not included in the bond issue. He asked that the Board of County Commissioners consider the special needs for a new facility. Richard Sharpe, parent of four daughters, emphasized that the Board of County Commissioners have the power to reverse the trend in education. He asked that the Board think about the fine teachers in the system that may leave. Steve Kegg reinforced.what has previously been stated by others. He has seen a strong commitment to move the schools toward technology. He supports the recommendation for increased supplements for the teachers. He asked that the Board of County Commissioners support the system so they can get the job done. Linda Lloyd, Orange County Association of Educators, asked for the Board's financial support. She talked about the loss in salary because of the career ladder. She stated that more responsibilities have been placed on teachers. All surrounding counties have higher supplements than Orange County. It is hard to keep top quality teachers without any additional money. In order to have a quality system, the people must pay for it. She asked that the Board approve Dr. Overstreet's budget as presented. Jim Neill stated that his son needed additional help and got it and because of this he is now an honor student. He feels that children should be given the opportunity to do better. Susan Smith, teacher at New Hope, . asked if the Board of County Commissioners values. what she does. She helps children to be happy and feel good about themselves. They have the technology but need additional money .. for training and they need the County Commissioners to lead the way. - Teachers continue to spend money out. of their pockets ...to. .provide .supplies and better programs. They work long hours because they-- care about the children. She supports the superintendent's budget. Linda Carver, teacher at New Hope, asked for a 10% increase in their supplement so they can continue to buy the things they need in the classroom. , Mary Bushnell, Chair of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School system, noted that her board cannot fund their total continuation budget with what has been recommended. They will be short $400, 000. They have. expansion programs that have been proven to work but no funds are being allocated. They need to do something about preventing violence. The school system is willing to work with the community and businesses to form partnerships to utilize all the resources in the county. People are willing to pay more for their schools. Ruth Murphy, principal of New Hope Elementary School, stated that they have had 3 , 000 visitors since opening in the fall of 1991. The most critical element in the learning process is the teacher and more specifically the quality of the teacher. She feels that teachers give of themselves to the children at school and spend a lot of time training and j planning and are grossly under compensated. She feels it is not right for I i i' 350 teachers to lose money to teach in Orange County. She endorsed the super- intendent's budget noting that the system cannot afford to cut salaries c:------ programs. Bill Ervin expressed his concern about crime, drunk drivers, medical delivery systems, jails, etc. He believes that an ounce of prevention is . worth a pound of cure. The school is very mediocre. He is willing to pay additional taxes for a better school system. Leah Rade talked about a class her son was in which was a disaster because there were too many students. They moved here because of the schools and now the money for the schools is not being provided. She feels that the teachers should be paid so they will stay in the system. One teacher is working part-time at WalMart because she needs the money. She asked that the Board approved Dr. Overstreet's budget. Ken Touw, member of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School Board, talked about the fear of spreading the equity issue. He stated that he understands why Orange County did not want the bond issue. They didn't want it because they felt that it would take funds that they need to upgrade their schools. This fear is proven in the recommended budget. Bonnie scarlett spoke in support of the Orange County school system. She feels that more money needs to be allocated to fund educational programs. She asked for full funding of their budget. Ralph Warren, Chair of the orange County School Board, expressed support for the teachers and support for both school budgets. THERE WERE NO FURTHER COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Commissioner Halkiotis encouraged the orange County system to look r; a district tax. He feels the people should be allowed to vote for district tax. If this doesn't happen, then he would vote to merge the two systems. He emphasized that good teachers are leaving. There is not another generation of students to sacrifice. Commissioner Willhoit noted that he is not sure that the district tax is the answer. He feels that a more countywide approach is necessary to bring the systems together. He would like to address the teacher supplement equity issue.- H.e .feels .they need to set goals and move toward equity. The-_ two school systems - and-teacher associations need to get together --on. .an . equity plan. The Orange County system did not support the recent bond vote so it is doubtful that a district tax would be approved. ADJOURNMENT With no further comments, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The- next public hearing on the budget will be held on Tuesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Homestead Community Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr. , Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk