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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 03-28-2001APPROVED 611 912 0 0 1 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO BOARD OF EDUCATION March 28, 2001 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in joint session on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiotis and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe {All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Keith Cook and members Brenda Stephens, Robert Bateman, Susan Halkiotis, David Kolbinsky, and Dana Thompson CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Nicholas M. Didow and members Valerie Foushee, Gloria Faley, Maryanne Rosenman, Roger Waldon, and Teresa Williams NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE 1N THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. 1. COUNTYlOCS1CHCCS DISCUSSION/POLICY ISSUES A. Capital Needs Advisory Task Farce Process B. November 2001 Bond Referendum John Link said that there have been two very productive meetings. Rod Visser said that the task force would finish their work by the end of May so that the County Commissioners could deliberate and make a decision in June. The task force will be meeting almost every week from now through May. He said that the task force would be receiving reports from the Affordable Housing Task Force next week and continue receiving reports that are relevant to the bond referendum. He distributed a timetable for the legal requirements that must be met. There are a number of steps that must be taken over the summer beginning with the bond order being introduced an August 14, 2001. The goal is to not exceed more than 15°~ of general fund expenditures in any one budget year to retire debt. Nick Didow made reference to the green sheet that was distributed at the end of the Capital Needs Task Force meeting and said that this dealt with the relationship between the effective interest rate for the issuance of debt and the impact of that on the amount of debt that could be carried. He made reference to the National School Board Association meeting in San Diego and said that atone of the sessions he heard that the mixed negotiated and competitive bid effective interest rate for issuance of school bond debt in January and February of this year was 4.834°~. C. School Nurses Jahn Link said that staff has been addressing the staffing requirements for the new schools and the existing schools. Initially, the staff began with a broad discussion on what the threshold should be far having school nurses in our schools. There is agreement that there needs to be a nurse present in each of our schools. The plan is to reach full implementation in four fiscal years. Health Director Rosemary Summers summarized the report in the agenda packet. The numbers in the abstract represent services just by school nurses and not services by other school personnel who may render aid to students. In the chart on page four, the current student to nurse ratio is shown and most schools in bath systems share a nurse. She reviewed in detail the four-year alternative school nurse plan. One of the Health Department nurses that is currently working in the schools is assigned to the hepatitis B immunization program that is responsible for both school system. This program will not age out until fiscal year 2004-2005. At that time, all of the children in the system should have had a hepatitis B immunization either before they get to school or through the process of trying to catch up that population. The Health Department school nurse that is now full- time in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system will be used to provide some education for all of the school nurses in both school systems. This will also provide some consistency in communicable disease training. Until that time, the education will be worked out within the Health Department as it currently exists. Keith Cook thanked the County for moving forward with being sure that all schools have nurses within afour-year time period. He questioned the budget that would be used for the school nurses. He is concerned that the funding for the school nurses could be taken away somehow. John Link explained that putting the salaries for the school nurses in the Health Department budget would assure that these positions would be funded. If the money is put in the school budget, the school may decide that there are other priorities and not use the money to fund school nurses. Commissioner Carey said that the task force unanimously agreed that if the money were put in the school systems' budget that there would need to be some guarantee from both school systems that this money would be earmarked for school nurses. The County Commissioners have not discussed this report and it is important that the Board and bath school boards discuss this report. Maryanne Rosenman asked if there was a disparity in salary between the Orange County nurses and the school district nurses and Rosemary Summers said yes, but in these proposals, these would not be positions from the Health Department. In essence, it would be a contracted service and the money would be passed out to both school systems. Susan Halkiatis said that this is a great coming together of all three bodies on a wonderful goal for students in the County. She made reference to the figures and painted out that Orange County schools fund 70°l0 of their nurses and Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools fund 52% of their nurses. She hopes that both school systems could commit .52 of the local funds toward school nurses. She said that there were other initiatives to which Orange County schools would like to apply the remaining funds. Spanish in the elementary schools is one of the initiatives. She asked that the funding commitment for both school systems be level. Commissioner Jacobs said that the numbers would indicate that Orange County would have the better student/nurse ratio. He said that it was obvious that the state is recommending one nurse per 750 students and does not do enough to achieve it. This proposal is aself-imposed mandate to go forward from where we are to even it up so that every student will have an adequate level of medical service. His idea in doing this was just to get us up to a certain level. Susan Halkiotis said that she hopes that Commissioner Jacobs understands her suggestion in drawing attention to this disparity in numbers. It is a wonderful proposal and she strongly supports it. Nick Didow asked if the County Commissioners would encourage the school board to put this on their board agenda, discuss it, and provide a board reaction and Chair Halkiatis said yes. Nick Didow asked if the County Commissioners would similarly consider some other areas of responsibility currently funded through the school budgets that may be perceived as County responsibilities. Chair Halkiotis said that the County Commissioners have always been willing to consider any proposal that is sent to them. John Link said that the County Commissioners will have work sessions in April and May and may address this proposal at that time. He asked that comments be received by April 30tH Dana Thompson pointed out that the nurse/student ratio was hard to deal with, given the different sizes of schools. She said that they appreciate what the County Commissioners are doing. They want to do whatever it takes to serve kids so that they can learn. Commissioner Jacobs and Chair Halkiotis spoke about their experiences in childhood with school nurses. Both school boards will discuss this proposal and submit comments to the Board of County Commissioners for discussion in the budget cycle. D. School Impact Fees John Link said that the school impact fee report indicates the maximum allowable impact fee for both school systems. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the report done by Paul Tischler and Associates indicates two separate rates for the two school systems based an haw many students are generated within each system, cost of construction, and property taxes. There will be two types of impact fees depending on the housing type. The Orange County school district suggested a $3,QOQ impact fee for single-family and about $14Q0 for the other category. The Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district has debated the issue and is looking for additional input and discussion. He explained the maximum allowable impact fee. The school impact fees item has been taken to public hearing and there were 15 speakers with the majority of the speakers in favor of increasing the fees. Maryanne Rosenman asked about the policy for affordable housing. John Link said that the County has reimbursed impact fees for affordable housing. The builder was charged the fee and then reimbursed. Specifically, this has been done for Habitat far Humanity as well as other affordable housing organizations. There is a set of criteria that must be met before refunding the impact fee is considered. Maryanne Rosenman said that she would like to see a more proactive policy of supporting affordable housing. A list of all affordable housing initiatives in the County over the past years will be sent to the school board members. Commissioner Jacobs said that on one hand we support affordable housing and on the other hand we are considering increasing the impact fee. This is an ongoing concern. We cannot take the monies from the impact fees, which are for capital needs, and reimburse people because it is a different pocket. This would limit how we could provide other affordable housing opportunities. Nick Didow said that the Chapel HilllCarrboro School Board has thoroughly discussed the impact fee. They have afour-point opinion on the impact fee as follows: • Grateful for the County Commissioners' continued support for the schools. • Acknowledge that North Carolina is one of 15 states in the U.S. where the responsibility for funding capital projects and operating costs rest with the Board of County Commissioners. • Acknowledge that County Commissioners decide haw capital projects will be funded and provided for -property tax revenues, sales tax revenues, bonds, impact fees, etc. • If the County Commissioners do decide to use a strategy that relies on impact fees as a source for CIP funding, they offer the following thoughts: 1) The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board feels that the figures from Paul Tischler and Associates are extremely conservative with respect to determining the fair and reasonable incremental school capital casts that result from additional residential development. 2) They conclude that the amounts calculated under the Tischler method (.39 students per household} are not consistent with the current student generation rate or the historic student generation rate in the district. In the absence of a persuasive argument for a discount from the fair and reasonable rate, the amount calculated by Tischler and Associates should prevail - $7,345 for single-family residents and $3,298 for all other units. Chair Halkiotis clarified that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board is encouraging the County Commissioners to support the maximum allowable impact fee. Chair Halkiotis made reference to the legislative breakfast and said that the County Commissioners were told that an impact tax was not possible for the County. He feels that the impact fee is what the County has to work with. E. Planning for Alternative Schools and other Cooperative Ventures Nick Didow said that the Board chairs and superintendents have had a very productive initial meeting and made some decisions to move forward and look at some collaborative efforts for alternative schools. Keith Cook said that the two school boards are working together to hopefully be able to do some creative things together. The boards will report back to the County Commissioners. He said that they do feel that it will be cheaper to do some things collaboratively. Nick Didow said that they would select members of their Board at their next meeting on April 5t" and look forward to working with the Orange County school board on joint ventures. He said that his Board is looking at several alternative schools, which will be different from any alternative schools available at this time. Commissioner Gordon asked what students would ga to alternative schools and how many would qualify. Keith Cook said that the number of kids attending an alternative school is unknown at this time. He feels that if alternative schools are available the kids will be there. Nick Didow said that the thinking is not for a school that only serves a child that is being disciplined for behavior reasons. This may be development for several magnet schools ar a magnet school within a school. It could have a technology or arts focus or some other kind of focus where a student could be motivated and engaged who is not currently. His working definition of the population of the alternative school is the student who simply is not engaged by what is offered in the traditional high school program. Keith Cook said that they are looking at the use of their high school as a possibility. Initially, it would be far high school students, and eventually it could be available to middle school students. Nick Didow estimates that 300-400 students in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro district would be eligible. Superintendent Neil Pedersen agreed with the estimate. Dana Thompson said that they would be asking among themselves to define the alternative student. This will be something that will fit what is needed by both school systems. Gloria Foley made reference to the Capital Needs Task Farce meeting and the discussion about a collaborative campus with Durham Tech. Commissioner Jacobs feels this is an excellent development. He made reference to the Capital Needs Task Force meeting and the discussion about the excess capacity at Cedar Ridge High School. He said that, depending on what happens with the bond proposal, the notion of having magnet programs might buy some time if the County cannot afford to go the full route of alternative schools in this bond proposal. He encouraged the school boards to explore the magnet schools as an option as a fall back position. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board request for bond money for an addition to the Chapel Hill High School and asked if this means that the school standards would be changing. She feels we need to consider same innovative strategies sa we da not have to go above 1500 students at the high school. Chair Halkiotis said that Neil Pedersen covered this issue in the task force meeting and that they were looking at the least expensive option and not the most desirable one. F. School Facilities Task Force Jahn Link said that the task force did confirm the school construction standards. They looked at the cast of infrastructure. He said that we need to work together with the towns to waive development fees for the schools. He recommends that staff continue working on this. Chair Halkiotis would like to see additional information an the OWASA fees and town fees. G. Possible Waiver of CountvlMuniciaal/Utility Development Fees for School Construction A yellow sheet entitled, "Comparison of Development Fees," was distributed. Nick Didow said that they have written letters to the Town of Chapel Hill, the Town of Carrboro, and OWASA asking them to waive fees for school construction. He pointed out that the Town of Chapel Hill was the impetus for the donation of land at Southern Village and at Meadowmont. Commissioner Jacobs said that there could be an argument made that, even though we are trying to site schools where there is water and sewer, we are still promoting sprawl because we have to go to the bigger parcels, which are at the edges of the districts. He encouraged the school boards to read attachment four, "Why Johnny Can't Walk to School," from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 2. ISSUES IDENTIFIED/PRESENTED BY ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOLS A. Other Topics Keith Cook said that he would be doing a formal presentation to the Capital Needs Task Force on May 4t''. He said that this would be a request far 24 million dollars to build a new middle school, to expand the central office, to expand Hillsborough Elementary School, and to do some renovations at Orange High School. Susan Halkiotis observed that four or five years ago, the two school systems developed a wonderful plan for joint study of programs and hands-on opportunities, but were unable to make it happen. She suggested that the County Commissioners consider having a representative join in these discussions to hear the needs that drive the development of the program. It seems that the joint efforts including a member of the Board of County Commissioners have been very fruitful. 3. ISSUES IDENTIFIEDIPRESENTED BY CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOLS A. Need far Funding for 10t'' Elementary School B. Unfunded Capital Needs Superintendent Neil Pedersen made reference to the document which describes the funding they need from the bond referendum. In summary, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School Board is requesting funding for two elementary schools, #9 and #10, funding for renovation of at least six older schools, and funding for expansion of both high schools. He made reference to the document that was distributed with a graph an the level of service with different scenarios. If only one elementary school is built and opened in 2003-2004, the following year the level of service would be 106%. He said that some savings in design would be achieved by building a prototype school that could be replicated at the second site. He hopes that the County Commissioners will support the request from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board to build both elementary schools to be opened in 2003. Regarding both of the high schools, they feel they need to add to both schools to accommodate the additional 300 students at each school. They would like to add a third high school, but that is not economically possible at this time. The last request is funding for renovations to their present schools. The major types of renovations include electrical upgrades, increase in energy efficiency and bathrooms and security systems. Windows are also being replaced, which is a major energy savings as well as removal of major eyesores. In terms of budgets, they have followed the model in the standards given by the Commissioners. There is no inclusion in the budget far land for Elementary School #10 because they are optimistic that they will be able to venture jointly with the County for funds. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the two high schools and the additions, which will allow an additional 300 students at each school and asked what will happen when these schools reach capacity. She asked about the plan. Superintendent Neil Pedersen said that the intention was not to build an 1800 student high school. He said that if growth does continue, there would be a need to build a third high school. In answer to what will be done with the additional capacity that is built, he said that there is ample need far that space. In the high schools there are no offices far any of the teachers. This space could be used for offices. Also, there could be technology labs or a childcare facility. There is a small day care center at Chapel Hill High school. There could be many other uses for the excess capacity. Commissioner Gordon feels that if there is some way to use the alternative schools to lower the need for space at the high school, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system may only have to build half the number of rooms. She would like to see more discussion to see if there is a less traditional package so that all parties could benefit. Chair Halkiotis added that Neil Pedersen was trying to bring forth some creative ideas to deal with the growth that is occurring. He does not think that this is set in stone. C. Other TOPIC Nick Didow said that the current non-funded capital needs are much more than what they have put forward for the bond package. With respect to the high schools and adding onto the high schools, the decision was very painful. However, their board has also, in the more complete list forwarded in the CIP, some projects for which they are assuming that the financial strategy will involve certificates of participation or private placement and other sources of funds. If those strategies are not well received, then the needs become even more desperate for them. He pointed out that Chapel Hill High School still has five trailers that are in use. The addition at Chapel Hill High School will enable them to eliminate the trailers. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Triangle J Council of Governments and said that one of the discussions was the dire situation that local governments may be in financially because reimbursements have been held. She encouraged the two school boards, if this reimbursement is going to be permanently removed, to write to our legislators. Superintendent Neil Pedersen distributed a letter to the Commissioners regarding Elementary School #10. The Commissioners have approved the funding for the first two phases of Elementary School #9, but nothing has been submitted for #10. The letter is a request for consideration of beginning the design phase for Elementary School #10. There is no request far the schematic phase because they believe that the schematic design will be the same as #9. The estimation is $310,000 for the next phase. This is a savings of $50,000 from the request for #9. This will be formally submitted to the Board of County Commissioners. Chair Halkiotis said that we might need to add this item to one of the Board's upcoming work sessions for discussion. 4. COUNTYlOCS/CHCCS INFORMATIONAL REPORTS A. Status of CHCCS Overcrowding and Projections Nothing mare to add. B. Status of Smith MS Construction and Opening Date The school board is optimistic that Smith Middle School will be partially open this summer. Hopefully, all of the academic classrooms and media center would be available for the students. The cafeteria, auditorium, and gymnasium needs would be met at an adjacent facility. C. National Trust for Historic Preservation: Protecting Neighborhood Schools No further comments than what is in the agenda abstract. 5. ADJOURNMENT With no further items for the County Commissioners to consider, Chair Halkiotis adjourned the meeting. The next meeting will be held March 29, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Stephen H. Halkiotis, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC