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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 05-31-2001APPROVED 11/7/2001 MINUTES Orange County Board of Commissioners Southern Human Services Center May 31, 2001 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in continued session at 7:08 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At 7:30 p.m. the Board of County Commissioners met for a budget public hearing as scheduled. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Brawn to appoint Nancy Paciga as recorder for this meeting VOTE: UNANIMOUS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiotis and Commissioners Margaret W. Brawn, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: County Attorney was not present PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Nicole Gooding-Ray, Chair COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Assistant to the Clerk Nancy Paciga (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. CONTINUATION OF MAY 29. 2001 QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING 5. Orange County Subdivision Amendments a. Modify Section IV-B-# Streets 1. Amend Section IV-B-3-d-1 Roads 2. Amend Appendix A Private Road Standards, Purpose Planning Director Craig Benedict made this presentation, which was a series of slides. Regarding the private road standards, the proposal is to reduce the minimum lot size from 80,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet if at least 50% open space is provided. b. Amend Section III-C-4 (Approval Procedures far Minor Subdivision) Craig Benedict explained that at this time, there is an unlimited time period that a minor subdivision can be submitted and not recorded. A one-year time limit between the time of subdivision approval and the recording of the plat is being proposed. Within the year, the applicant can ask for a one-year extension and have it granted by right. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 90 of the agenda packet. She said that her recollection of the discussion was that the Commissioners definitely wanted to allow "the little guy" to take a tract and make two ar three lots. She said that it seems that the intent provision has been expanded and substantial requirements have been added. She would like a private road to be deemed justified for a minor residential subdivision resulting in no more than three lots. She said that item 3, which states, "The road serving the subdivision, even if constructed to North Carolina Department of Transportation standards, would not be accepted into the State Maintenance Program because the road would not have the required density," was a substantial restriction. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 91 and asked Craig Benedict to explain the tables. She said that it might be more user friendly to include the text with the charts. Commissioner Gordon made some comments about the approval procedures for minor subdivisions, which were so noted by Craig Benedict. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with what Commissioner Gordon said on page 90, regarding "the little guy" with a minor subdivision. This was so noted by Craig Benedict. Commissioner Brawn asked haw the amendments related to the number of lots someone would get as a bonus far doing a cluster subdivision. Craig Benedict said that the bonus provisions for clustering remain the same. Commissioner Brown said that there was no reference to bonus provisions for clustering in any of the documents. She asked if this could be included when it comes back and Craig Benedict said yes. There were no comments from the public. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to refer items 5a and 5b to the Planning Board for a recommendation to came back to the Board of County Commissioners by June 19, 2001. VOTE: UNANIMOUS c. Amend Cluster Provisions Craig Benedict said that the minimum lot size throughout most of the County is 40,000 square feet. The modification that is being suggested would have implications in three areas: 1) Little River - suggestion of 60,000 square foot minimum lot size. 2) Upper Eno Critical Area -suggestion of 60,000 square foot minimum lot size, and 3) Cane Creek Protected and Critical Area -suggestion of 60,000 square foot minimum lot size. These changes are being suggested so that development will be mare consistent with what is already in place in these watershed areas and to decrease stress on the soil. Commissioner Gordon said that when this is brought back to the Commissioners it should be a mare elaborate packet. All of the text should be included. She said that the text changes were not clear. Several other clarifying questions were asked by Commissioner Gordon and answered by Craig Benedict. NOTE: No action was taken on this item at this time. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the quarterly public hearing until the Board of County Commissioners' meeting on June 5t" in order to proceed with the budget public hearing. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6. Oran a County Zoning Text Amendments a. Establish Rural Guest Establishment d. Amend Detailed Table of Contents 1. Amend article 22 Definitions 2. Amend Section 4.3, Permitted Use Table 3. Amend Article 8 Special uses 4. Amend Article 9 Signage 5. Amend Article 10 Parking 6. Amend Article 12 Landscaping 7. Amend Article 7 Planned Development Requirements e. Amend Section 6.23.3 5tormwater Infiltration and Detention 1. Impervious Structure and Detention Pond Requirements a) Residential Development b) Non Residential Development This item was postponed to June Stn BUDGET PRESENTATION County Manager Jahn Link made the budget presentation. The highlights of the proposed budget include a general fund budget total of $117.7 million, increases in per pupil funding by $42 per child, 12.5 new positions, tax increase of 3 cents aver the equivalent post-revaluation rate, increase in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District tax rate of 2 cents over the equivalent past-revaluation rate. The County remains in strong financial condition due to adoption of and adherence to sound fiscal policies, strong revenue collections, and a healthy fund balance. The primary source of revenue for the County's budget comes from property taxes, followed by sales tax. Orange County ranks #1 in the state in terms of total contributions toward education. The total funding far education in this proposed budget represents approximately a $4 million increase, which is a 7.5% increase overall. The trend for an increasing difference in growth between the Orange County school system and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system continues, with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system growing at a significantly faster rate. One-half cent has been shifted to current expense from the normal 3-cent earmarked for recurring capital. John Link then explained the formula that must be used by law to fund two school systems within one county. The recommended per pupil allocation is $2,437. He said that a district tax should be considered for the Orange County school system. There is now a school health nurse initiative and this year's budget includes $153,726 for the first year of implementation. The goal is to provide a nurse in every school in both districts in four years. John Link pointed out that the Board of County Commissioners is faced with other significant cost increases in the budget - $800,000 in increased Medicaid costs, assumption of the urgent home repair program by the County, increased funding of mental health, and potential increased funding far child care subsidies. The November 2001 band referendum will also have some implications. Other issues include Cedar Ridge High School start up casts, the need for alternative solid waste financing, examination of options for EMS transport service delivery, and the update of the County's comprehensive land use plan. The next budget public hearing is June 7th in Hillsborough. Chair Halkiotis said that the Orange County budget process is carried out in the open and not behind closed doors. He said that the process is totally open. There will be many work sessions and two public hearings. He pointed out that there is athree-minute speaking time limit per person. He asked the audience to please remember that the Board of County Commissioners does not do line item approvals far either school system; this is a function far the respective Boards of Education. Money is allocated to the two school systems and the board's wrestle with the issues of how to allocate the money to each program. PUBLIC COMMENT Nick Didow, Chair of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board and Keith Cook, Chair of Orange County School Board spoke jointly since they have very similar interests and messages. The message is that they would like to thank the Board of County Commissioners for the historic good support of the public schools in Orange County. Secondly, Nick Didow said that they continue to try to be good stewards of every penny that is given to operate the respective public schools. Thirdly, they recognize that this is a difficult and challenging year both locally and at the state level. Nick Didow said that he was here tonight to request full funding for the requested budget from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools and for the Orange County schools as well. In his judgement, the Manager's proposal representing a 1.8°~ increase ar $42 in the per pupil funding, is woefully inadequate. He said that, at best, his school district would struggle to stay in place. He said that, in this County, if you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. Keith Cook spoke and said he did not have much to add except that they are just not getting enough for schools to make any kind of advancement that must be done in order for children to be successful. He said that the 1.8% increase would not allow them to do the mandated things. He does not know how more funds could be allocated, but he does know that the children will suffer because of the lack of funding. He added that they are not wasting money. This is a demanding community and they want to do innovative things for the children. He said that they both are asking the Commissioners to do better than the 1.8°~ and to fully fund the requested amount for the two school systems. Susan Worley, Executive Director of Volunteers for Youth, advocated for the Juvenile Community Services Program. She asked that the Commissioners approve the funding as suggested in the proposed budget. This program works with young people that are ordered by the courts to da community service work. This program has been shown by many different studies to be effective in keeping kids from getting into more trouble and going back to court. Volunteers for Youth is the only organization that has run this program in Orange County since 1992. They are not asking for an expansion, but just a continuation of the funding. Calvin Allen, Associate Director of the Dispute Settlement Center, brought two people with him that were also from the DSC. He spoke about their Restorative Justice for Youth program. This program involves communication skills training and leadership training. Another program, one of the first in the state, is the Victim Offender program and also needs funding by the County. They are not asking for an expansion, but only to continue the present programs. Rev. James Lea spoke as a parent of three children in the Orange County school system, two of which attend Efland-Cheeks Elementary School. He urged the Board of County Commissioners to pass the recommended educational budget for 2001-2002. If the entire budget cannot be approved, he suggested that the Commissioners consider passing all of the recommended budget mandates, which total $1,501,581, plus an expansion item -six Spanish teachers, which totals $311,370. He said that it was said it was ok to cut some things, but when it comes to our children, they deserve the best. He made reference to a study done at the Louisiana Dept of Education, which states that children who have studied a foreign language in elementary school achieve expected gains and even higher scores an standardized tests in reading, language, arts, and mathematics than those who have not. Marinda Martin said that she is a parent of children at Efland-Cheeks Elementary. She told a story, which made the point that up until now, everything has been fine. She said that at Efland-Cheeks Elementary school the books are old in the library and contain old information. She said that Cassandra Young, an educator at Efland-Cheeks, has made it a personal and professional mission to raise $50,000 to get books far the library. She made reference to Spanish education and said that this was a necessity because the Hispanic population is 11 °lo and rising. She said that if there was a way to fund this without going through the County legally, they would fund it. She urged the Commissioners to pass the school board's requested budget in full. Linda Inman has two children that attend A. L. Stanback Middle School. She strongly urged the Commissioners to support the original budget that was set forth by Dr. Bridges. The original budget requested monies to pay 4% salary increases to teachers. The County Manager's recommendation will not even cover this item. She asked why budgeting was tied to obviously erroneous negative population growth projections in the Orange County district. She said that some people outside the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district wonder why the Orange County schools could not be as good and why they should settle far anything less. She said that it was imperative to pay the teachers and assistants salary increases and offer services that are above operational maintenance. Jennifer Johnson is a parent of children that attend New Hope Elementary School. She said that when she enrolled her children in Orange County schools, she was full of hopes and dreams. She believes in public school education and has been fairly pleased with her experience so far. She said that there needs to be a teacher for second grade language instruction. She spoke about a group that has been working far six months on this initiative. They took the proposal to the Orange County school board and the board was very supportive. She said that they came away from that meeting believing that the entire school system would be able to have ESL teachers. She said the proposed budget amounts to a budget cut for Orange County schools. As a result of this cut, there will be a lass of key programs and key staff members. She said that if the Commissioners adopt the County Manager's budget as presented, she would run, not walk to the closest private school. She asked the Commissioners to please reconsider the budget as it currently stands and to fully fund the Orange County schools budget. Andrea Biddle lives in northern Orange County and has a first grader at New Hope Elementary. She said that the proposed school budget is not fair, in particular to the children of northern Orange County. She said that the allocation of $308,000 would not even allow the school system to cover the mandates. There is now a deficit of $1.34 million. She said that the Commissioners farce a very tough decision on the school board to figure out where to cut. She said that she is trying not to be driven by the wedge between northern and southern Orange County but that the proposal is very generous to southern Orange County. She said that she could not even advocate for Spanish classes because she could not even get the basics for the children. She brought letters from 110 families at New Hope Elementary that support the budget in full. She urged the Commissioners to provide an education budget that is fair to all students. She gave the letters to the Manager. Chair Halkiotis clarified that this is just the proposed budget and the Commissioners are still working on it. Susan Hauck is a parent of two children in the Orange County school system. She said that she has learned that the federal and state governments merely pay for what they consider essential, which is reading, writing, and math. She said that she has learned that it is the local government's responsibility to provide funds far what the state does not consider essential -music, P. E., library, computer science, foreign language, sports, A. G., reading recovery, etc. She said that she wonders haw many so-called non-essentials we could eliminate and still have a school system that people want their children to attend. She said that she wants her children to learn to think critically, to learn how to be creative and expressive, to be tolerant, to have an understanding of people in other cultures, to learn how to lead and how to follow, to learn how to work as a team and to salve problems, to hold interesting conversations, to listen to others, and to take care of their community. She said that the proposed Orange County school budget, which does not even cover mandated items, threatens the so-called non-essentials in Orange County. She also had signed letters from 125 parents and educators from Grady Brown Elementary School. She urged the Commissioners to pass the school budget in full. Libby Hough asked the ones in the audience who were here in support of the northern Orange County schools to stand and be recognized. Over 60 % of the audience stood up. There was applause. She has two children at Grady Brawn Elementary. She questioned the accuracy of DPI's figures such as 14 new students in the Orange County system next year. She asked how could one of the fastest growing areas in the state have a net gain of only 1.4 new students per school. She spoke about an article in the Durham Herald where Superintendent Neil Pedersen said that the Manager's proposal will fund around 60% of Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system's request, allowing them to, "Basically fund the mandates, inflationary casts, and items related to growth. It would not fund any of the enhancements." She said that she does not begrudge the children, teachers, or the schools of our sister system, but if the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system is discouraged with the funds to cover 60% of their budget, what should Orange County system's reaction be if they receive funds to cover only 13% of their budget. She feels that we will lose more families to private schools and good teachers to other systems. She cannot condone operating within a construct that places two school systems in the same County at such separate and unequal levels of operation. She said that we must agree to tackle these issues together. She asked the Board of County Commissioners for three things -support of the Orange County school budget in full, creative participation as we examine new ways both systems can achieve their goals, and the Board's voice and leadership to challenge the way DPI impacts our schools. She said that educational excellence must be the reality for every child in Orange County. Note: There were about 10 - 15 children in the audience and some of them had signs. Libbie Hough was holding a little girl while she was talking. Natalie Hough was a young girl who spoke next. She said that she thinks we have the best teachers and we will lose them if they do not have enough pay. She said that if there was not a P. E. teacher, Grady Brown would lose the traditional kickball tournament. She urged the County Commissioners to approve the Orange County school budget in full. Liz Brown said that, thanks to the Commissioners' generosity last year, Grady Brown Elementary did get funding for a Spanish teacher. The year before that, she volunteered to teach Spanish at Grady Brown Elementary. She said that the Commissioners could set the example and Shaw that they care by showing that it is important to learn a foreign language, that it is valuable to have hands-on chemistry, that one sink in the boy's bathroom will work properly, that the gifted and remedial programs are both important to help all students achieve their best, and that it is important that when you start a project you finish it and do it well. She said that she was completely in favor of the district tax and an increased impact fee. She said that perhaps it was time to rethink the limit of spending 50°~ of the budget for education. She said that an investment far education goes beyond good schools. It will cause a better economic base in the future. She thanked the Commissioners for the funding for the Spanish teacher. Tomorrow the whale school will be learning the salsa dance in the gym and she invited the Commissioners and everyone to came. Tony Kane spoke next and he had his daughter with him. He is in full support of the Orange County school budget as it is proposed. He has an upcoming kindergartner that will attend Grady Brown Elementary, who made a sign that said, "I want to learn Spanish next year." He said that he realizes that the Board of County Commissioners does not fund line items of the school budget, but mandates are first, so Spanish would be at risk at Grady Brown. He mentioned a study by Tischler and Associates that projected 156 public school students per year increase in Orange County. He said that these projections were different and more credible than the projections from DPI. He encouraged the Commissioners to reconsider the DPI projections as being erroneous. Jack Nestor said that he has two children at Grady Brown Elementary. He showed a little round orange sign that was handmade in support of the full school budget. He said that Grady Brown was a great school, but it does not have enough money. He said that it would be a great time to try and fix the disparity so that Orange County schools could take a step forward. Jonathan Klein, Chair of the Board of Health, said that he is a family practitioner in Orange County and has lived here for 17 years. He talked about the strategic plan, which outlined the Health Department needs. He said that the strategic plan was formulated by first examining those areas of public health that are mandated far the department to provide. These are either state or local mandates. He said that the Department of Health is asking for additional staff to meet the mandates. He said that the County Manager is recommending 3.5 positions. He spoke about the needs for the staff in the health department. He said that with the increasing Hispanic population, a medical interpreter is critical. He said that as programs and services are being cut by decreases in state funding, there will be more people seeking out services from the Health Department. He spoke about the increase in medical care expenses. He urged the Commissioners to fund the positions that were requested. He asked the Commissioners to please keep the services to vulnerable populations in mind as they discuss this year's budget. Lee Werley, the pharmacist representative on the Board of Health, thanked the Board far listening to the strategic plan. He said that the Board of Health was confident that the Board of County Commissioners would support the department's mission, which includes prevention of disease, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and protection of the public from disease and unhealthy conditions. He noted the costs of some medical services. He said that the Board of Health would urge the Commissioners' support for the 3.5 positions recommended by the Manager. Jordan Hester is a seven-year old from New Hope Elementary school. She said that her classroom has been in the teacher's lounge because the school was too crowded. She said that next year she was supposed to go to a new school and she is very excited. She said that 175 days ago, she could not read, but she has been going to reading recovery and now she can read just about anything she wants. She said that she is looking forward to second grade and her new school and friends. She said that she is very proud of all that she has done this year. She said that she is not good with numbers and money, but she does know that her first two years in school are priceless to her family and her. Helene Montgomery is a member of the board of EI Centro Latino of Orange County. She said that for ten years she was a teacher in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools and is a great supporter of the budget for the schools. She also supports the foreign language programs. She said that the elementary school children were the best learners that she had ever had in her 25-year career. She spoke on behalf of the Latino population. She said that, since the opening of EI Centro Latino, it has made a tremendous difference in the Latino population. She said that last month they started the first Hispanic Parent Association at the EI Centra Latino to work with the school system. Also, EI Centra Latino is offering off-site registration far schools. Alex Washburn, interim Executive Director of EI Centro Latina, updated the Board of County Commissioners on the activities at EI Centro Latino. Some of the activities include ESL classes, driving classes, a women's group, and case management. There are 64-75 volunteers. They also collaborate with UNC on same things. Suzanne Gould said that she has worked for ten years in the Hillsborough school system and eight years in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system. She had a big orange cloth sign. She encouraged the Commissioners to examine some alternatives for redistributing the wealth between the two school systems. She said that her class at this time is in a locker room. She works full time at her school and has taught art and is a reading resource teacher. She said that her principal told her that if the Manager's budget were passed, the literacy program would be gutted. She thinks there is a mistake in the figures that were given by DPI. She urged the Commissioners to look closely at the projections of only 14 students next year in the Orange County schools. She also urged that the widening of Homestead Road not be done this year because the money could be spent on the schools rather than making the road an Indy 500 for Chapel Hill High School students. She also urged the merging of the two school systems and a taxing of all of the land at a fair rate. She asked the Commissioners to fund the full budget for Orange County schools. Chair Halkiotis said that there was no County money expended to widen Homestead Road. Joel Dunn is from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools Technology Advisory Committee. He spoke about the need to fully fund the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School system, especially because he lives in southern Orange County. But he is also supportive of his friends from the Orange County school system. He said that the Technology Advisory Committee has worked to develop a strategic plan, and one of the important things was a request by the staff within the Schaal system to create a reliable infrastructure supported by adequate human resources to enable them to effectively use the information and technology in which the Commissioners have already invested. As a taxpayer, he asked the Board of County Commissioners to raise the district tax to whatever is necessary to fully fund the recommendations. He said that effective use of technology by and for our students is crucial. Cindy Dillehay is an employee of Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools and a parent and taxpayer of northern Orange County. She asked for funding of both school systems. She said that the amount of money that the County Manager has recommended would fund only the absolute necessities and some of the state mandates. The proposal does not leave funds far other critical needs such as data managers far the elementary schools. Since July, she has been working with the Department of Education and those in the system who agreed to pilot the new North Carolina Wise software to be used throughout the state when approved after the pilot program. She said that it is the plan of all schools to run only North Carolina Wise software next year for the final stages of the pilot program. She said that the data manager must always be available to go into the classrooms at the teachers' convenience to teach and to troubleshoot. Attendance, all cumulative information, testing information, and exceptional children's information must be kept current and accurate in the new system. She said that all information that is given to DPI is asked for from DPI for state funding, statistics, projections, and EOG testing accountability. All of this information comes from the information that is entered into the North Carolina Wise at each school site. She said that as a student moves from school to school within the state, the records will be sent electronically to the next school. She said that North Carolina Wise is an extensive software system that you would have to see to fully understand. Data Managers are critical to maintain the NC Wise system. She stressed that the amount of money recommended by the County Manager would not be enough to fund positions like data managers, along with other state mandates, rate increases, and expenses related to growth. She asked that the Commissioners increase the County Manager's recommendation for both school systems far the full budget. Teresa Smith, Director of Family Support Programs at Childcare Services Association, thanked the County Manager for recommending $50,000 for childcare subsidy this year. Harvey Goldstein, a resident of Orange County for 20 years and a parent of two children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school system, made three points. He applauded the County Manager's budget in the way that it is proactively dealing with growth. He indicated his strong support of the task force on the bond referendum. He said that the growth and the expenses far growth have swallowed up any budget increase for a number of years for both school systems. He said that he has only heard the Board of County Commissioners regard the 49% funding for schools as the threshold. He has never heard anyone else talk about what is so special about 49%. He asked the Commissioners to consider the needs an the basis of merit rather than on the basis of a formula ar percentage. He supports the full funding of the school budget, but even if the district tax was increased by two cents in addition to the County Manager's recommendation, it would go a long way in improving the educational programs for the students in both systems. Graig Meyer is a parent of a third grader at Grady Brown Elementary School. He is in favor of raising taxes. He does not see what the magic is about the 50 °l° limit of educational funding on the budget. He also reiterated the requests of Volunteers for Youth and the Dispute Settlement Center and encouraged the Board to fully fund their requests as well. Jack Chestnut, from the Advisory Board on Aging, mentioned the master aging plan. He said that the Advisory Board on Aging was requesting that the County Commissioners support the adult day care initiative by allocating $50,000. The adult day care program is a tap priority for the year 2002 in the master aging plan. The adult day care services would provide respite far the caregivers. The adult day care program gives the residents a place to go during the day for social interactions and to have a good meal. He said that the master aging plan has shown that the population of seniors between 65-$5 is growing at a rapid rate. Other agencies have agreed to help with utilities and start-up costs. He asked that the Commissioners support this initiative. Heidi Aycock is a parent of two children at Carrboro Elementary School and is also on the school governance council. She said that the most compelling reason to fully fund the school budget was that the accountability movement has made parents ask so much mare of their children than ever before and our overstuffed landscape is making us consume our resources so much faster than we ever have. She asked haw we could demand more from our children and not give them the bare minimum that is needed to serve them. Jill Rigsbee said that she respects the enormous task of the County Manager and his staff as well as the Board of County Commissioners. She asked the Commissioners to support the school systems' budget as presented by the schools. She said that educators are our friends in that they are working hard to educate as many children as possible so that they will become taxpaying citizens of Orange County. She knows that uneducated adults and adults in poor health become a drain on the system instead of a support. Madeline Mitchell is a parent of a seventh grader at McDougal Middle School and co-Chair of the school governance committee. She has had children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school system almost every year for the past 24 years. She spoke about the items that would not be funded if the recommended Manager's budget is adopted. She does think the Board is dodging the buck if needs are not met and if the increase only reflects state-mandated items. She spoke about proficiency standards and said that same of the students would not pass the tests unless there are programs in place that would provide the support. Over $300,000 has been cut from the budget that would support this. She spoke about how our district as a whole is struggling in that our minority students are doing less well than minority students in other portions of the state. Regarding curriculum resources, she said that our teachers are stretched to the max to provide the enrichment that many of the students need to succeed. Our teachers cannot coordinate curricula resources and develop supportive programs for our diverse student population and do what they have been hired to do, which is teach. She said that the budget request was pared dawn significantly before it reached County hands. She asked that the Board please provide the resources needed to serve all of the children well. She said that comparing the absolute amount of per pupil expenditure across districts is like comparing apples and oranges. She asked how often in the last 20 years had the DPI projections been too low. Michelle Rivest is the Executive Director of Orange County Partnership for Young Children, which is the Smart Start agency. She is here to support the Manager's request for childcare subsidies far law-income children of working parents. She said that 20°l° of all children in Orange County live in poverty. She said that typically 90°I° of the funds for Smart Start are going to families earning less than $20,000 a year. She said that the $50,000 from the County is a great investment which she considers an economic development strategy because it breaks the cycle of poverty. Joe Tello had signed up to speak but had left the meeting at this point. Don Sweeny spoke on behalf of Recycling for Youth. He distributed a handout to Chair Halkiotis and John Link. He said it makes good business sense for the County to work with anon-profit organization like Recycling for Youth. He said that in fiscal year 1995-1996 the average payment to commercial recyclers was $52.35 per tan recycled. Recycling for Youth is asking for $42 per ton and is being paid $21, which is 40°~ of the rate that commercial recyclers were receiving five years ago. He said that the fact that they have volunteered to work for 80°~ of what the County is already paying for commercial recyclers clearly makes business sense. He said that paying them 40% would be an embarrassment. Laila Adileh is a parent of two children at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools and a support technician. She said that there are computers that are not working in some classrooms and many technical problems. She supports three schools and is at McDougal Middle only 1.5 days per week. She said that the children get discouraged when the computers do not work. She gave an example about the child who had to wait 20 or 30 minutes to get on the computer for testing. She begged the Commissioners to support the proposed school budget. Lisa Hazen is a parent of a student at Seawall Elementary and she is a volunteer at the school. She said that this year the district experienced a shocking increase in enrollment, especially at the elementary level. This has had an impact and puts more challenges on teachers and teachers assistants. The increase in enrollment also increased the workload of our ESL teachers. She spoke about the new requirements of the state for student promotion. The schools still have the responsibility to implement new regulations. Another issue is school safety and character education. These are issues that we must be proactive about, therefore the district is proposing character education as part of the curricula. She said that they are constantly playing catch up with the growth in students. She asked that the Commissioners completely and fully approve the full budget request made by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools. Tom Hazen is a parent of a student at Seawall Elementary. He is also a professor at UNC and has served an many faculty recruiting committees. He said that there was a limited pool of teachers. He said that teachers do not enter the profession far those salaries. He said that it is imperative that both school systems can successfully compete for the relatively few dedicated teachers in the highly competitive market. He said that it was also necessary to provide competitive salaries for support staff. He said that the budget requests were not wish lists, but were fitting for Grange County and for Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools in particular. He said that our children are our most important resources. Tam Cox, a 31-year resident in Grange County, asked the Board of County Commissioners to adopt the two school systems' budget as presented. He has twins at Seawall Elementary. He said that the gateways that are proposed in the high-stakes testing are very stressful for the teachers. He thanked the County Commissioners for being good public servants. June Minton has two children in the Orange County schools. She is a realtor by profession. She said that all of her clients ask about the schools and are willing to pay higher taxes far better schools. She said that most people are willing to pay higher taxes. She is in support of the full budget for schools. Margaret Shelton-Foushee is in support of the childcare subsidy. She is the director of a childcare center and knows how important it is for parents to find a slot for their children and to be able to afford it. Stephanie Willis is a school nurse for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools and a taxpayer. She thanked the County Commissioners for supporting school nurses with the new initiative. She spoke about a family she went to visit and said that she knocked on the door repeatedly. She then saw the children looking out the second floor window. As the children got into 2~d grade there continued to be health problems and the mother refused to come to the school. She said that the system continued to support them and the mother started going into the school also. There have been many meetings with this family regarding the health and social issues and the mother has came to every one of them. She said that today the mother came to school with her piano playing gospel group and they had a performance for all of the classmates. As word gat out, all the other classes came to the performance. By the time it was finished the gym was full of people and the children shone in what they did best with music and performance. Her point was that we cannot lose our funding for proficiency specialists, reading recovery teachers, nurses, and family specialists. Anthony Mastuarmi presented a written comment as follows: "I am an Orange County resident writing to encourage you to pass the proposed school budget in full. The budget request from the Orange County Schools seeks funding for basic maintenance items as well as initiatives that would greatly improve our educational system. These initiatives are essential to providing excellence in our schools, and they require passage of the entire school budget request in order to become a reality. The value to society of having well-educated people is obvious. It is important that we place the ceiling for educational standards higher than the ABC's. And of course, as you know, local funding of our schools is even more critical than ever due to the budget cuts made by the State. Thank you for your consideration of this very important issue. I look forward to your support." Chair Halkiotis reminded everyone that there would be another budget public hearing on June 7t" at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. CLOSED SESSION A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to go into closed session for the purpose of "considering the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of a prospective employee" pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(6). VOTE: UNANIMOUS RECONVENED SESSION A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to authorize Personnel Director Elaine Holmes to offer Nancy Colton the position of Director of Social Services at a beginning salary of $87,900 a year. VOTE: UNANIMOUS ADJOURNMENT With no further items to discuss, a motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for June 5, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Stephen H. Halkiotis, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC