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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20050609APPROVED 9/7/2005 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORK SESSION June 9, 2005 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Gwen Harvey, 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 1. Chair Review of Schedule and Topics Chair Carey made opening comments. 2. BOCC Technology Package Chair Carey said that this relates to the recommended communications infrastructure for County Commissioners. He said that the adoption of the cellular technology portion does not require County Commissioners to select one of the models. If the Board approves the option, the County Commissioners can decide to either select the one recommended by the staff, or keep the one they have and receive subsidy to pay for the cost of it. The recommended package for computer technology does include wireless communication. Todd Jones said that there is only wireless capability at the Southern Human Services Center, but there is money in the budget request to ga wireless at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom and the Government Services Center. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the total amount in the budget to accomplish this, and Todd Jones said the standard charges are $80lmonth per location. Commissioner Halkiotis would like to speed this process up and he suggested using the Commissioners' Contingency Fund to get this done before August. Commissioner Halkiotis asked what the wireless capability would include. Todd Jones said that it enables anyone with a fairly modern wireless device to connect freely to the Internet from that location. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if there were audio and video capabilities that go along with this. Todd Jones said that the recommendation would be not to rely on wireless for the transmission of video or audio data. Commissioner Halkiotis asked why the staff was recommending IBM Thinkpads and not Dell computers. Todd Jones said that they have had a lot of success with IBM. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he has seen technology in County government and there is a policy of trying to support North Carolina businesses. He has heard that IBM has sold out to a Chinese conglomerate. He does not like IBM. Commissioner Gordon arrived at 7.40 p.m. Chair Carey asked to see the costs of Dell. Commissioner Jacobs said that they met with Bob Segal and found that the County and both school systems are all using different computers. It would be nice to try and collaborate on this and achieve some kind of economies of scale. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the laptops and why there had to be such a large hard drive. Todd Jones said that this is the standard size. Commissioner Jacobs said that he just bought a Dell last year and the standard was a 20 and not a 40. Commissioner Jacobs said that he talked with Mark Peters yesterday, who works for IBM. He would like to suggest having Mr. Peters talk with the Information Technology Committee about his ideas on providing more information to the public on a website and trying to better coordinate the software. He does not know about Mr. Peters' assertions, but it would be good for him to talk with the IT Committee. For example, the audio from the County Commissioners' meetings could be on the County website. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to try out the technology before committing to something. She made reference to the unlimited cell phone minutes for County Commissioners to talk to each other, and said that she wonders if this could violate the open meetings law. She said that if the Board decides to go entirely electronic, then the County Commissioners would each have to bring their computers to the meetings and the public would need access to their communications at the meeting. She would like to think it through. If the Commissioners use this type of technology, there would have to be a decision on haw to involve the public. Chair Carey said that if they approve this package, it does not require any of the Commissioners to use this equipment. He is not sure about violating the open meetings laws because the County Commissioners would not be talking all at the same time. Commissioner Foushee said that they are going to need the technology whether they all use it or not. She was under the impression, because they were going to update the technology anyway, that this was an opportunity to determine what works best. Commissioner Halkiotis said that something needs to be done because the last agenda was 740 pages. There has to be a better way to do this. He would also like to discuss the receiving of agenda materials on a timely basis in order to have time to review materials before meetings. Commissioner Jacobs suggesting having Todd Jones come back to the Board before the break. He agrees that there needs to be more discussion about delivery of materials. Commissioner Gordon agreed about having a policy so things are delivered in a timely manner. She said that, in fairness to staff, they have a lot of meetings and sometimes there is little time between meetings. Todd Janes will bring some information back before the summer break. 3. School Budaets and CIP • County Manager Comments John Link made reference to the lavender sheet, which was a history of the fund balances of each school system -Attachments 1A and 1 B. Attachments 2 and 3 provide information on what $95 per pupil does and does not do. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the CHCCS and said that at the public hearing many citizens spoke about the possibility of decreased teacher assistants. The bottom of the last page of Attachment 2 has a note that says, "Manager cannot identify decrease of teacher assistants in CHCCS budget related materials." She asked for augmentation on this comment. John Link said that he does not believe the idea of cutting teacher assistants is actually in the content of the budget. He received a memorandum from Superintendent Pedersen, where he makes reference to the fact that, if the school system did not receive full funding and/or if the State were to cut the appropriation by 4°~, they would have to look at items such as teacher assistants and School Resource Officers. This item is not shown as an item for the County Commissioners to address in the local budget. John Link pointed out Attachment 5, Alternative Scenarios for Possible Modifications to the FY 2005-06 Manager's Recommended Budget. This indicates how the County Commissioners can cut the tax increase to less than 3 cents. He does not think there can be no increase, because there are 3 cents of mandates. He recommends looking at cutting the first and second cents. John Link then pointed out Attachment 4, which is the history of the total amount of County appropriations to both school systems since 1990. He said that the real issue is how much the County can afford in terms of increases in appropriations. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the Board asked John Link to ask both school systems about some specific questions, one of them being middle college. He said that CHCCS is showing middle college expenses of $75,000 and OCS is showing middle college expenses (support staff, technology, transportation) of $125,000. He asked if there was a clear understanding of what bath school systems need. John Link could not answer this. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he does not feel comfortable in making a decision if he does not have a good answer about the discrepancy in the middle college area and other areas. • OCS Superintendent and Board of Education Presentation OCS Board Chair Libbie Hough thanked the County Commissioners. She said that over the past two years, the board of education has partnered with the community to generate roadmaps for improvement to the school system. These opportunities have yielded valuable information. Their 2005-06 budget request comes directly from these community-generated plans -The five-year strategic plan, middle school task force recommendations, and preliminary work from a high school reform task force. They consider it critically important that the students' needs have been substantiated by the funding of the Board of County Commissioners' commissioned Educational Excellence Work Group. This report validates that the OCS is doing an excellent job helping students at the elementary level. It also clearly points out what must be done to help the middle and high school students thrive. The OCS board endorsed the budget request unanimously. The four major categories of the budget request are literacy support, dropout prevention, increasing academic rigor, and recruitment and retention of excellent teachers. At the last board meeting, they looked at areas that may need to take priority over others if they do not receive more than the $95 per pupil increase. They have not gone through each line item, but have focused an some major initiatives. They have concerns about continuing or moving forward with adequate funding to bring all middle schools up to a consistent level of service, collaboration efforts with CHCCS, and addressing the dropout rate. The OCS board also stated concerns about the proposed tiered funding approach. She said that the tiered approach promises to address any difference in funding if there is any money left over. The OCS board encourages the Board of County Commissioners to respect the fact that school boards have been given the statutory authority to choose programming that is best for their students. Rather than having the County Commissioners earmark funds for purposes in both districts, they wish to retain their authority to determine the use of funds. Last year, they were encouraged to use their fund balance to cover recurring expenses. They used $1.4 million of the fund balance to implement programs and services last year, many of which have been on the budget requests for well over five years. They need the County Commissioners' help to ensure that current programming and services can continue. In closing, she said that the OCS Board of Education would like to state that, no matter the individual position on taxes, they all think that students of rural Orange County deserve the best education possible and they need the County Commissioners' support to provide this. Superintendent Shirley Carraway made the PowerPoint presentation. Providing Educational Opportunities for Successful Futures Significant Accomplishments • 100% of our schools met Adequate Yearly Progress in 2003-2004 • Five schools were named ABCs Honor Schools of Excellence • Three schools were named Schools of Distinction • 96°l° of our teachers met the "Highly Qualified" standard under No Child Left Behind requirements • 17% of our teachers hold National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification, compared to 9% statewide Economically Disadvantaged Students (Based on free and reduced lunch percentages) OCS CHCCS District 30°~ 15°~ Elementary 37% 18% Elementarv Math 2003-2004 Proficient 91 %-OC S 94%-CHCCS Level III 32%-OCS 19%-CHCCS Level IV 59%-OCS 76%-CHCCS But look at what we have been able to accomplish! 91% of our elementary students are proficient in math. Elementarv Readina 2003-2004 Proficient. 88%-OCS 93 %-CHCC S Le~Tel III 41 °lo-OC S 26%-CHCCS Le~Tel I V 46°lo-OCS 67%-CHCCS Reading, Grades 3-$ 2003-2004 All-88°~ Black-77% Economically Disadvantaged-76°~ Students with Disabilities-65% Math, Grades 3-8 2003-2004 All - 91 % Black - 81 Economically Disadvantaged - 82% Students with Disabilities - 72% She said that the Grumet report shows that both school systems are pretty close as it relates to achievement. It works until the higher grades, and then the achievement level drops off because the work gets harder and ACS does not have the resources necessary to support students. Reading Proficiency 2003-2004 100°!° 80°~° so°i° 40% 20% 0% 92 % Pre-test 3rd 5th 6th 8th 10th Reading 2003-2004 Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Qrange 1 oo°ro 8o°io 60% 40°!0 20% 0% -.-Chapel Hill-Carrboro f Orange Percentage of Total Course Enrollments in AP, IB, Community College, & University: • OCS: 4% • CHCCS: 12% Number of Advanced Placement offerings: • OCS: 13 • CHCCS: 24 SAT Verbal: Achievement Gap Analysis SAT tVlath: Achievement Gap Analysis Dropout Rate Six-Year History 1998-99 through 2003-04 (Graphs) Significant Initiatives Reflected in 2005-2006 Budget Request • Cedar Ridge High School initiated the International Baccalaureate Programme • District is collaborating with Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Durham Public Schools to create the new Middle College High School at Durham Technical Community College, which will open in 2005-2006 • District is collaborating with four other districts and five businesses in High Five, a partnership to improve high schools • District began a major High School Reform Initiative, creating a task force and holding multiple public hearings to prepare recommendations to improve our high schools • Both high schools have initiated a freshman transition program • District implemented adistrict-wide elementary Spanish program • District implemented Energy Management, a systemized energy conservation program, providing cost avoidance for the district of $178,000 in the first nine months 3rd 5th 6th 8th 10th Steps 1Ne Have Taken to Fund Our Needs Internally District piloted a successful privatized janitorial service at Orange High School, saving $30,000 District has redirected $130,648 to prevent having to revert money to the state and federal government District's After-School Program and Child Nutrition Program are contributing $300,000 toward district needs. BUDGET REQUEST FOR 2005-2006 Orange County School Budget Allocation Increase 2004-05: $715,306 Department of Public Instruction Projected Student Enrollment 2004-05: 6632 Actual Orange County School Enrollment 2004-05: 6664 Department of Public Instruction Student Projection for 2005-06: 6811 MandateslCritical Needs Salary Increase 3.0% $ 466,341 Matching Social Security 35,675 Matching Retirement 27,118 Increase Matching Hospital Insurance Pram $3, 432 to $3, 775 85, 828 Continuation Budget (funded from fund balance 04-05) 1, 400,182 Tatal Mandates/Criticat Needs $2, 015,144 Expansions and New Initiatives Human Resources 4 High School Teachers (Freshman Academy} 223, 720 3 Reading Remediation Teachers 167, 790 1 Math/Science Specialist (12 months) 66,361 1 Language Arts/Social Studies Specialist or Literacy Specialist 66, 361 1 Science Teacher (Elementary) 55, 930 0.8 Psychologist 44, 744 1.5 Social Workers 83, 895 1 CarpenterJPainter 35, 643 1 Plumber 35, 643 1 1VC Wise Coordinator 55, 930 Criminal Records Checks 5, 800 Increase Tenured Teachers Supplement 85,254 TOTAL $927, 071 Curriculum and Instruction AP Exams $ 15, 000 Summer Sizzle 5, 000 Graduation Facility Rental 8, 000 Textbooks 54, 000 International Baccalaureate Coordinator % time 27, 965 Middle Catiege Support Staff (25%} 31,250 Technology (25%} 31,250 Transportation 62, 500 High Five Staff Development Project 25, 000 Grade 6 Transition/Academy Program Cast 14,440 High Schools Band Instruments/Uniforms ONS 25,440 Band Instruments/Uniforms CRHS 25,040 CIMS/Centrai After-School Programs 44,000 TO TAL $359, 965 Auxiliary Services Transportation Fuet and Repair Parts 20, 000 Total Expansion or Newtnitiatives $9,307,036 Reductions Human Resource Position {12 months} {20, 000} Janitorial Privatization (OHS} 30 000 Total Reductions 5( 0,000) TOTAL BUDGET REQUEST 2005-06 $3,272,180 Expenditure Increase County Appropriation 2004-05 17, 920, 336 County Appropriation Increase Requested 3.272,180 Tota! Proposed County Appropriation $29,992,516 (?8.26% increase} 5 YEAR COUNTY APPROPRIATION AMOUNTS (Chart} State Cuts to Public Education 2005-200G State Discretionary Reduction $ 70, 558, 667 Orange County Schools Discretionary Reduction $ 350, 915 Schoo! Capita! Building Fund $ 195, 680 Total Orange County Schools State Reduction $ 546,595 Internal RedirectionslReductions Career & Technical Education Upgrades $130,648 Energy Management cost avoidance for the district $178, 000 Comm unity Schools $200, 000 Child lVutritian $100, 000 What's Not in the Budget Central Office Step Increase 24, 973 Middle & Nigh School Athletic Request 629,292 5 Teacher Assistants 126, 236 12 Teaching Positions 671,160 Furniture and Equipment Request 363,145 Total 1, 814, 806 Superintendent Carraway said that she is very thankful for the resources provided by the County for the schools. She said that she would not tell the County Commissioners all of the programs and people that would have to be cut if the budget is not fully funded. She does not know what that would be or who that would be at this time. The school board will not have this discussion until there is a better picture of the local and state funding. However, it will take additional resources far them to keep the programs and the people that have been added to the budget and to continue to grow the achievement level in the district. The test data clearly verifies that OCS students are capable and that they have done much more as it relates to growth in achievement with a lot less, but they cannot continue. Many students come to them needing more and they do not have the resources to provide them with continuing support to be successful. They cannot continue to just break even. She asked the County Commissioners to please consider the funds requested in this budget. Chair Carey asked about the Middle College Transportation item and what this includes. Shirley Carraway said that there have been collaborative meetings related to this, and the figures she received came from the staff that was representing OCS in the discussions. The transportation is to get students to and from schools, and they do not want transportation to be a factor in determining whether the students are able to participate. Commissioner Jacobs congratulated Superintendent Carraway on the good job she is doing and on her immediate response to the Grumet report. He asked about what Libbie Hough meant about the County Commissioners telling them about programs. He asked if this was in reference to the tier three proposal. Libbie Hough said that they would like to make the decisions on how the money is used. Chair Carey made reference to the $1.4 million used from the fund balance mentioned on page 12, and then on page 13 are new initiatives. He asked how many of the items listed an page 13 and 14 were included in the $1.4 million referenced on page 12. Superintendent Shirley Carraway said that the $1.4 million covers those things that were added last year -the Spanish teachers, social workers, and teacher assistants. The new initiatives are in addition to the $1.4 million. Commissioner Gordon asked far a list of the items included in the $1.4 million. Superintendent Carraway listed the following items: Spanish teachers, social workers, doubled teacher assistants, extra month of employment for elementary assistant principals, began classified salary adjustment, supplement for non-tenured teachers, half-time ID Coordinator, transition program for 9th grade, furniture allotment, print material in the media centers, and others. Chair Carey asked that the costs be included with each item on the list. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the expansion item of AP exams. Superintendent Carraway said that they would like to provide to each student the cost of their first AP exam. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners criticized the same proposal by CHCCS several years ago because it did not have means tests. It was suggested by the County Commissioners that this was not fair. John Link asked for clarification of the fund balance for start-up of the middle school and if this was operational and not capital. Superintendent Carraway said that the start up costs include furniture, technology, and the building. They will have to provide for the media security, books for the library, custodial equipment, and all other operational and program equipment. This is a substantial amount of money, well beyond $1 million. Superintendent Carraway said that one of the other things the OCS Board is committed to, as it relates to the middle school, is being able to provide to the existing middle schools some upgrades in their programming. A portion of the fund balance will go towards this. • CHCCS Superintendent and Board of Education Presentation Elizabeth Carter spoke on behalf of CHCCS Board Chair Lisa Stuckey and the CHCCS Board. She said that the County Manager's recommendation would only fund a 2°/a salary increase for employees for CHCCS and the increase in health insurance. There are things that currently go on in their classrooms that will not continue if they do not receive more money than what the Manager has recommended, they will not happen. She said that OCS needs more money, but they also need more. She said that the increases in the budget are truly needs. She said that the school board is hearing from parents that they do not mind paying more for education. She said that the teacher assistants are not a line item that the Superintendent put in the budget, but they will have to consider cutting them. She asked the County Commissioners to approve more than a $95 per pupil increase. Superintendent Neil Pederson made the PowerPoint presentation. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Raising the Achievement of All Students Board of Education's 2005-2006 Budget Request To the Orange County Commissioners June 9, 2005 The Perfect Storm 218 students lower than projected o FY 04-05 State lass of $315,000 o FY 05-06 local budget lass of $322,629 State Discretionary Cuts o Reduction of $575,000 Fund Balance Correction o Reduction of $500,000 Total budget reduction after the year began - $1,400,000 - Fiscal constraints to reestablish a fund balance o Froze non-instructional personnel o Curtailed professional development and subs o Implemented energy conservation - Costs from other governmental agencies o $400,000 for SROs, crossing guards, and stormwater fees - Title I reduction o $100,000 No Child Left Behind - All but one school met Adequate Yearly Progress last year - Standards for this year have increased - Cutbacks have created challenges - Expectations continue to rise and resources are needed to meet those expectations Fund Balance (spreadsheet) The Revenue Summary - Projected enrollment is down - Depleted fund balance - Reductions from the State continue - Costs passed on by the towns - Title I reduction - Emergency measures can't continue It is the Perfect Storm The Manager's Recommendation - Approximately $985,000 - It will fund a 2°lo salary increase - It will fund the increase in health insurance - It won't fund anything else What is not funded or can only be funded by making reductions in other areas? Non-discretionary Items - Storm water fee and water rate increases $130,000 - Other utility rate increases $201,824 - Employee fringe benefit cost increases $125,000 - Matching funds for 21St Century program $ 76,700 - Pay for Performance increases $ 50,000 - Shortfall in pre-kindergarten budget $149,350 Total non-discretionary $732,874 Growth (never implemented last year] and Replacement of Mid-Year Reductions - Secretarial position at CHHS $ 37,032 - Half-time media specialist at ECHHS $ 29,018 - School Resource Officers {3) $172,394 - Per-pupil allocation for more students $ 15,656 - Maintenance mechanic $ 39,403 - Professional development $ 85,000 - Charter school funding $140,000 - Restoration of instructional supplies $ 40,180 Total....Growth/Mid Year $558,681 New Expenses - Planning for high school reform $ 75,000 - Transportation for new programs $ 50,000 - Middle College program $ 75,000 - Leadership academy (High Five) $ 50,000 - Student assessment system $ 84,000 Total.....New expenses $334,000 The List of District Needs Total Non-discretionary Total...GrowthlMid Year Total...New Expenses $732,874 $558,681 334 000 TOTAL $1,625,555 The Storm Continues - The Senate Budget reduces funding in a variety of areas that will have an impact an the District o Teacher assistants o School building administration o Textbooks o Limited English Proficiency Programs o Schaol building capital accounts Cover letter for Superintendent's Recommended Budget "Currently, there is talk of an additional four percent reduction to the K-72 budget, which could mean as much as a $7.8 million reduction....Attpis point in the year, it would be irresponsible to ignore these possibilities. We must identify areas in which significant reductions could be made to both the local and state budgets. Consequently, the administration has prepared the following list of areas that could be seriously impacted by state or local budget shortfalls. " Cover letter for Schaol Board's Requested Budget `A `normal' increase in our per-pupil appropriation would leave us short by approximately $2 million. I/Ve estimate that this shortfall, combined with potential state reductions, could result in the loss of 75 positions in our district. The quality of education for which this district is known cannot be maintained when we must eliminate positions and reduce services." Potential Reductions Est. Amount Eliminate Middle School SRO positions $162,000 Eliminate transportation for Middle School After-School $ 39,000 Eliminate Middle School After-School Programs $137,602 Reduce Elementary World Language positions $253,796 Reduce Elementary Gifted Education Specialists $253,796 Reduce the equivalent of 5 certified and 5 classified Positions from the Exceptional Children's Program $414,500 Reduce one Central Office Administrator position And one Central Office classified position $105,887 Teacher Assistants - provide one per grade level in grades 4-5 $384,265 - provide one-half assistant per teacher in grades 2 and 3 $927,535 Reduce Elementary Data Manager to half-time $161,492 Reduce Classroom Supplies by 20 percent $ 97,997 Reduce Professional Development and out-af-district Travel by 30 percent $251,831 Provide Summer School only to non-proficient students $200,000 Eliminate grants to community non-profits Pine Knolls ($6,350) and Orange County Family Resources ($18,275) Eliminate funding far field trips Eliminate funding far SGC's Reduce funding for differentiated pay stipends by 5d°!° Eliminate subsidization of Child Nutrition Services Do not add requested positions for growth in high schools Reduce funding for athletics by 10 percent The Grand Total Cost Control Measures - Not issuing contracts to many staff members - Postponed contractual commitments $ 24,625 $ 63,944 $ 33,2Q4 $ 62,814 $144,Q00 $ 66,Q50 $ 23,528 $3,808,861 Cost Savings - Energy reductions in excess of B,OOQ,000 kilowatt hours - Savings in custodial and food service contracts - Reductions in costs following the Segal Group recommendations School Supporters' Concerns - Threat to maintenance of a quality educational program - Desire to move forward, not be held harmless or worse, go backward - Reductions in teacher assistants - Reductions in after school programming at elementary and middle school levels - Reductions in supplies, field trips, and travel Observations - Fully fund Tier I before moving to Tiers II and II I - Proposed nine-cent increase is not a given - Additional funding is needed to meet the Commissioners' target of 48.3°~ funding for education - The Manager's recommendation provides for only a 2 percent increase in our local, current expense budget - With low student growth, there is an opportunity to provide a greater increase in the per-pupil appropriation - Use equity reserve to fund common needs in bath districts {SROs, Middle College, student exchange) CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN Long Range Capital Projects Health and Safety $175,000 - ADA Compliance - Asbestos abatement - Indoor air quality - Hot water for Seawell bathrooms Energy $1,715,000 - Replacement windows for Phillips - HVAC replacement for Phillips - FPG bailer - Kitchen A/C systems Classroom $905,000 - Phillips support areas - FPG primary building - Mobiles and expansion space RoafslPavinglDaors $775,000 - FPG primary roof - CHHS repaving - Estes Hills and CHHS doors and hardware New Facilities HS #3.....Revenue (spreadsheet) New Facilities HS #3.....Budget (spreadsheet) Chair Carey asked if State cuts were included in the $3.8 million of budget cuts. Superintendent Pedersen said yes and that they hope they do not have to do all of the cuts. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the fund balance and said that he did not realize it was so law. He asked if there was any communication from the State about the low fund balance. Superintendent Pedersen said that they did not get any bad letters, but the issue was that at the end of the year they have to project their fund balance. For a variety of reasons, the projection was a little off. It was disconcerting to him that after the audit, the fund balance was negative. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about eliminating subsidization of child nutrition services and Superintendent Pedersen said that they re-bid this service this year, and it was indicated that a successful bidder could not rely an any additional subsidy from the local school district. Commissioner Halkiotis said that when the County Commissioners met with the legislators, they asked for them to consider introducing legislation where the per-pupil allocations would not be based on projection numbers coming from DPI, but based on numbers achieved by both school systems. He does not believe any of this was introduced. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the County Commissioners asked the Manager to put together a list of all programs that the County funds independently from both school systems that are doing business in both school systems. He has no problem saying that if these programs need to be in the school systems, then maybe the County needs to fund the school systems for these programs and not non-departmental agencies. He would like to do some consolidation. Commissioner Jacobs said that he appreciates the picture Superintendent Pedersen is trying to paint regarding not meeting the 48.3°~ target, but he asked him to please not lump the County with the State, because the County has exceeded this target five of the last eight years and more than 49°~ of the County budget has been dedicated to education. The County's commitment has remained constant. Commissioner Jacobs said that it sounded like the school board was supportive of the tiered approach. He asked why they would be supportive if, per-pupil, Tier I gives less money, but Tier III gives an equal amount for each school system. Superintendent Pedersen said that there was logic to the tiers that the Manager laid out, which was to make sure that the fundamental needs are met first. He said that he was trying to say that these were fundamental needs that should be addressed first. He thinks that Tier III is the process for addressing equity after the other needs are met first. Commissioner Jacobs asked if CHCCS pays a living wage and Superintendent Pedersen said that they were at the last living wage level. Elizabeth Carter said that they use the County as the basis when they look at their living wage. Superintendent Carraway did not know if OCS pays a living wage or not that is comparable to the County's living wage. Commissioner Gordon asked for an explanation of how the County is funding for fewer students if CHCCS is going to have mare. Steve Scroggs said that because DPI projects growth based on a cohort survival methodology, it looks at growth through the previous 3-4 years. The projection two years ago was for a substantial number, well over 300 students, of increase in growth. They did not get to this growth. When their real numbers were put into the projection methodology, the next year's projection was lower than the previous year's projection. Consequently, they have fewer students today than was projected two years ago. Next year, they will have more students than they have this year. Chair Carey asked about expenses for transportation to transport students across district lines, exclusive of those in the Middle College program. He asked if OCS did any projections for this transportation. Superintendent Carraway said that they did not have a way of coming up with a number. Chair Carey made reference to the letter that Lisa Stuckey wrote about High School #3. The letter was addressed in the Board's budget ordinance adoption last week, and the school board will be receiving a letter from him. Also, he said that the County Commissioners had a discussion about a County school district tax and a countywide supplemental tax as options far passible inclusion on the November ballot. The school boards will also be receiving a letter from him asking for comment. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the budget scenarios and said that they include reductions in recurring capital. As the County Commissioners work through the alternatives far possible modification, she would like to know if the school systems have any comments. The entities all have different increases in their capital appropriations, with the CHCCS receiving considerably less than OCS in overall capital funding increases. 4. Update on Development on Orange CountylAlamance County Line Commissioner Jacobs said that there is a 214-acre development in Alamance County that is on and overlaps the County line. There is also a phase 2 in Orange County, and he does not know anything about it. This will have a major impact on the western edge of Orange County. This development has just been approved within the last month. The Orange County Planning Department does not even know anything about it. He found out about this at the Efland/Mebane Small Area Work Group and one of the Mebane City Council members mentioned it in passing. He wanted to bring it to the Board's attention. Economic Development Director Dianne Reid is working on getting the information. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board