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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09-30-2014 APPROVED 11/6/2014 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO BOARD OF EDUCATION ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION JOINT MEETING September 30, 2014 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a joint session with the Chapel Hill—Carrboro Board of Education and the Orange County Board of Education on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Mark Dorosin, Bernadette Pelissier, Earl McKee, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Assistant County Managers Clarence Grier and Cheryl Young, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff inembers will be identified appropriately below) ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Steve Halkiotis, and Board Members Tom Carr, Lawrence Sanders. Interim Superintendent Del Burns was also present. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS ABSENT: Tony McKnight, Brenda Stephens, Donna Coffey, Rosa Williams CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice Chair Mia Burroughs and Board Members James Barrett, Mike Kelly, Andrew Davidson, Michelle Brownstein and Annetta Streater. Superintendent Tom Forcella was also present. CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. 1. Welcome and Openinq Remarks - Chair Bedford, Chair Halkiotis and Chair Jacobs Chair Jacobs welcomed everyone and noted that this is the first joint school board meeting that will be televised. He said this is a great step in making meetings accessible to the public. Chair Halkiotis thanked the Board of County Commissioners for what they do for children in Orange County to fund their schools. Chair Halkiotis said the schools will be facing challenges in the years to come. He discussed upcoming cuts to the drivers' education program. He said the schools will continue to need the support of the Commissioners in the future. Chair Jacobs said the Commissioners are proud of both school systems. He said support of the schools is the most essential thing the Board does. Chair Halkiotis said he has had more communication with Chair Bedford than ever before, and they discussed honoring the Board of County Commissioners for their efforts to support the school systems. He said the two school systems have joined together to pull together information and nominate the Orange County Board of County Commissioners for the annual achievement award given by the School Board Association in November. Chair Bedford said Mike Kelly suggested that this be done collaboratively, and she appreciates working with Orange County schools to make this nomination. Introductions were made. 2. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) — Overview of Approved FY 2014-15 Budqet Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Superintendent Tom Forcella said he and Todd Lofrese would be presenting the budget information. He reviewed a PowerPoint presentation on the following information. • Where We Were Obstacles overcome Tough decisions Success stories • Where We Are Current challenges Strategic plan update Instructional excellence • Where We Will Be Compensation model Tough decisions Future focus Tom Forcella said much of what the school systems do is dependent on people, and it is important to make sure the organizational structure is as good as it can be. He said the Greenhouse project was a project to gather information and input from students, parents, administrators, teachers and community members. He said the district has had a problem for many years with trying to eliminate the achievement gap, as well as issues with curriculum work and how this related to the common core and how to prepare for it. Tom Forcella said the district has been spending more time on discipline in the schools, and the latest figures have shown reductions in discipline referrals, especially in the minority groups. He said the next goal is a full court press on efforts for academic achievement for minority students. He said the Equal Opportunity Schools program has really made a difference. He said a dashboard has been created to identify minority students who have not enrolled in honors and AP classes. He said there have been efforts to enroll more of these students in the honors and AP classes and provide support and pre-teaching to allow a better chance for success. Tom Forcella said Chapel Hill High School was just recognized as the only comprehensive high school in North Carolina on Newsweek's Top 500 High Schools. Tom Forcella said the rhetoric and the lack of resources that have come out of Raleigh have created a challenge. He said the most recent national study put N.C. teachers at the bottom (51 St) as far as how they feel and how they are paid. He said this is one more thing that teachers hear about, and it sets them back. He said there have been recruiting difficulties, and the district had a challenging time finding teachers at the first of the year, although the district is fully staffed now. Michelle Brownstein arrived at 7:22:47 p.m. Tom Forcella said their entire instructional plan is based on instructional excellence. He said this is rooted in the principle of a growth mindset, which believes that all students have the ability to achieve at much higher levels, given proper instruction; classrooms that focus on thinking and problem solving; teachers who plan effectively; a coordinated curriculum; and best instructional practices. He said this is the charge of the long range plan. Tom Forcella said there is a requirement that every school district in N.C. must create a merit based pay plan for submission to the legislature by January 15th. He said this has been altered so that districts can sign off and not submit a plan. He said there have been conversations with staff about what can be done to make a difference, and why the current plan is based on years of experience versus professional growth, collaboration and what is going on in the classrooms. He said they are looking at a system that does not use merit based pay that pits one teacher against another, but instead provides opportunities for staff for leadership and career advancement. He said the goal is to create a system to sustain the good work that they do. Tom Forcella said the state's effort to create a merit based program is actually providing an opportunity for the district to create a system that looks a lot better. He said the state has said they will accept 7-10 pilot programs, and the district hopes to submit and be one of those professional growth plans. Todd Lofrese expressed appreciation for the additional local support from the Commissioners and the Orange County tax payers. He presented the following PowerPoint budget slides: Budget Highlights • Strong local support helped buffer continued state reductions • We no longer have positions on fund balance • Most teachers received a sizable raise (average �5.5%) • All employees were provided the equivalent of a 3% increase • Funded signing bonuses for critical needs Budget Lowlights • Continued state reductions in the areas of central office, transportation, at-risk, and teacher assistants • Signing bonuses: State raise announced too late • Teacher turnover at 15.8%, highest since 1998 • Reductions needed to balance: — Central Office (salaries, 1 PT position, contracted services) — Delayed Guidance Program Review — Part-Time Gifted Specialists (11 PT positions) — Teacher Assistants (22 FT positions) — Part-Time Custodians (15 PT positions) State Funding Changes Since 2008-09 • Total appropriations up $60 Million • Salary and benefit costs up $1.3 Billion • Net impact: Classrooms reduced by over $1 Billion • Loss of teacher positions, teacher assistant positions, administrative positions, supplies, and support Future Budget Development • Focused on our strategic plan • Better starting point • Expect more pressure from future state reductions — Enrollment growth — Teacher assistants — Driver education • Potential for barriers with future revenues • Mindful of the older school facility needs • Continued collaboration and information sharing with County Commissioners and OCS Todd Lofrese referred to a spreadsheet outlining the state allotment formulas. He noted that the 2012-13 allotment was 1 teacher for every 21.6 students, and budget reductions changed this to 23.4 students in 2013-14. He said the teacher assistant (TA) funding is heading in the wrong direction, and he noted that funding for this has been reduced from $1,182 per student to $939 in 2013-14. Commissioner porosin asked for more specific information about salary supplements and how Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) compares with Orange County Schools (OCS) and Durham County. Todd Lofrese said CHCCS has a competitive salary supplement that ranges from 12 percent to 25 percent, based on years of experience. He said the district is looking to move away from this longevity model. He believes CHCCS may be a bit higher than OCS in this area. He said the district is competing with Wake County Schools and may still have a slight edge over them. He discussed the case of a teacher from Mississippi who moved here and took a $10,000 pay cut, even after their supplement was given. He said this does not even factor in the cost of living difference. He said she had masters pay as well. He said there are other factors such as tenure that make recruitment difficult. Commissioner porosin asked if Todd Lofriese would say that CHCCS is competitive within the state. Todd Lofrese said yes, CHCCS is competitive within the state, but North Carolina does not produce enough teachers to meet the needs of the state, so it is necessary to recruit from other states. He said Michigan used to be a recruiting source due to an excess of candidates, but CHCCS is now unable to recruit there due to an inability to attract candidates because of pay. Commissioner porosin said he is trying to get a picture of the specific local challenges. He said the state challenges affect everyone, but he would like a picture of particular local strategies that are working well or need to be revisited. Todd Lofrese said the signing bonuses were a stop gap measure, and these may be done again next year. He said the idea of changing their model to allow teachers to move up more quickly from a personal, professional and financial perspective is another strategy that may help. Tom Forcella said CHCCS is below both Durham and Wake County in terms of supplement, so that is the rationale for looking at the system and the model. Commissioner Price asked how the cuts in custodial services will affect quality in the schools. Todd Lofrese said this will not affect the quality of their schools, as more than half of the schools had already operated with a contracted evening service and district employees during the day. He said this change only adds three more schools to that process. Commissioner Price asked if people are losing jobs. Todd Lofrese said the district originally anticipated 15 layoffs, but this was reduced to 9. He said these were part time employees, and this was not their primary source of income. He said staff has run out of places to cut, and the other options were no better. He said this was the least bad decision that could be made. Commissioner Price asked if these employees had been advised to go to the County office. Todd Lofrese said arrangements were made with the contracted evening cleaning companies for these day employees to interview for jobs. He said the employee information was also kept on file for possible future openings. Commissioner Price asked about the reductions to the teachers for the gifted children. Todd Lofrese said the district has a new gifted coordinator, and one of her priorities is to work on strategies to make sure these children are getting what they need. He said all of the district schools still have a full time gifted specialist. Commissioner Pelissier said given the focus on closing the achievement gap, she would like to understand more about the funding for at risk students. Todd Lofrese said the state level cuts were not a huge dollar amount, so this has been absorbed locally, and the same services and programs are being provided. 2. Oranqe County Schools (OCS) — Overview of FY 2014-15 Budqet Interim Superintendent Del Burns said this is an update rather than an overview, since the budget has not been adopted yet, and the impact of the state changes is still being analyzed. He said OCS has not had to reduce personnel, services or programs, and he does not anticipate that this will be needed. He said this is due in large to the Board of County Commissioners and the hard work of the Board of Education. He said there have been slight reductions to central office administration, transportation, teacher assistants, and at-risk funds. He said these have been very nominal and have been absorbed. He said due to the manner in which the teachers were allotted this year and the projected growth, the district was able to preserve teacher assistants. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said the at-risk funding saw a minimal cut, and there was a substantial amount of carry forward for this fund in the district. He said this has been used, and there was no reduction. He said their concern is how much investment can be made in programs, services and personnel. He said different scenarios are being considered. He said one area of focus is student growth, and the projected growth for this year was 197 students. He said the opening of the new charter school has impacted this growth, and there will be a financial impact. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said the OCS budget will be presented at their next board meeting. Commissioner porosin asked for more information about the charter school. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said the projected number to attend the charter school was 135, and this was at the elementary level. He said this is the level where the OCS numbers did not meet the state projection. Chair Jacobs asked for an explanation of the way in which the legislature changed the enrollment projection for next year and how this affects the budget process. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said there may be a planning allotment for the next fiscal year; however, the ADM growth funding has now been moved from continuation budget to expansion budget, and it will have to fight among all of the other budget items. He said this does not mean that it will not be funded, but it is not a continuation. He said his understanding is that the Department of Public Instruction is trying to determine how they might provide a projection. He said absent this it will be a challenge to decide what to base the budget for the subsequent year on. He said there is not a clear path at this time. Tom Forcella said the concern is the same for CHCCS, and this impacts their planning for the future. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said if growth is not funded, increased class sizes will be a result; and the ratio for Teacher Assistants to students will change. He said the areas that are funded by ADM will not lose money, but will not be provided additional appropriation to maintain ratios. Chair Jacobs thanked the superintendents for their input. He said the public needs to know that there have been ramifications beyond the money for teacher raises. Commissioner Price asked if there are any charter schools that go beyond 8th grade. Staff said it is possible that Orange Charter does. Commissioner Price said she is just considering the possible impact once these students graduate and come into the school system. She asked if any impact is being seen at the secondary level. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said no impact has been seen at the secondary level yet. He said the state looks at the higher of the first or second month in determining the allotment that comes to the school system, and then there is no adjustment after that. He said this means that if private or charter schools students choose to return to public schools, the state will not reconcile that number. He said in the Orange County School District, the funding for charter schools is calculated monthly and provided. He said this means that if the number changes, at least the district does not have to send as much money to the charter school. Tom Forcella said CHCCS has one charter school (PACE) and the schools charter was revoked, but the decision was appealed. He said the school has opened this year, but there has not been a lot of change in student numbers. 3. Update on Cross-District Courses — Challenqes and Opportunities Chair Jacobs said this is a ten year old issue that came during the discussion of a merger, and it came up again in a recent Commissioners' meeting. He said there is information included in attachment 2a. Tom Forcella reviewed the following information from the abstract: Cross-district enrollment: This has been explored and attempted previously. Logistical factors, different school schedules, travel distances and the desire to participate in after school activities led to extremely low participation. Even our middle college program has available slots and we believe that a child's inability to participate in athletics is a major factor in the program's underutilization. We are currently reviewing policy requirements and exploring whether we may be able to facilitate middle college students participating in athletics. We are also exploring technology solutions to provide greater access to unique course offerings and schedules. Both districts also have access to North Carolina Virtual Public Schools to provide unique course opportunities. Opportunities with Durham Tech continued to be explored, especially due to the state support of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Many exciting programs, such as Project Lead the Way, are drawing students to enroll in more CTE courses. These include bio-medical and engineering pathways courses. We want to maximize the use of these funds and leverage the resources of both organizations. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said, in addition to the logistical concerns, he has found that kids want to stay with their friends. Chair Bedford said there was talk that was killed in committee at the general assembly regarding inter-district enrollments. She said the district opposed this because the dollars did not follow the child. She said a child would be able to enroll in any school district in the state, and this would make facility planning extremely difficult. She said it would make it difficult to support a bond issue if you knew that other citizens of the state were not paying those taxes. She said it will be interesting to see if this comes back up for discussion. Commissioner porosin said his concern is that there are courses offered in one school and not in another, whether inter or intra districts. He is concerned about the idea of equal education opportunities and access. He said it would be interesting to put all available high school courses on a list and ask the high school students which courses they would like to take. He said he does not want to create a solution for a problem that does not exist, but he knows there are a multitude of AP classes that are only offered at Chapel Hill High, and these could be made accessible to other students. He said the physical idea of moving students around is a step further than needs to be considered right now. He would just like to know now if there are students wanting to take particular courses that are not available at their school. Tom Forcella said CHCCS allows students to take online courses that are not offered in the school, and there are a lot of kids that take advantage of this. He said the challenge is that there are classes that cannot be offered because there are too few students that want to take it. He said it might be possible to have an inter-district class with the three high schools using technology and one teacher. He said schools that have done this, have had the students get together three or four times a year for a seminar to actually connect the people they are seeing on the screen. He said this is being investigated internally right now. Commissioner porosin said the idea discussed earlier, of open enrollment, has troubling implications for the County Commissioners who would have to fund students from out of district. He said there are already real problems with how schools are funded generally. He said this issue highlights a huge disparity across the state depending on whether you are lucky enough to live in a county with a high amount of taxable property, or you live in a county with a fraction of the taxable property. Chair Jacobs said neighboring Caswell County is an example of one of the poorest counties in the state, and they would certainly benefit from having access to Orange County schools; however this would open up a whole other set of questions regarding planning and funding. Commissioner porosin said this could not be grafted onto the current system. He said there would have to be new statewide funding model. Commissioner McKee said the abstract mentioned that opportunities with Durham Technical Community College continue to be explored. Penny Gluck, Executive Dean at the Durham Tech Orange County Campus, said she would like for Durham Tech to be an answer to collaborative efforts for both the Orange County and Chapel Hill schools systems. She said there are certainly opportunities for students from both districts to look at college level courses. She suggested a work session to look at the courses at all five high schools and how Durham Tech's pathways might be an answer. Chair Halkiotis said historically the districts have been locked in with traditional schedules versus block schedules and the resulting transportation issues. He thinks that creative opportunities may be out there, and is worth setting up a group to explore these opportunities, especially with Orange County. He said there are some award winning courses in Orange County Schools, such as the agricultural program and the furniture making program that cannot be done online. Chair Halkiotis said there are students in Orange County from the Alamance Burlington schools system, and he has wished for a regional program to provide services. He said there has been discussion of this with the pre-k and exceptional children programs. Chair Halkiotis said this is a great opportunity to set up a group to examine this issue, and he thinks Durham Tech Orange County campus is an important piece to the solution. He suggested an expanded Middle College program. Chair Bedford said CHCCS currently sends 12 students to the Durham Middle College Campus, but transportation is a big issue. She said if there were facilities at the Orange County site, enrollment would increase in a positive way. Chair Jacobs said he is hearing that both school districts are willing to work with Durham Tech to come up with ideas. Chair Halkiotis said he would bring this back to the board for discussion, and he does not see why it would not be supported. Chair Jacobs said if this goes forward, a group could be populated by school board members, staff, Durham Tech representatives, and one or two Commissioners. Commissioner porosin said he would volunteer for this. Commissioner McKee said he is glad to see willingness to move forward with this. Chair Jacobs suggested that neighboring school boards might also be asked to participate in the future. Commissioner Price echoed what Penny Gluck said. She said there have been discussions about the success seen in Middle College and how this might be expanded to the Orange County campus. She said the numbers are increasing for students that graduate from Durham Tech and go on to a four year college. Chair Jacobs said this might be a more fruitful place to look to bring in other school districts. 4. Update on Livinq Waqe —Affirminq the Shared Goal Chair Jacobs said Orange County recently raised their living wage, and this was discussed at the school collaboration meeting. He said this is outlined on the back of attachment 2a, page 4. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said included in their May budget request by OCS was a business case addressing the rate of pay for identified employees to reach the living wage identified by Orange County government. He said the amount to fund this is $75,000, and this will be brought forward in the proposed budget. Tom Forcella said CHCCS had a study done on salaries for classified employees. Todd Lofrese said there have been several years with no increase for classified employees. He said this issue has been monitored, and in the past 15 years classified employees have averaged 1.8 percent annually from the state, which is not keeping up with inflation. He said this year all classified employees were provided with at least a 3 percent increase in pay. Todd Lofrese said the new classified employee study has just been completed and results are being analyzed. He said there is a placeholder in the salary budget to implement phase 1 of the adjustments, and then the balance will be discussed as part of the budget process for next year. He said it is clear that this is an issue that will have to be addressed locally. Chair Jacobs asked if the CHCCS goal will be to pay the County living wage. Todd Lofrese said that is an aspiration they should all seek. Chair Jacobs said Orange County just upped the living wage to $12.77. He asked if this will be the target for OCS. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said that will be the target. Commissioner porosin asked Todd Lofrese which employees CHCCS are being paid below this living wage. Todd Lofrese said he will get that information. Commissioner porosin said he would like to see that information. He would also like to see what the (CHCCS) contracted employees are being paid. He would like to see this information for all of the governmental entities. Commissioner McKee said he would like to see a break down between full time and part-time employees. Commissioner Rich asked if OCS has any contracted employees. Interim Superintendent Del Burns said yes Commissioner Rich said she would like to see that information as well. She said The Board of County Commissioners has had many discussions about making sure all employees, salaried and contracted, are being treated fairly. Chair Jacobs said Orange County can report information on its contracted employees as well, so that everyone is in the same boat. 5. Possible Bond Issuance for May 2016 or November 2016 Referendum Chair Jacobs said a large part of the impetus for discussing this was the older school facilities needs. He said this will not be bitten off in one bond issue, but it is time to get started. Clarence Grier reviewed the following background information: Background: In recent meetings over the past fiscal year, the Board of County Commissioners has discussed the need for a future bond referendum to fund some County and School long- range capital needs. This item was also discussed at the September 16 2014 County/School Collaboration Meeting. Due to recent changes enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly related to the dates in which a general obligation bond referendum can be held, a general obligation bond referendum can only be held on even numbered years. He said therefore, there are only two possible dates for the Board of County Commissioners to conduct a voter approved general obligation bond referendum — May 2016 and November 2016. If not held at one of these dates, a potential general obligation bond referendum can only be held in May 2018 or November 2018. Bob Jessup, Orange County Bond Counsel, and Orange County staff have provided a schedule with a brief timeline comparison related to both dates (Attachment a). The previous time that Orange County held a general obligation bond referendum was in November of 2001. The bond referendum totaled $75 million and the items included on the referendum were as follows: • School related projects totaling $47 million. • Parks and Recreation projects totaling $20 million • Senior Center projects totaling $ 4 million • Low and moderate income projects (Affordable Housing) totaling $4 million All of the individual items on the bond referendum passed in the November 2001 bond referendum. The total bond referendum passed with an average approval rate of approximately 55 percent. Additionally, some of the steps included in the process to prepare for the general obligation bonds referendum were as follows: 1. The Board of County Commissioners decided to proceed with a general obligation bond referendum. 2. The Board of County Commissioners formed and appointed members to a Capital Needs Task Force to make a recommendation as to the needs and components of the bond referendum (See Attachment b). 3. Once the components of the general obligation bond referendum were decided, the Board of County Commissioners appointed a Bond Education Committee to inform the public of the purpose of and the components of the general obligation bond referendum (Attachment c). Currently, the County and both School Districts (Chapel Hill— Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools) have capital projects that would be included as part of the general obligation bond referendum. Moreover, both school districts have older facility needs totaling approximately $330 million that could potentially be addressed in part with a general obligation bond referendum. At the September 11, 2014 Board of County Commissioners Work Session, the recommended sizing of the potential general obligation bond referendum was discussed at a range between $100 and $125 million over a period of 20 years. At current AAA municipal bond interest rates, the total combined debt service for $100 million is estimated to be $6.1.million annually. This would represent 4.00 cents on the current property tax rate. At current AAA municipal bond interest rates, the total combined debt service for $125 million is estimated to be $7.6 million annually. This would represent 4.67 cents on the current property tax rate. Future debt capacity for a potential general obligation bond referendum can increase or decrease due to the following circumstances: • Future increases or decreases in interest rates • Future changes or modifications to the capital investment plans of the County and or both School Districts (individually or collectively) • Future changes of a legislative or regulatory nature Clarence Grier said for the May 2016 date the process would need to start by August of 2015. He said for November 2016 date it would need to start around November or December of 2015. He noted that the dates and steps for this process are outlined in the attachments. Chair Jacobs asked about the ultimate tax impact Clarence Grier said the tax impact for $100 million would be 4 cents on the current tax rate, and $125 million would be 4.67 cents on the current tax rate. Andrew Davidson asked about the ability to use staggered borrowing if a bond is approved for a certain amount. Clarence Grier said this can be done. He said in previous meetings there was discussion of a bond schedule to initially issue $40 million, then an additional $35 million, followed by the final $35 million. He said this would be staggered over two year periods of time. He said this makes the debt service more affordable, so it does not have such a large impact on the budget each year. Commissioner McKee said this also staggers the tax increases. Clarence Grier said yes. He said the County has a Triple A bond rating, so rates are low. He said this will impact debt capacity and the debt service. He said a lot of debt service will be declining and being paid off as soon as the debt is issued and staggered. He said, depending on factors involved in selling the debt and paying off future debt, they will probably be able to issue another $100 million within 7 years after the first bond. Commissioner McKee said any tax increase associated with the bond would be above any normal tax increase driven by increase in budget. Clarence Grier said the tax increase would relate to just the debt service amounts. Commissioner Gordon asked if there is any thought about when the Board of County Commissioners should discuss which schedule needs to be followed. Bonnie Hammersley said based on the timelines, staff would come to the Board of County Commissioners to request a work session to discuss this. She said she and Clarence Grier are in contact with the schools as they move forward with this process. She said there is no recommendation set in stone. She said the difference will be the preference of the Board of Commissioners and the school boards. Chair Jacobs said the Board has not created the bond group yet. He said this has been discussed at their school collaboration meetings, and it will be a topic at the retreat. Commissioner Gordon said she raised this question because the economic climate is different now than from what it was in 2001, and more time may be needed to do the educational campaign. Commissioner Rich asked if the way the bond committee ran in 2001 was considered successful, or if there were any lessons learned. Chair Halkiotis said he was there in 2001, and he agrees with Commissioner Gordon. He said the process should start early regardless of the bond date that is chosen. Chair Jacobs said the 2001 process was successful, and the schools had a prominent voice at the table. He said there is no reason not to be cautious, as it is a different time, but he thinks people will get this. He said the Board would need a decision item in June 2015 to get the group started prior to the Board of County Commissioners Meeting in August 2015. Chair Jacobs noted that most of their bonds in the past have been driven by the schools. Chair Bedford said timing makes a big difference, but it is very difficult to plan until you know how much money you have to work with. She hopes the following presentation will help explain the dilemma. Todd Lofrese the Board has already received their report and approved the overall recommendations for the ten oldest facilities. He reviewed the following PowerPoint slides: CHCCS Older Facilities Summary • Older schools need significant investments • Recommendations — Fix aging infrastructure issues — Bring older schools to OC standard — Address safety and security — Increase capacity and delay new schools — Delays operational increases • Timing is important • Continued collaboration Facilities Assessment Recommendation and Differed Cost of New Schools • Recommendations increase student capacity as follows: • Carrboro Elementary + 52 • Ephesus +137 • Estes Hills + 58 • Seawell +119 • Lincoln Center Pre K +189 Total Elementary +555 • CHHS +105 • Total +660 Facilities Assessment Recommendation and Differed Cost of New Schools $160.8 mil Cost of Recommendation ($34.5)Budgeted Cost of New Elementary School (delayed beyond 10 years) ($23.1)Budgeted Cost of High School Addition (delayed beyond 10 years) $103.2 mil Net Cost of Recommendation Timing is Critical • Consider bond schedule, SAPFO, and construction timeline — Discussing a May or November 2016 bond — We expect to approach 105% LOS at elementary level in 2019 — Current CIP shows funding in 2018-19 for Elementary School #12 — Planning, design, regulatory reviews, and construction take 2-3 years (applies to major renovations and new schools) — If we must wait for bond approval to begin design and renovations: • Capacity relief may not be achieved until 2019 • Phasing will be more complex and expensive as we become more crowded • We may miss the window to delay new schools Timing is Critical Requested $750K in preliminary renovation planning funding Completing one project will delay #12 by two years Todd Lofrese noted that the expenses for Elementary 12 and the Carrboro High School addition are included in the ten year CIP, but if the recommended projects were completed, these expenses could be pushed off. Chair Jacobs said it has been stated that if the legislature keeps doing what it is doing, there may be more students per classroom. He asked how this affects the levels of service and the calculations. Todd Lofrese said the current funding formulas and requirements have class size caps on grades K -3, but they still allow flexibility in grades 4-12. He said if changes occur to these numbers, it could impact the timing need of new schools. He said Morris Grove is an excellent example of that. Chair Jacobs asked if anyone is doing any worst case scenario planning. Todd Lofrese said he has not been doing any facility planning around this scenario, but he has been watching it from a funding perspective for teacher positions. He said the initial blow would be to the staffing levels. Commissioner Gordon said anything that either school district can do to facilitate this planning for renovations at the older schools would be appreciated. She is very enthusiastic about this and she applauds the progress. Chair Halkiotis said Interim Superintendent Del Burns and staff are looking at planning moneys that could be used in moving ahead. Pam Jones said OCS is more focused on the secondary level for new facilities. She said there is funding in 2016-17 for the wing for Cedar Ridge High school, and this would also benefit from early planning, as it will likely take 2 years. She said their needs may be on a different level than CHCCS, but they are very similar. Michelle Brownstein said she would request that the planning include discussion of how to logistically manage moving children and doing so many different facilities. She said there is an urgency to this, and the more proactive planning that can be done the better. They need to get money to plan the renovations soon. Otherwise it will be too late to do renovations and increase capacity at the older schools and they will need to go ahead and build new schools. She said planning cannot be limited to retreats and the date of the next joint meeting. She said this is way too late. She said they need to be very intentional about their planning. She said the public relations needs to focus on how this is going to affect every child in Orange County. Chair Jacobs said he already hears requests from both districts for next year's budget, which will come a year before the bond. He said the Board will expect some proposals as part of the budget process. Michelle Brownstein questioned whether this timing will be sufficient. She said this may be too late. Chair Jacobs said the manager and superintendents can take these discussions forward. Commissioner McKee noted that this is Commissioner Gordon's last joint meeting with the school boards after 24 years of service. He said this longevity deserves a round of applause. Commissioner Gordon was given a standing ovation. A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Price to adjourn the meeting at 8:59 p.m. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board