HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-10-2006 - 10aORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 10, 2006
Action Agenda
Item No. ~Q-q
SUBJECT: Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) -Review of Annual
Technical Advisory Committee Report
DEPARTMENT: Manager/Budget/Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S):
Draft SAPFOTAC Annual Report
(under separate cover)
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rod Visser, 919-245-2308
Donna Dean-Coffey, 245-2151
Craig Benedict, 245-2592
PURPOSE: To review the Annual Report of the SAPFO Technical Advisory Committee
(SAPFOTAC) and refer it to the SAPFO partners for comments before certification in mid-May.
BACKGROUND: In accordance with Orange County's Schools Adequate Public Facilities
Ordinance (SAPFO), each year both school districts certify their November 15 actual student
membership and school capacities for Board of Commissioner approval. At the January 24,
2006 BOCC meeting, the Board approved the November 15, 2005 actual student membership
and previously adopted capacity numbers far both Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel
Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS).
In conjunction with those certifications, the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance
Technical Advisory Committee (SAPFOTAC) is tasked to produce an annual report for the
governing boards of each SAPFO partner outlining changes in actual membership, capacity,
student projections, and their collective impacts on the future issuance of Certificates of
Adequate Public Schools (CAPS). The SAPFOTAC is comprised of representatives of both
school systems and the Planning Directors of the County and Towns. Orange County's
Planning Staff compiles the information for the report, convenes a meeting of SAPFOTAC
representatives to discuss various aspects, and then prepares a draft report that is reviewed by
the SAPFOTAC.
A draft of the 2006 SAPFOTAC Report has been completed, has been reviewed by the
SAPFOTAC members, and is provided under separate cover to this abstract, The draft
SAPFOTAC report has been posted on the Orange County Planning Department's web site
(http://www.co.orange.nc.us/glanning/index.htm) along with larger-sized student projection
spreadsheets that are easier to read than the size contained within the report. A letter and the
Executive Summary of the report will be sent to all SAPFO partners after this April 10 BOCC
meeting advising them of the availability of the draft report and inviting comment.
Staff anticipate that the draft SAPFOTAC report will be brought back to the BOCC for
certification at the May 16, 2006 regular meeting..
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There are a number of implications arising from the draft SAPFOTAC report and some other
considerations of which report readers should be mindful:
• There was a total increase from the previous year of 288 students in CHCCS and 54
students in OCS.
• The School Collaboration Work Group (functioning as a 'Joint Action Committee' for the
purposes outlined in SAPFO) met in November 2005 to discuss Elementary level K-3 class
size reductions related to legislation from the North Carolina General Assembly.. The
Committee has recommended that capacity changes be implemented equally in both
school districts when the next elementary school opens, These legislative changes
reduced the average student/teacher ratio in grades Kindergarten through 3`d from 23:1 to
21:1.
• New projections show that a new elementary school (Elementary School #10) would need
to open in 2007-08 (the Elementary level of service (LOS) would be exceeded by 10
students in that year). However, in light of planning, construction, and funding timelines,
current plans provide for Elementary #10 to open in school year 2008-09,
• As a point of comparison, last year's student membership projections estimated that
Elementary School #10 would be needed in 2009-10, so the projected need for new
elementary space in CHCCS has been accelerated by two academic years,
• The projected overcapacity of 10 students at the Elementary level in CHCCS during 2007-
08 may lead to the suspension of the issuance of CAPS until Elementary #10 opens,
However, it is important to note that actual student increases in 2006 and 2007 may vary
from projections and may or may not push capacity over the adopted limits that could
create a temporary delay in the issuance of CAPS for new residential development..
• Implementation of the reduced class size ratio in 2008-09 (commensurate with the
opening of the next elementary school) will reduce capacity by 262 seats in CHCCS and
283 seats in OCS.
• This reduction in capacity results in the projected necessity of CHCCS Elementary School
#11 in 2011-12,
• Anew Elementary School in OCS is not anticipated to be needed in the next 10 years.
However, the SAPFOTAC report notes that development activity within the portion of the
City of Mebane that lies within Orange County has been significant in recent years.
• Because the City of Mebane is not a party to the SAPFO, CAPS are not required to be
issued by the local government prior to development approvals, At this time, there are
approximately 1,450 approved but undeveloped residential subdivision lots within the
portion of Mebane that lies within Orange County,
• Development of these lots is projected to generate approximately 365 additional students
(over the three school levels) at current student generation rates.
• It may be desirable to perform a study to determine if the adopted student generation rates
are accurate far dwellings within the City of Mebane because there are some reasons to
believe that development within Mebane may generate students at a greater rate,
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FINANCIAL IMPACT: Based on student growth projections included in the SAPFOTAC report,
CHCCS will need two new elementary schools (Elementary #10 to open in school year 2008-09
and Elementary #11 in school year 2011-12); Middle School #5 (school year 2012-13); and an
expansion to Garrboro High School (school year 2014-15). The report does not identify the
need for additional schools or classroom space in the Orange County Schools over the next ten
years, following the opening of Gravelly HiII Middle School for the 2006-07 school year.
Based on today's construction market prices, the total financial impact of constructing the new
schools could well exceed $120 million over the ten-year period. Additional ongoing facility
operating costs for the new schools would increase that number substantially.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board review the 2006
SAPFOTAC Annual Report, provide any comments to the Manager and staff, and direct staff to
solicit comments on the report from other SAPFO partners,