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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-29-2001-3ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: January 29, 2001 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Community College Task Force Report and Financial Information DEPARTMENT: County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No County Manager ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Moses Carey, Jr. Community College Task Force Report John Link, ext. 2300 Community College Financial Information TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To give the BOCC the opportunity to continue discussions on the Community College Task Force report, the financial considerations associated with an Orange County satellite community college campus, and other related issues. BACKGROUND: The BOCC received the Community College Task Force report during November of last year. The Task Force report recommended to the Orange County Board of Commissioners that a satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College be established in Orange County. A satellite. campus would: ? serve the more than 6500 residents who take one or more classes at a community college each year, and ? offer a gateway to the future for residents by providing a more comprehensive, centralized location for adult training and education services in the County. The BOCC later received some additional financial information related to a satellite community college campus in Orange County. A copy of the Task Force report and the financial information is attached for reference purposes. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Although there is no immediate financial impact associated with further discussion on a potential satellite community college campus, it should be noted that the General Assembly has earmarked $4,000,000 for an Orange County Satellite Campus of Durham Technical Community College that would have to be matched, dollar-for-dollar, with local funds. Some possibilities for local funding include general obligation bonds, installment financing, earmarking of additional dedicated pay-as-you-go revenues, in-kind expeditures, and contributions from the Towns and local businesses. . 2 RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board further discuss a potential community college campus in Orange County and provide direction to staff on.future steps. DRAFT _ Report of the Community College Task Force November 21, 2000 The Community College Task Force has met four times since March 2000. Reports from earlier task forces and information from area community colleges have been reviewed. Focus group sessions have been held to determine the interest of the citizens of Orange County in establishing a satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College. After several months of research the Task Forcerecommends to the Orange County Board of Commissioners that a satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College be established in Orange County. A satellite campus would: ? serve the more than 6500 residents who take one or more classes at a community college each year, and ? offer a gateway to the future for residents by providing a more comprehensive, centralized location for adult training and education services in the County The Community College Task Force recommends that the satellite campus be located in the central part of the County in order to serve all residents. The ideal site for a satellite campus would be: ? Close to an interstate highway ? 20 acres or more for current needs and future growth ? Near businesses or a business park ? In neutral territory ? Located in a safe, well-lighted area ? Near public facilities (utilities) ? Near good roads ? Possibly near public transportation ? Accessible to fiber optic lines The Community College Task Force reviewed earlier reports to the Board of County Commissioners along with. statistics and other information from Durham Technical Community College and other community colleges in surrounding counties. Focus group sessions were held and their input was used in developing this report. The focus groups included: ? Skills Development Center Clients ? The Economic Development Commission ? Currently Enrolled Community College Students ? Senior Citizens from Chapel Hill and Hillsborough ? Members of the Hillsborough-Orange County Chamber of Commerce ? Orange County High School Students ? Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools High School Students, and ? Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Teachers and Support Staff 4 Three reports which the Board of County Commissioners have previously reviewed were examined. The three are: ? The report of the Skills Development Board that resulted in establishing the Skills Development Center in Chapel Hill, ? The 1996 update of the Economic Development Commission's Strategic Plan, and ? The documents produced to date by the Shaping Orange County's Future Task Force Each of these reports addressed the need for accessible and affordable training and educational services for adults in the county, with a focus on increasing the ability of county residents to get and keep jobs. The Skills Development Board also suggested attention be given to offering currently employed residents training opportunities to enable them to upgrade skills for higher paying jobs. The CCTF's research into information available from the community colleges resulted in the following findings: ? Orange County is the highest populated county in North Carolina without a community college campus - either a main campus or a satellite campus ? A total of 6,509 Orange County residents registered for classes at North Carolina community colleges in 1998-99. ? 2,561 registered in college credit classes ? 3,948 registered in non-credit classes • adult basic education • adult high school diploma • English as a second language • GED preparatory • occupational extension • community service, and • customized training for business and industry ? A total of 2,327 Orange County residents registered for classes at Durham Technical Community College in the Fall of 1999 ? 22 percent of the college's Fall 1999 enrollment resided in Orange- County ? 1,041 Orange County residents registered at neighboring community colleges in the fall of 1999 ? 902 registered at Alamance Community College ? 26 registered at Central Carolina Community College, and ? 113 registered at Piedmont Community College ? DTCC offers community college instruction at more than 40 locations in Orange County ? Multiple locations without a centralized office in the county have led to fragmented support for Orange County community college students ? More than 600 DTCC classes have been offered in Orange County since 1995, with 135 of these offered in Orange County in 1999 ? DTCC personnel work 'closely with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools personnel to offer programming for high school students, to train for teacher assistants and teachers, and to define the types of skills students need for the workplace and for pursuing higher education ? N.C. community colleges complement economic development by offering customized training to new and existing business and industry ? N.C. community colleges offer an affordable alternative for post-secondary education and training •' Counties have statutory responsibility for developing and maintaining facilities for a community college campus in the county ? • State bond funding that might be available for construction of a building will have to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the county ? DTCC, the Orange County Schools, and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools have strong partnerships that have resulted in:. ? high school students taking college classes through DTCC ? the educational institutions developing articulation plans between high school and DTCC curricula, and ? local business and industry participating in job readiness skills awareness for high school students and teachers ? Cooperative and collaborative programming between the public schools and DTCC would grow with college staff located in closer proximity to schools personnel A diverse group of residents met in focus groups during the summer and early fall. A member of the Community College Task Force facilitated each group. A total of 148 residents filled out questionnaires and/or participated in conversations during the process. High school students from both school systems, currently enrolled community college students, welfare recipients, business owners and employers, school 'system personnel and senior citizens shared their knowledge of current community college offerings in the County and their thoughts on the establishment of a permanent satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College. A spreadsheet detailing the responses and comments of the focus group participants is included in Appendix A of this report. A summary of their responses to a questionnaire completed by all participants is included. below: ? The 148 respondents included 92 females and 51 males who ranged in age from 14 to older than 65 (five individuals did not complete the question about gender) 46 Seventeen high school or community college students were included along with 10 retired individuals ? Sixty-four were employed full-time, 20 were employed part-time and 22 did not respond to the question about employment status (fifteen indicated they were unemployed) ? Seventy-six of the 148 respondents had previously taken classes offered by community colleges headquartered in Durham, Alamance, Guilford, Cumberland, Lee or Iredell Counties ? Ninety-six, or 64.9%, of the respondents indicated they were likely or very likely to take advantage of community college programming if it were to be offered in the County Another 33 said they might take advantage of a community college satellite campus. The respondents (148) indicated the following groups of people would be most likely to participate in programming at a community college satellite campus in the County: ? recent high school graduates (95) ? those seeking to upgrade skills for jobs (112) ? those seeking to improve basic skills in reading, math and writing (83) ? retirees and senior citizens (76) ? those seeking continuing education for current jobs (78) ? non-native English speaking people (78) •;• welfare recipients (53), and ? others (17). In considering a convenient distance for travel to a satellite campus, there were 148 responses. Some individuals chose more than one possibility. They are listed below: ? 110 indicated they would be willing to travel 10 miles or less to the site, and ? Forty-seven said they would be willing to travel 15 miles In response to the question about the kind of transportation, the majority of the 148, specifically 110, would drive to the satellite campus, while 12 would need public transportation, and 19 indicated they had no preference for a mode of transportation for accessing a satellite campus. Focus group participants expressed interest in the following types of classes: computer, foreign language, [teacher] certification renewal, college transfer, heavy equipment operation, arts and crafts, health/medical, computer network administration, solar energy, business, cooking, physiology, computer software, English, science, math, nursing, biotechnology, counseling, interior design, reading, creative writing, senior legal .issues, early childhood, real estate, secretarial, entrepreneurship, veterinary, public speaking, Latin American studies, teaching ESL, general education, horticulture, parks and recreation, photography and small engine repair. Based on the research, the CCTF has reason to believe comprehensive services offered at a Durham Technical Community College. satellite campus in the County will provide for: ? more classes ? a greater variety of class offerings ? career and academic counseling ? academic assessment ? academic support services ? computer laboratories ? registration financial aid counseling ? library resources, etc.; and ? additional in-county community college staff to answer questions and guide citizens interested in improving themselves. o v F •.• N o, ?O 'n ?o n Zo -- ?n ?n cn M r1 -- v1 rn M w , n ao n 0o n M ?n n oo ?o cn ?° n -• N rn , C M N N a0 ? M d ?„? M N N M Vl N n ao n en d ? N ? U ? OS b N ct b N M M N N N %0 "O eo iv M V5 M v'? N ?-•• n ? --• ?O ?o .-. ?° ?. 4 N n N O` n -- N co o -- M n •-- Q ?. d4 O x • y v? oo v 00. v ?o N ° n %D -- v 00 w .?G 7ato SC?a U ~• n o0 C 4 Q W t ? U V N W w . N M er v l - O+ 00 O? O? N ? It n v? C W F ?. 45 en ti •? 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' a.. y ~ -+ L d N to U rA ?t ?A U n v7j Q a ro ? v ? C/] CQ L4 .'T. xiH ? O ? v W ? '..' ? CUC]] yy.. Wl ?j o ^ ? o - G xz wv? wU , zz? c?b C7 6n O ;> r?'n H 6 c h rn X ? ' .. Ca A w° x v ? ? ^ Q N ? N N N ? b N CJ .-. N ' ? ? UCCA d 6 w N v y d ? ? G ? w N . U H U u? . rr ?" ao ? n? d P: ? ai v? GC O C W w Z c Q ? w ?' q ? ? ,?« ? ?a ° Q C7 w r? 0 91; w 9 ORANGE COUNTY BUDGET OFFICE Donna Dean, Budget Director 208 South Cameron Street, Post Office Box 8181 • Hillsborough, NC • 27278 Phone: 919-245-2151 • Fax: 919-644-3324 E-Mail: ddean@co.orange.nc.us To: John Link, County Manager From: Donna Dean, Budget Director Subject: Update on Local Match for Community College Satellite Campus Date: January 9, 2001 Orange County is the highest populated county in North Carolina without a main or satellite community college campus. As a way to address this point, $4 million was included in the recent voter approved . State bond referendum to construct a satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College in Orange County. On November 21, 2000, the Commissioners received a report from the Board appointed Community College Task Force. In summary, the report provided the following information: • There is much community interest from citizens and businesses to locate a campus in Orange County; • An estimated 20 acres or more will be required for a 30,000 to 40,000 square foot facility; • Special consideration should be given to locating the proposed facility in close proximity to an interstate highway and,. if possible, near businesses or business parks; • In order to receive the State bond funds, Orange County is required to provide a match of $4 million; • Once the planned facility is completed and is ready for operation, the County will be responsible for annual. operating expenses for particular functions. Upon receiving the report, members of the Board requested that staff provide additional information related to the County's match of the State bond funds and anticipated impacts on future operating budgets once a facility is complete. I recently met with Barbara Baker, Vice President of Administrative and Support Services for DTCC and Cynthia Carter, and the Community .College's Chief Financial Officer to discuss these items. Options for Orange County's $4 Million Construction Match In order to receive the $4 million bond funds, Orange County must provide matching funds of $4 million. The County has several options in providing this match: • Local Bond Funds -- As the Board plans for the possible November 2001 bond referendum, it is possible to include some portion of the match in the funding package. 10 -2- January 10, 2001 Donations -- The Commissioners can pursue either land or monetary donations from private and public sources. For example, a developer may offer to donate a site for the campus and the value of the land can be considered as matching funds. Special Legislative Funds --- The Board may wish to pursue an appropriation of special funds from- the General Assembly to offset the match. Impact on Future County Operating Budgets Community college funding requirements for local governments is very similar to those for local school districts. While the State furnishes instructional and support personnel and supplies for community colleges, counties provide staff and operating funds to maintain and improve buildings and property. Examples of such expenditures include building and grounds maintenance, clerical assistance, building and property security, utilities and telephone, property, liability and workers compensation insurance. In addition, counties must appropriate capital outlay monies to the satellite campus. Examples of capital outlay expenditures include building renovations and vehicles for maintenance staff. As stated earlier, the County has a responsibility to fund staff for maintenance of buildings and property; however, these positions are not County or State employees. Instead, locally funded community college staff are employees of the community college and function under community college personnel guidelines as governed. by the college's Board of Trustees. As a point of reference for the Board, DTCC has a satellite campus located in northern Durham County. The approved appropriation from Durham County for operations at the satellite campus for the current fiscal year is around $500,000. In addition, there are additional funds for appropriated for capital outlay. It is likely that the size- of our campus will be similar to the one located in northern Durham. Next Steps One of the next steps for the Board is to provide DTCC with formal notification of its intent to proceed with locating a satellite campus in Orange County. At that time, DTCC will request approval of the proposal from the State Board of Community Colleges. The next steps can happen simultaneously following the State's official approval: • Pursuit of matching site and construction funds; • Public forums for community input; • Identification of site; • Facility planning and programming and selection of an architect. As we move forward in this process and additional information becomes available, I will update you.