Orange County NC Website
2 <br />school projects and 1 cent for county projects. The Policy further <br />states, "However, there will be times when the County will be bound <br />fiscally and unable to achieve full funding. During those times, <br />Commissioners may find it necessary to depart from the Policy." <br />• To date, Commissioners have funded the equivalent of 2 cents for <br />schools recurring capital and no monies for County recurring capital. <br />• Long-Range Capital -supports school capital projects through the <br />County's Capital Investment Plan (CIP). Capital projects are funded <br />through a combination of State and local bonds, non-bond financing and <br />pay-as-you-go funding sources. Pay-as-you-go funding includes dedicated <br />half-cent sales tax revenues and property tax earmarked under the Board's <br />April 2007 Capital Funding Policy. The Capital Policy also allows for North <br />Carolina Public School Building Capital funds and School Construction <br />Impact Fees to offset School related debt service. Similar to Local Current <br />Expense funding, the amount of money counties allocate to long-range <br />capital expenditures is discretionary and varies from county to county. <br />• School Related Debt Service -repayment of principal and interest on <br />School related debt including general obligation bonds and private <br />placement loans. North Carolina statutes require counties to pay for <br />school related capital items such as acquisition and construction of <br />facilities. In instances where counties borrow monies to pay for such <br />items, the State mandates counties to repay the debt. The amount of <br />money counties borrow for school related projects is discretionary and <br />varies from county to county. <br />• Fair Funding -monies, split equally between the two school districts, to <br />offset costs of safety and health services such as School Resource <br />Officers and School Social Workers. The State does not mandate counties <br />to provide funding for these resources. <br />It is important to note, the 48.1 % target only includes funding for the items identified <br />above -current expense, recurring capital, long-range capital, school related debt service <br />and fair funding. It does not include additional non-mandated County financial support <br />Orange County Commissioners commits to schools. Examples of such appropriations <br />include supplementing state funding for school health nurses in order to staff each school <br />with at least one school health nurse. Funding for this contractual agreement between the <br />County Health Department and each school district is approximately $600,000 per year. <br />(This agreement/contract has been in place since 2001.) In addition, County departments <br />provide a number of services and programs to each school district. An example of such a <br />program is the Tobacco Cessation program operated through the Orange County Health <br />Department. The County also financially supports non-profit agencies such as <br />Communities in Schools that provide after school programs for middle school students. <br />During tonight's work session, the Boards of Education will present their approved FY <br />2009-10 operating budget to the Board of County Commissioners. <br />FY 2009-10 Prioritized School Capital Budget <br />