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school in the whole wide world, it is only five minutes from our home. Not only does <br />Eric feel that he has the best teachers in the whole wide world, it is only five minutes <br />from our home. Can you hear me now? Because our school is so close, we, as well as <br />many of our neighbors, have spent countless hours participating and volunteering our <br />time at school. Why am I here speaking tonight? Quite frankly, I don't want Eric on a <br />bus for 45 minutes to an hour, when our beloved school is only five minutes down the <br />road. If merger were to occur, I can envision a massive redistricting plan, with busses <br />crisscrossing the County. Bussing is a big issue for parents, and I for one, would like to <br />know, if you vote for merger, where are the children going to be bussed. I don't want to <br />know after the fact, I want to know now. To use an analogy, it's as if we all agree to <br />build a house somewhere in the County, but no one will tell you how many bedrooms it <br />will have, no one will tell you how many bathrooms it will have, no one can tell you for <br />sure how much it will cost, and best of all, no one can tell you where it will be. And for <br />what? Both Orange County School district and Chapel Hill School district are excellent <br />school districts. In fact, Orange County has done well despite the lack of funding. I am <br />here because Orange County School district should receive all the funding it needs, but <br />I don't feel that merger is the only solution. Bigger is not better. I would venture to say <br />that most parents in both districts want autonomy for their district. I feel we should <br />negotiate a compromise that is a win-win for everyone. This should include the <br />following: 1) increasing the funding for Orange County School district either with a <br />district tax or some other creative mechanism with permanence and increased <br />collaboration between the two school boards. Let's make both districts even better than <br />they are. I realize that you haven't even voted on the issue yet, but if you should vote <br />for a merger, please remind us what the benefits are for our children before we send <br />them off on a long bus ride. Thank you. <br />Vince Wingate: Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is <br />Vince Wingate and I have two children in Chapel Hill schools. Many of the points have <br />been covered, so I won't go over them, but the thing that's infuriated me with this whole <br />thing, is the process that's totally undemocratic. I'm amazed that this would happen in <br />Orange County of all places. This is totally illogical. The County Commissioners are <br />hiding behind the State law, in my opinion, and especially, I'm sorry to say, Moses <br />Carey. The Commissioners should work to change the State law so that the people can <br />decide what is best for our community and children. A number of things have been said <br />like, "Why can't the County vote if they want to have higher taxes?" I mean, that's the <br />democratic process. We're just throwing it out with the bath water. I thank you. <br />Camille Webster: Good evening, my name is Camille Webster and I'm Student Body <br />Treasurer at Chapel Hill High. It's obvious that both school districts have their own <br />strengths. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district has a strong focus on AP <br />classes, while the Orange County district has a strong backing in international <br />baccalaureate courses. How do you propose to merge these two very different <br />programs and still keep both of their strengths? Is it possible to have both programs at <br />all schools? Thank you. <br />