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disruptive, and we ask you to find solutions that work for everyone. There are dozens of people in both districts who stand ready to help you. Thank you very much. Judy Margolis: Good evening, thank you. Most of you already know me. I need to say that I feel that your investigation of a school merger ignores the best interests of the children and the families and the will of the majority of the citizens. Why not eliminate the disparity of the funding with a tax and ask the voters. I want to reiterate what many have already said. Rosemary Waldorf, our recent Mayor wrote recently, "I see uncertainties and obstacles. A scrunched timetable and a quick process are not what we are used to in Orange County. The County Commissioners require more time and process for decisions of lesser consequence than the rather drastic step of mandating merger, and in effect disbanding two duly effective, elected school boards." Rick Martinez of the News and Observer wrote, "How will students in a merged district benefit from the increased tax funds. I hope this question would be answered, but it wasn't. If these two systems were to merge, it's a good bet that the diversity would be lost. North Carolina does not need another homogenized mega school district. Merger is also not very democratic. If the need for increased funding of County schools is so overwhelming, it should be taken directly to the voters." Keith Cook, Chair of the Orange County School Board has said, "We can and should address the issues -the funding gap, higher student achievement -without merger." He proposed a countywide tax, increased gradually to accomplish his goals. Dr. Pederson, Superintendent of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools pointed out that the merged districts would require the County tax to increase by approximately 25%, an amount that can be expected to be not only unpopular, but a real financial hardship for many people. The disparities in the current funding would be hard to defend if they were a deliberate attempt to under educate a population of students. As you've heard repeatedly tonight, that is not the case. I want to ask you to support a solution that creates the opportunity to equalize funding with the two districts with flexibility, allow two of our highest performing and best financed school districts in this State to retain their unique and important identities, retain the school districts that can be most responsive to their constituents, and avoid the potential of major redistricting and distant student bus rides and commutes that will decrease the critical parental involvement that is so critical to students' success, and retain the authority for decision making in the hands of publicly elected school boards. Both districts' parents are involved in and proud of their children's schools, and parental involvement will suffer from a merger. We need to speak for the teachers; we need to hear from the children. And also, I really appreciate the students from Chapel Hill High that got up and spoke tonight. I'm impressed that 16, 17, and 18 year olds can stand up and speak, because for most of us, it's pretty overwhelming. Thank you. Stacy Lee: My name is Stacy Lee, and I am an Orange County Schools teacher and a parent of two Orange County Schools students. I've been a Hillsborough resident and a taxpayer in Orange County for 16 years. I have appealed to you several times during those years at the request of my superintendents, for more money. I often wondered if had crossed the line with my words. But tonight I come to you asking that you do that very thing -cross the line. Not only cross it, but erase it. Erase the line. This time for me, it is not all about money. You see, if it were all about money, I would be speaking