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improve, we trust that management will not only take into consideration these sacrifices but also inflation when considering any future employee pay and benefits. In summary, management, employees, and the ERC can continue to work together to reach consensus on County issues including the Archer Study that are mutually beneficial to all parties. Sincerely, The Members of the Employee Relations Consortium Deborah Gast is current president of CHCCS Association of Educators and she spoke in support of increasing the local budget for schools in Orange County from 48.1% to 48.4%. She said that this increase is necessary due to State budget cuts and to maintain the high quality of education that they have to come to know. Elliot Darrow is a sophomore at Carrboro High School. He spoke in support of the arts wing at Carrboro High School. He said that this wing is just an idea now, but everyone wants to make it a reality. He said that he came to Carrboro High School hoping to help build a drama department from the ground up. He said that Carrboro High School will be receiving far more freshmen next year, bringing it over the capacity of 800 students to 850 students or more. He said that the weight room has had to be converted into a band room, a CTE room into a chorus room, and a storage closet into a tech room. He said that it is a stretch to use these rooms as classrooms. He said that, with the proper facilities at Carrboro High School, this will be a school that the district can be proud of. He urged the County Commissioners to think about the overcrowding and the arts. He urged the County Commissioners to take steps to finish building the school. Matthew Browning is a sophomore at Carrboro High School. He spoke in support of the arts wing. He said that he is in drama and band, so he has a unique opinion on this. He said that there are many negative effects of not having an arts wing. He said that he wants to finish what was begun in 2007. Amy Martin-Jewett spoke in support of the Carrboro High School arts wing. She said that she is a mother and taxpayer and her youngest is a rising 71h grader at Culbreth. Her husband is a teacher's assistant to the special populations at Phillips Middle School. She said that her main concern is that her youngest son has Asperger's Disorder and will be going to Carrboro High School. She said that, for the first time, this year he has had access to the theater program at Culbreth and this has been the best year of his academic career. Participation in this program has helped him behaviorally, academically, and socially. She thinks that it is important that the school build this arts wing as soon as possible. Allen Spalt said that he has confidence in the Board of County Commissioners' ability to balance the budget but he is here tonight about the proposed closing of the branch libraries. He said that eliminating some small programs may not be a good cut. He said that the branch library in Carrboro is highly leveraged in a positive way. There have been lots of volunteer hours, private donations, and foundation grants for the library. He said that the hours are already too short and even a small reduction would be felt. He is outraged about plans to permanently close it and disperse the collection. He said that this is a slap in the face for those who have worked so hard to support the library. He said that also disturbing was the quote from the County Manager in the Carrboro Citizen: "If you want to do a branch library, you have to do it right." He said that the County has not yet done right by the Carrboro library. Its collection should be moved, but to a free-standing building in town. He said that library services are needed now more than ever. He asked the Board to reconsider.