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5 <br /> 1 these dishes offer only national programming. , He also mentioned that <br /> 2 the telephone companies are currently involved in litigation <br /> 3 requesting permission to transmit TV on their lines. Telephone <br /> 4 companies are likely to begin merging with the cable companies. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Commissioner Insko requested that information be gathered on <br /> 7 communities where cable companies are in competition with each other. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 A motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by <br /> 10 Commissioner Insko, to approve the Cable TV Franchise Renewal Process <br /> 11 with the understanding that dates for certain steps may be revised. <br /> 12 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 13 <br /> 14 B. CHAPEL HILL/CARRBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT--PLANS FOR NEW <br /> 15 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL <br /> 16 This item was presented by John Link for the purpose of <br /> 17 considering the amount of financing the Board of Commissioners will <br /> 18 seek for the proposed Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools elementary <br /> 19 school. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System would like to <br /> 20 secure construction bids for this project by November, 1994, with <br /> 21 completion of the facility for the summer of 1996, for opening in the <br /> 22 1996-97 school year. The General Assembly has authorized Orange <br /> 23 County to secure installment financing for new school construction <br /> 24 using certificates of participation (COPS) or private placement. The <br /> 25 procedures required by the Local Government Commission for both types <br /> 26 of financing are similar, although COPS can take up to one additional <br /> 27 month to receive the funds, and issuance costs are higher than private <br /> 28 placements. Private placement financing issuance cost is lower, but <br /> 29 the County is limited to a maximum amount of $10 million of tax-exempt <br /> 30 debt using this financing mechanism. Once the Board of Commissioners <br /> 31 determines the amount to be borrowed for the construction of this <br /> 32 school, securing the financing will take approximately two months. <br /> 33 The Board must first adopt a resolution authorizing staff to proceed <br /> 34 with the financing request for proposal (RFP) process. <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Superintendent Neil Pedersen commented on the need, size and <br /> 37 design, cost and funding strategies for the proposed school. The <br /> 38 capacity of the six elementary schools is 3150, excluding mobile <br /> 39 classrooms, Enrollment in the elementary schools stands at 3662 today <br /> 40 and is projected to increase to 3931 by 1996-97. There are 19 mobile <br /> 41 classrooms on the elementary campuses at this time. He indicated that <br /> 42 if more space were available, schools would reallocate funds to reduce <br /> 43 class size. At the present time, it is not an option for schools to <br /> 44 decrease class size. The school size was determined by a committee <br /> 45 composed primarily of professional educations in the district. They <br /> 46 defined the activities in which students and staff engage in an <br /> 47 effective school so that the architects could design a facility to <br /> 48 meet these needs. The original recommendation was for the facility to <br /> 49 have 150,000 sq. feet. This figure was reduced to a final number of <br /> 50 98,000 sq. ft. The basic need for teachers to organize their <br /> 51 classrooms around learning centers or stations was an important part <br /> 52 of the design. Kindergarten and first grade rooms consist of six to <br /> 53 eight centers, each designed to teach different concepts and to draw <br /> 54 upon different dimensions of intelligence. Also, classrooms must be <br /> 55 able to accommodate a combination of adult instructors, including a <br />