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<br />VICKI BOYER, President of the McDougle Middle School PTA, feels that <br />it is time for everyone to prepare for the growth that is here and is coming. <br />She feels that whatever needs to be done should be done. She feels that new <br />buildings are needed. Lincoln Center cannot be used because it has asbestos <br />that would need to be removed. Other schools are running out of land on which <br />to put trailers. The PTA at McDougle would prefer to see the establishment <br />of a governmental mechanism that ties approval of new development to the <br />availability in the schools. They support the increase in the impact fee. <br />SAMUEL HOLTON, former member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board, <br />said that 1000 homes will provide $1,000,000 in impact fees with the fee set <br />at $1,000 per dwelling. Anew elementary school to serve the 500-600 children <br />these 1,000 homes would produce will cost $12,000,000. Therefore, he feels <br />the sliding scale is the best way to administer the impact fee. He feels that <br />the capacity for new elementary schools should be 400-550 -- not 600. He <br />noted that when the new elementary school opens, the system will still be two <br />elementary schools short. He feels that overcrowding means less space for <br />other activities, including tutoring. <br />WAYNE PARRISH, representative of the Homebuilders Assoc. of Durham and <br />Orange Counties, said that they are concerned about good schools as well as <br />affordable housing. The Association feels that the fee is unreasonable and <br />is actually a tax. He asked that the County Commissioners look at other <br />alternatives. He mentioned HB502 which will pass the burden of growth to the <br />entire community. <br />JACK IMPERIALE, builder with two children in the school system said he <br />is in support of a better school system but not in support of increasing the <br />impact fee. What is needed is a larger commercial tax base. Of the last five <br />homes he sold, only one had children, although all had to pay the impact fee. <br />He asked that the Board look at HB502 which would put the burden on the entire <br />community. <br />WOODY CLARIS spoke as a representative of the Homebuilders Association. <br />He feels the tax discriminates because this fee is passed on to the <br />homebuyers. He feels the cost should be paid by all citizens through property <br />tax or sales tax. He agrees that commercial development needs to be brought <br />into this community. <br />JOHN REINHARD, parent of three children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro <br />district, asked that the elected officials plan wisely, spend money wisely and <br />be honest in how monies are generated. The problems are difficult and the <br />answers are not easy but the County cannot afford the same old solutions but <br />must go beyond the more money answers. He asked that Chapel Hill-Carrboro <br />schools use zero-based budgeting, turn the day-to-day operations over to the <br />school governance councils, and turn the former Lincoln High back to a school, <br />if only for a short while. He feels that the reason they are out of money is <br />not that they are taxed too little but that the local school board spends too <br />much. <br />GLORIA FALEY, member of SOS with two children in the schools, <br />emphasized that the district has a reputation for good schools and is drawing <br />