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8 <br />a crowd of new homebuyers. She asked that all people who support increased <br />fees assessed on a sliding scale to stand up and also those who support <br />planning that deals with the impact on the schools to stand up to show the <br />overwhelming support by the audience. She asked that the Board stand with <br />them and set substantial realistic impact fees, require developers to take <br />responsibility for the schools that they impact, form an assembly of <br />governments to plan for the future of schools, and provide for a school system <br />that grew by 17~. <br />JUDY MARGOLIS said that the overcrowding in the schools is seriously <br />compromising their children's education. The average homeowner pays $3,094 <br />in water and sewer hookup. She asked that the Board help with creative <br />solutions. <br />BARBARA DONDIADIO, parent of a child at Seawell Elementary School, said <br />her concern is with the overcrowding and its effects on the quality of <br />education. She stressed the need for quick planning for more school expansion <br />and the Board's visionary leadership. <br />DEBBIE WAHLEN, mother of two young children and active in the PTA and <br />a member of the SOS Steering Committee, stated that children are the very <br />future of this community. SOS strongly believes in the value of quality <br />public school education and will work hard to ensure that the community <br />continues to support its schools. She asked that the Board increase the <br />impact fee and begin planning for the three major construction projects -- a <br />new elementary school, a new middle school and a major addition to the high <br />school. She feels that impact fees alone cannot pay for the schools. SOS <br />feels that growth will occur and they urge all government officials to work <br />together to insure that growth is well managed and that mechanisms are in <br />place to insure that the infrastructure keeps pace with growth. They believe <br />that schools are the most important part of this infrastructure. The <br />reputation of good schools is one of the key factors driving new residential <br />development. <br />JIM ROSE, parent of two children and a tutor, stated that most children <br />he tutors are doing rather well. What they need is individual attention and <br />they are not getting it because the classes are too large. It seems to him <br />that a reasonable approach when trying to raise extra money to put more <br />teachers in more classrooms is to raise the impact fee. <br />NANCY SALMON pointed out that one quick fix is that the impact fee does <br />not need to be the same in both school districts. The impact fee needs to <br />reflect the need which is greater in Chapel Hill than it is in Orange County. <br />She said that the impact fee could be left at $750.00 for Orange County <br />Schools and increased for Chapel Hill-Carrboro to $3,000. This is an <br />emergency and must be addressed with the mechanisms available. <br />ALLEN BELCH, member of Putting Children First, said that there is a <br />crowding problem in the schools. The overcrowding situation was addressed <br />last year with a redesign option that PCF put forth to both the School Board <br />and the County Commissioners. This option would have delayed the building of <br />a new high school and redistributed those funds to expand the existing school <br />