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2 <br />• <br />Per the April 2007 Commissioner approved County Capital Funding Policy, it is the intent of the Board of <br />County Commissioners to dedicate the equivalent of four cents on the annual ad valorem property tax to <br />funding recurring capital expenditures - 3 cents for school projects and 1 cent for county projects. The <br />Policy further states, "However, there will be times when the County will be bound fiscally and unable to <br />achieve full funding. During those times, Commissioners may find it necessary to depart from the <br />Policy." To date, Commissioners have funded the equivalent of 2 cents for schools recurring capital and <br />no monies for County recurring capital. <br />Long-Range Capital -supports school capital projects through the County's Capital Investment Plan <br />(CIP). Capital projects are funded through a combination of State and local bonds, NC bond financing <br />and pay-as-you-go funding sources. Pay-as-you-go funding includes dedicated half-cent sales tax <br />revenues and property tax earmarked under the Board's April 2007 Capital Funding Policy. The Capital <br />Policy also allows for North Carolina Public School Building Capital funds and School Construction <br />Impact Fees to offset School related debt service. Similar to Local Current Expense funding, the amount <br />of money counties allocate to long-range capital expenditures is discretionary and varies from county to <br />county. <br />School Related Debt Service -repayment of principal and interest on School related debt including <br />general obligation bonds and private placement loans. North Carolina statutes require counties to pay <br />for school related capital items such as acquisition and construction of facilities. In instances where • <br />counties borrow monies to pay for such items, the State mandates counties to repay the debt. The <br />amount of money counties borrow for school related projects is discretionary and varies from county to <br />county. <br />Fair Funding -monies, split equally between the two school districts, to offset costs of safety and health <br />services such as School Resource Officers and School Social Workers. The State does not mandate <br />counties to provide funding for these resources. <br />It is important to note, the 48.1 % target only includes funding for the items identified above -current <br />expense, recurring capital, long-range capital, school related debt service and fair funding. It does not <br />include additional non-mandated County financial support Orange County Commissioners commits to <br />schools. Examples of such appropriations include supplementing state funding for school health nurses <br />to staff each school with at least one school health nurse. Funding for this contractual agreement <br />between the County Health Department and each school district is approximately $600,000 per year. <br />(This agreement/contract has been in place since 2001.) In addition, County departments provide a <br />number of services and programs to each school district. An example of such a program is the Tobacco <br />Cessation program operated through the Orange County Health Department. The County also <br />financially supports non-profit agencies such as Communities in Schools that provide after school <br />programs for middle school students. <br />• <br />