Minutes 04-27-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chair Foushee said that Commissioner Yuhasz's statement is a reality statement. She said that what everyone is facing is a gloomy situation. She said that last year they talked about doing more with less and they can no longer do this. Now they must do less. She said that, just like the school boards, the County will need to implement efficiencies. The people in the County cannot pay more taxes. She said that the County Commissioners are thinking not only of the children, but also their parents. She said that there has to be a way to make Orange County an affordable place to live, because if people cannot pay the taxes then they cannot live in Orange County. Many people that have lived in Orange County all of their lives now do not know if they can stay here because of the taxes. Commissioner Jacobs said that if the per-pupil and the students are the most important thing, then the capital is not. He said that if holding onto the capital is that important that the school board is willing to risk cutting the per-pupil, then that is a decision that the school board will have to make. He said that he has urged the school boards to take the capital and use it for the children. The facilities will suffer, but the school boards need to decide on their top priority. Everyone will have to make tough choices. Michelle Brownstein said that she hopes that the Board of County Commissioners will use the scalpel approach as opposed to an arbitrary percentage cut. She said that, in reference to capital issues, that is an area the school board cannot cut into. It is a point of health and safety at this point with some of the facilities. Commissioner Gordon agreed that there are some health and safety needs with the older schools, such as air quality and hazardous materials. Frank Clifton said that the County is going through a difficult process and there is not a service that Orange County delivers today that will not be affected negatively by budget reductions. He said that he is going to recommend cutting programs and reducing County staff and there will be no salary increases. He said that he thinks it will take about four years from now to get back to where they used to be financially. He said that he will bring the Board of County Commissioners a balanced budget, and he would support the schools moving capital to operating expenses, if needed. He said that the 48.1% has always been a target, but it is usually more than 48.1% that the County funds the schools. Mia Burroughs said that they need to speak about Elementary School # 11. Ted Triebel said that he appreciated the comments from Commissioner Yuhasz and Chair Foushee and their honesty about the financial situation. He said that they do recognize what is coming down the pike and the sooner they get to work on this the better. He asked the Commissioners to please get the budget information to the school boards as soon as possible. Chair Foushee said that the Board of County Commissioners has not had the discussion yet about Elementary School #11 due to other budget concerns. Commissioner Hemminger said that the debt payments for the County go up next year, and there is also a reduction in revenues. She said that fiscally the County cannot do Elementary#11. Frank Clifton said that the debt limit for the County is 15% and is non-negotiable as far as the bonding agencies go. He said that the lack of other revenue sources in this County is the Achilles heel. If it were not for the food tax, Orange County would be one of the lowest in the State for sales tax collections. Gregory McElveen said that the schools are being asked to increase their achievements by the public so they are putting pressure on teachers to do this better. He said that the Board of Education is getting pressure from the community to do more for the students. Debbie Piscitelli said that they are here as advocates for the educational needs of the students. She said that they as a BOE are aware of the situations of the families because in Orange County, 45% of their students have free or reduced lunches.