Minutes 05-25-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ron Strom, Chairman of Triangle Land Conservancy, said that they are a six-county land trust that began in Orange County, and most of their funds come from Orange County. He said that they have played a leadership role in the creation and facilitation of New Hope Creek Park. He said that their mission is connecting Orange County citizens with public benefits of land conservation, including connection with nature, clean water, and air; production of local food and agricultural land uses; preservation of open space; and preserving of green infrastructure. He thanked them for their past contributions and he hopes the County Commissioners will fund their grant request this year. Bo Howes was with Triangle Land Conservancy and he said that they have a history of collaboration with Orange County. This year, the TLC will close on four projects totaling 800 acres in Orange County. Matt Zemun is the father of a first-grader in the dual language program. His son will be a kindergartener there next year. He spoke about the proposed cuts on the middle school side of this program. He said that dual language is one of the reasons why they moved to Chapel Hill. He said that this program has a small class size and the program remains strong. He said that if this is cut in middle school, then the students will lose their fluency and what they have worked for six years to achieve. He asked that this middle school program be kept in place. Catharine Cummer is a mother of school children and a regular volunteer. She said that they moved to Chapel Hill ten years ago for the school district. She asked the County Commissioners to accept the Manager's recommendation for the per-pupil and to fully fund the capital projects. She said that she would support a tax increase to ensure that schools are funded appropriately. She said that volunteers cannot necessarily step in to fill the void of budget cuts. Bill Melega is a father of three children in the county school system. He said that he has worked with other countries lately and he said that they try to keep funding at the best, even in the bad economic times. He said that education is the one area that needs support. He said that it is demoralizing year after year when funds are reduced and he implored the County Commissioners to solidly fund education. Kim Crooks Bassatt is a parent of school children. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the schools at the levels requested by the school board. She said that her family came here because of the schools from Los Angeles. She brought her business and her family to Chapel Hill only because of the schools. Krystal Lynes is the CHCCS PTA President. She said that the achievement gap in the schools should make them sick and many county services that serve this same population are being cut. She said that education research is clear that the achievement gap is closed by providing more direct instruction. She said that Durham and Chatham Counties are raising taxes to support education. Faith Nagar is a resident of Chapel Hill and has a son at East Chapel Hill High. She asked the County Commissioners to please keep the same budget numbers for both school systems as the past fiscal year. She said that if there are continued cuts to schools, the property values will decline, resulting in a lower tax base, which would hurt all current services. She asked the County Commissioners to please fund the schools. Bert Warski teaches at Chapel Hill High School. He said that strong communities are based on strong schools and he asked the County Commissioners to please increase funding for the schools. Neil Alderman is a native of Chapel Hill and was educated here. He spoke about the dual language program. His daughter is in one of those classes and he said that with the global economy, this is so important. He introduced his daughter, who spoke several phrases in Chinese. She said that if she did not continue the dual language program in middle school, she would have forgotten all that she had learned.