Orange County NC Website
37 <br />Public Education <br />1. Public School Construction and Community College Funding -Support legislation to <br />provide state assistance to meet public school and community college construction needs <br />caused by increased enrollment, mandated reduction in class size, and other factors <br />through a statewide referendum on a bond issue and/or through authority for counties to <br />raise additional revenues to meet facility needs, and to fund expansion budget requests of <br />the community college system to meet demands resulting from increased enrollment and <br />to train and retrain workers responding to a changing economy. <br />(See also Item #4 of Orange County's Legislative Matters <br />Resolution) <br />2. Education Current Expense Funding -Support legislation to assure that the state <br />define and support an adequate basic education in all local school systems and <br />appropriate adequate .operating funds to fully fund its education initiatives with revenue <br />that is earmarked to pay the costs of those initiatives. The state should fund programs <br />that continue to engage young people, provide individualized options that eliminate <br />azbitrary barriers and provide students a range of opportunities through which they can <br />gain the credentials, skills and education they need to function in the modern economy of <br />the 21st century. Specifically, the state should: <br />• continue to fully furid the Low Wealth School Fund; and <br />• appropriate funds for school resource officers on the basis of one position <br />allotment for each middle school and high school building for all school systems <br />across the state; <br />• appropriate funds for career technical (vocational) education in high schools. <br />3. Public School Capital Building Fund -Support legislation to assure that the Public <br />School Capital Building Fund remains intact and to direct the State Treasurer to report on <br />longterm commitments that are dependent on this fund. Counties and schools should not <br />be deprived of these resources as they were deprived of state support for school utility <br />costs in 1991-92. <br />4. Community College Governance -Support legislation to review the process through <br />which members of the various boards of trustees of the several community colleges are <br />appointed to determine whether the system provides for adequate representation from <br />counties responsible for supporting multi-county campuses. <br />5. Sales Tax Refunds -Support legislation to allow public schools systems to regain access <br />to sales tax refunds. <br />(See also Item #3 of Orange County's, Legislative Matters <br />Resolution) <br />