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is a 6th grade program with 40 students. They will expand this year-round opportunity next year into the <br />7th grade . Their exceptional children's program is growing. They asked last year for teacher <br />assistants for 4th and 5th grades and these were funded. There are a lot of health needs and they need <br />a nurse in every school. They were able to add one nurse last year for the system. They have hired two <br />teachers to teach English as a Second Language. <br />4. Schools and Land Use Council Update <br />John Link made reference to the one page status report and said that this Council has <br />met on several occasions and have made progress in several areas as outlined in the status report. He <br />noted that at the last meeting between the County Commissioners and the two school systems we <br />distributed a draft memo of understanding agreeing to work together to plan schools. After that <br />meeting, the County Commissioners added this to the charge for the Schools and Land Use Council. <br />5. New School Planning/Construction Updates <br />Randy Bridges said that they are in the planning stages of a new elementary school and <br />a new high school. The biggest issue is siting a school. They are in the process of narrowing their <br />choices. They have an architect and everything is in place. <br />Neil Pedersen said that their elementary school is under way. They are scheduled to <br />open the elementary school in Southern Village in 1999. The construction for the addition to East <br />Chapel Hill High has started and the athletic facilities will be ready this summer. The proposed project at <br />Meadowmont is on hold for now. They have been undergoing extensive searches for school sites in <br />case Meadowmont does not materialize. They hope to identify at least 12 sites and hope to get <br />feedback from other agencies. They have looked at the possibility of adding on to their three middle <br />schools instead of building a new one. They have three options - building at Meadowmont, building at <br />another site or adding on to the three present middle schools. <br />6. High School Construction Standards Task Force Update <br />Rod Visser gave an overview of the material included in the agenda. The Task Force has <br />met three times. March 25th is the next meeting and hopefully the last. They have focused on space <br />guidelines from the DPI document. They have talked about energy efficiency and about construction <br />management like those used in Johnston County. <br />7. Orange County Schools/Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Issues <br />a. Alternative School OCS <br />Neil Pedersen reported that last year the two school systems talked about a joint <br />effort for providing an alternative school. However, that did not materialize. The need is still there. Their <br />plan is to use an alternative school to help those students who are at risk and not just those who are <br />disruptive. <br />Susan Dovenbarger said that the County School Board received at their last <br />meeting a plan for providing comprehensive services. The money they need would be used for staffing. <br />They plan to have an alternative school open at the beginning of next school year which will serve 36 <br />kids. <br />b. Towing and Storage Fees (OCS)