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Paul Farel, Vice Chair of the Chapel Hill Library Board of Trustees, emphasized the importance of the relationship between education and the library. He said that, of the four neighboring counties, Orange County spends less than Wake, Durham and Chatham on library services. He asked that the County Commissioners provide increased support to the library and especially to the Chapel Hill Library. Betty Caldwell, member of the Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, thanked the County Commissioners for their past support and their current support. She feels that a long term plan to narrow the gap between the County and Town support is needed. Eleanor Engel, resident of Orange County living in Chapel Hill and a retired librarian, said that she appreciates the County's past and current support. She emphasized that there has been increased demands on libraries and it is a real challenge to keep up with the technology demands. They need additional funds to support increased services. Suzanne Tilley, mother of two children at Hillsborough Elementary, said that she is in favor of the Orange County School budget and in particular she is in support of a half-time principal and a half-time clerical position at Hillsborough Elementary. She also supports a full- time nurse in every school. Tom Metzguer spoke as a citizen of Orange County for over 23 years and an educator for 18 years. He asked that the County Commissioners consider the School Board's request. He said that the schools need additional teachers, associate principals and nurses. He feels that our kids should be our clear priority. Carole Scotto, teacher at Carrboro Elementary School, said that she supports the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools request. She noted that they have a lot of children in their English as a Second Language (ESL) program because they have an increasing number of students who do not know English. Sheila Benninger, parent and co-chair of the Seawell Student Governance Committee, spoke in support of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools budget. She said that the school system will have additional students next year and will need new buildings. Also, the school is faced with mandates from the State which include efficiency standards where the school system must find and fund strategies to reach these standards. They plan to expand their summer school program and teacher contracts to help students reach these standards. The school system would like to expand their AVID program and include additional children in this program. She would like to see the alternative school expanded. Also, they would like to reduce the class size for the ninth grade classes. The addition of one ESL teacher is in the budget. There are also monies in their budget for additional administrative and clerical staff. Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools is asking for a full-time nurse at the high school and one half- time nursing position at all other schools. She feels the budget as presented will meet their needs for the present time. Teresa Smith spoke on behalf of Daycare Services Association. She said that childcare in Orange County can cost about $7,000 a year. They served 608 children in 1997. Over 250 children are waiting for scholarship assistance from DCSA or DSS. She distributed information on the reasons families need child care. This also listed the implications for the community when a family does not have the ability to afford child care. She requested additional child care subsidies.