RES-2011-028 Resolution in Opposition to Senate Bill 8 - No Cap on Number of Charter Schools - in its Current Form

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Whereas, Senate Bill 8 removes the minimum number of students necessary to form a charter school, thereby potentially diverting public funds for education to small groups of private individuals or homeschoolers, creating avoucher-type system; and Whereas, Senate Bill 8 also provides for consideration of capital funding for charter schools which are owned by private in-state and out-of--state corporations at a time when local public school systems have billions of dollars of capital needs that are going unmet; Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners respectfully requests members of the North Carolina General Assembly to reconsider Senate Bill 8 and make modifications that address the above concerns, specifically: • Provide a mechanism for accounting for funds that are not appropriate to share with charter schools. • Allow for monies to follow the students involved, not requiring sharing of funds when charter schools do not provide the programs involved. • Remove the provision requiring donor specified accounting and replace it with restrictions of use of funds as stated in the grants. • Allow for reimbursement of funds (such as activity bus fees, facility rental fees) to be accounted for in such a way as to not create a surcharge for charter schools. • Reinstate a reasonable number of minimum students necessary to form a charter school. • Reconsider the capital funding provision. • Create a bill that is truly fair and equitable for all public schools and public school students in North Carolina and is not subject to ambiguities that will have to be resolved through years of litigation at the expense of students. Be It Further Resolved that if the above changes prove to not be feasible, then at a minimum the proposed legislation be revised so that traditional public schools are not required to: 1) share in self-sustaining, fee-based programs such as child nutrition; 2) share preschool and other federal funds (such as JROTC and Free and Reduced Lunch) with charter schools that do not provide these programs; 3) share fund balance reserves; and 4) share reimbursements (such as facility rental fees and activity bus fees) to which charter schools have no legitimate claim. Be It Also Resolved that if the North Carolina General Assembly approves Senate Bill 8 without the requested changes, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do respectfully request that Governor Beverly Perdue veto the legislation. This the 15t" day of March 2011. ~-~,y- .~! l.~X~ Bernadette Pelissier, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners