Agenda - 04-26-2011 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 Recurring Capital - pays for facility improvements, equipment, furnishings, and vehicle and bus purchases. State statutes mandate: counties to fund 'recurring capital, however the amount of money counties allocate to this function is discretionary and varies from county to county. Equal per pupil allocations required by law for current expense appropriations are not applicable to this category of local school funding. Per the April 2007 Commissioner approved County Capital Funding Policy, it is the intent of the Board of County Commissioners to dedicate the equivalent of four cents on the annual ad valorem property tax to funding recurring capital expenditures - 3 cents for school projects and 1 cent for county projects. The Policy further states, "However, there will be times when the County will be bound fiscally and unable to achieve full funding. During those times, Commissioners have seen it necessary to depart from the Policy." For the current fiscal year, Commissioners funded the equivalent of 2 cents for schools recurring capital and no monies for County recurring capital. Long -Range Capital - supports school capital projects through the County's Capital Investment Plan (CIP). Capital projects are funded through a combination of State and local bonds, NC bond financing and pay -as- you -go funding sources. Pay -as- you -go funding includes dedicated half -cent sales tax revenues and property tax earmarked under the Board's current Capital Funding Policy. The Capital Policy also allows for North Carolina Public School Building Capital funds and School Construction Impact Fees to offset School related debt service. Similar to Local Current Expense funding, the amount of money counties allocate to long -range capital expenditures is discretionary and varies from county to county. School Related Debt Service - repayment of principal and interest on School related debt including general obligation bonds and private placement loans. North Carolina statutes require counties to pay for school related capital items such as acquisition and construction of facilities. In instances where counties borrow monies to pay for such items, the State mandates counties repay the debt. The amount of money counties borrow for school related projects is discretionary and varies from county to county. Fair Funding - monies, split equally between the two school districts, to offset costs of safety and health services such as School Resource Officers and School Social Workers. The State does not mandate counties to provide funding for these services. It is important to note, the 48.1 % target only includes funding for the items identified above - current expense, recurring capital, long -range capital, school related debt service and fair funding. It does not include additional non - mandated County financial support Orange County Commissioners commits to schools. Examples of such appropriations include supplementing state funding for school health nurses to staff each school with at least one school health nurse. Funding for this contractual agreement between the County Health Department and each school district is approximately $600,000 per year. (This agreement/contract has been in place since 2001.) In addition, County departments provide a number of services and programs to each school district. An example of such a program is the Tobacco Cessation program operated through the Orange County Health Department. The County also financially supports non - profit agencies such as Communities in Schools that provide after school programs for middle school students.