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Sue Battle stated that she is a member of the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate Program associated with the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. The program currently has 36 mentors serving 42 children in 13 schools. It is focused on low-income, disorganized families, typically children living with one (1) relative. Mentors are assigned to families to provide the child with a stable, supportive relationship, and to advocate for the child within the school system. This encourages the child to further itself in academic, social, and athletic skills. Family life in our busy society is often failing to provide our children with personal attention and care, as well as structure and discipline. Mentors act as a catalyst between the child and school, parents, and the larger community. By serving as role models, the mentor aids in creating a positive internal image within the child. This opens up the child to the opportunities available to him/her in our society. The core message of the desperate people behind recent school violence is "Pay attention to me". Continuance and extension of the mentoring program is intimately connected to the funding received by the school systems, so the program requests full funding for the area schools. Joyce Holmes is here representing 14 child service agencies in Orange County. Her major concern is child abuse and the goal of this group of agencies is to adequately address this issue in Orange County. In working with children from the County, she realized that 100 percent of these children had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD). She began to collaborate with area colleagues for their input into this finding. Gail Ellsworth, Guardian ad Litem program, ventured that virtually all of the children in her program also suffered from these disorders and learning disabilities. In talking with prison counselors and workers, they also found a prevalence of ADHD and learning disabilities among the prison population. Obviously, children afflicted with these disorders are growing to adults who pursue unhealthy, possible criminal activities. These children have cognitive differences in that they process information in other alternative ways. They have attention span difficulties and can become emotional and frustrated easily, with impulsiveness problems. Working with these children becomes a difficult process, both in home and in the outer world. Parents many times do not understand the obstacles the children face, creating tension within families, because the ADHD has not been identified and addressed. Use of more discipline only causes these children to become defiant, leading to a potential spiral into child abuse. Research showed that very little action is being taken to address this issue. The study did show that these children were more likely to be depressed, to drink, smoke, use drugs, drop out of school, join gangs, be illiterate, and become unemployable. Therefore, the group of agencies seeks to develop a program to address this need by first identifying these children in preschool at the ages of three (3) to four (4). Then, the agencies can reach out to the parents to provide guidance on navigating these disabilities. Ms. Holmes talked about the progression of the disorder in some children, possibly leading to destructive behavior to self and others. The group would like to hire a Program Manager and is requesting that the Board allocate $5,000.00 in County funds to hire a part-time person to initiate and maintain this program. Permanent, long-term funding can then be pursued through alternate sources. Ellen Hoe[ is a parent of two (2) children who attend schools within the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District. Her family has resided in Chapel Hill for nine (9) years. Her husband commutes to Raleigh each day, while Mrs. Hoel has a job in Durham. They chose to make these drives and live in Chapel Hill due to the quality of life and the excellence in the school system. She would like to see these traditions continued. She requested that the Board fully fund the School Districts' budget items, including those listed as critical needs. If necessary, taxes should be raised to meet these needs. Mrs. Hoe[ was disappointed to learn that Orange County places a cap on experienced teachers' supplements. Our teachers deserve the best and she encouraged the Board to continue to give it to them. Karen Lamont: Not here. Neeli Lambert, science teacher at East Chapel Hill High School, stated that this is her second year of teaching. She previously taught in Virginia. When she came here two (2) years ago, she took a $7,000.00 pay cut. She does appreciate the Board increasing the amount of school spending in the proposed budget. However, she noted that the County almost lost her services due to the aggressive pursuit of other area school districts. The only reason Ms. Lambert did chose to stay in Orange County was because of the excellence of the school system. However, she feels that to maintain that excellence, the County must fully fund the proposed budget for the school system. Ms. Lambert stated that it was particularly difficult to receive technology support for her classroom, thus hindering her teaching abilities. The technicians that are