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Delores Simpson feels that if these children get started with education early, money will be saved in the long run because there will not be a need for reading recovery programs, remedial tutors, etc. John Link made reference to page 2 of the overheads and asked which items on the blue sheet would not be addressed in his recommended budget. He asked if the list on the blue sheet of new initiatives lists the top priorities of the Orange County school system. Superintendent Randy Bridges said that the local supplement and the three exceptional children positions would be their top priorities. Commissioner Carey made reference to attachment 1 B and asked about the supplements as listed on this sheet. He asked if this was the current supplement for the County school system. Randy Bridges said that their current supplement is 5%. He explained that the $311,000 would increase the classified staff from 5.5% to 6%. The supplement for non-tenured staff would increase from 5% to 7%, the supplement for the tenured staff would increase from 10% to 11.5%, and the supplement for the employees with 10+ years in the system would increase from 12% to 14%. Chair Gordon asked about the average class sizes. Superintendent Randy Bridges said that the class ratio is currently 1:22 for K-5 and 1:25 for all other grades. Orange County School Board member David Kolbinsky said that on the whole they realize that Orange County has funded the school system generously. A lot of their efforts now are to reach those children who do not benefit from the opportunities available to them. He said that most of the parents are pleased with the school system and are grateful to the County Commissioners. Chair Gordon commended the Orange County School system on all of their achievements last year. d. Presentation from County Manager for Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools John Link went over the blue sheet as distributed. He said that their average daily membership is expected to be 8,903 students. When the increase per pupil of $216 is combined with the district tax increase the total funding for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School system is $24,100,000. In terms of the total request and the recommended funding by the Manager, there is $744,629 that could be used for expansion and new initiatives. He said that the PREP Academies item is the first priority in terms of expansion. Donna Dean explained the adjustments and mandates as listed on the blue sheet. She said that the County Budget staff has been able to identify that the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools is going to collect about $96,000 more in their district tax than what was originally thought last year at this time. This amount has been added to the adjustments. There have also been some sales tax refunds that were identified. She said that the mandates have been addressed. The total amount for mandates is 1.7 million dollars. She explained that the increases due to student population growth were mostly associated with the opening of the two new schools. The total for the student population growth increases is 1.6 million dollars. e. Presentation from Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools Harvey Goldstein thanked the Board of County Commissioners for their strong support in the past. Superintendent Neil Pedersen made the presentation as on the handout. He summarized the budget priorities for next year. The five priorities are to accommodate the growth, have the state and federal mandates supported, help all students to become academically proficient, provide a competitive compensation package, and support technological advances. The Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools' enrollment has increased by almost 50% since 1990. He explained each of the priorities and their increases in the budget as summarized in Attachment 4. He said that the school board is very concerned about the competitiveness of the salary schedules. He explained a chart that showed Durham and Wake Counties and how Orange County is not competitive with the Triangle area at this time. In terms of technology, he said that one half of their technology specialists have resigned this year. The school board is proposing to extend the technology specialists' contracts. He then explained the cost reductions that totaled $163,600. He said that the County Manager's budget would fund many items, but the salary enhancements, the technical support, and the class size reduction would not be funded. Harvey Goldstein continued saying that the Manager has recommended a 2.7-cent increase in the County and a 2.8-cent increase in the district tax. He said that an additional 1.8 cents in the County would fully fund the Orange County schools, and the balance would require a 1/2 - cent increase in the district tax to fully fund the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City schools.