Minutes - 19991213 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 question of what a fully funded school system would look like. 2 Elizabeth Carter said that the school boards are appreciative of what the County 3 Commissioners have done in the past. When the school board meets in February they will hear 4 from each school and there are a lot of needs that are not shared with the County 5 Commissioners because the needs are taken care of by the thrift shop or other fundraising done 6 by the schools. 7 Susan Halkiotis added that the school systems are fortunate and unique in enjoying the 8 County Commissioners' support the way they do. She asked John Link what he projected the 9 general fund increases to be for the County over the next few years. 10 John Link said that in terms of the natural growth of revenue based on the tax base 11 increasing and keeping the tax rate the same, it has ranged from 3-5%. He said that there has 12 been some healthy growth in the last year or two. 13 Rick Kennedy said that everyone needs to keep in mind why they are here. He said that 14 he is here to make sure that his children and other children in the County get a good education. 15 He said that education could be provided for less but the children would pay for it down the 16 road. He feels that some of the increases in funding over the years are due to the fact that the 17 school system fell behind on building schools when they were needed. He said that he does not 18 feel comfortable with any of the funding scenarios. He thinks it is more important to look at the 19 job that needs to be done. 20 Chair Carey said that he feels decisions on past funding were made because it was the 21 right thing to do. The County Commissioners have been forthright in providing what the most 22 important thing in the County budget is because education is the largest single item in the 23 budget. 24 Roger Waldon said that he feels there is value in communicating back and forth and 25 talking about the needs of both the school systems and the County. He is concerned about the 26 formula and the timing right now. He is concerned that doing something for this year might be 27 problematic. 28 Elizabeth Carter agrees with Roger Waldon. 29 Keith Cook asked if the County Commissioners would discuss the request they received 30 from the two school boards for a committee to discuss this topic and Chair Carey said yes. 31 32 b. Cost Efficient Facilities Initiative 33 John Link said that he participated on a task force that included Director of Central 34 Stores and Purchasing Pam Jones, and Commissioners Jacobs and Halkiotis in which they 35 discussed the concepts of value engineering. He said that according to growth projections, 36 there would be a need for 19 new schools over the next 30 years at an estimated cost of 37 $340,000,000. The County is also talking about an adequate public facilities ordinance which 38 directly affects how growth is addressed. The focus on the capital improvement budget will be 39 more accentuated. 40 Pam Jones said that by looking at the projections, the construction costs over the next 41 three decades is going to be significant. She said that what is being proposed tonight is a 42 process that will be collaborative among the schools and the County. Page two of attachment 43 1 b outlines the process. She said that performance standards would be developed for new 44 construction. The emphasis is on using the available resources that will last the longest amount 45 of time. She explained the procedure that would be followed. She said that the funding of the 46 new construction would follow along similarly with the concepts of value engineering. The 47 Commissioners would approve the project up front, but it would be funded in accordance with 48 the various components. The major amount of time would be spent up front. This process also 49 provides some consistent guidelines for the architect. She said that this process is a good start 50 with getting together and collaborating on what the acceptable standards are for buildings that 51 the County might build. 52 Commissioner Halkiotis said that the driving force behind this is the fact that the Shaping