2003 NS Goal on Possible School Merger

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 24, 2003 Action Agenda Item No. ~~_ SUBJECT: Confirmation of Analytical Elements of Board Goal on Possible School Merger DEPARTMENT: County Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Blacklined Goal Statement (reflects changes made by BOCC on 3/05/03) INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Brown, Chair 245-2125 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To confirm the specific language of a formal Board of Commissioner goal that calls for an examination of the implications of merging the Orange County Schools and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools into one school system. BACKGROUND: At the January 25, 2003 annual planning retreat of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the BOCC discussed a proposal by Commissioner Carey that would lead to merger between Orange County's two school systems. The County Attorney briefly outlined the alternative processes laid out in the North Carolina General Statutes for initiating and completing a merger of school systems. Individual commissioners expressed differing degrees of interest in pursuing school merger, but there was consensus that the Board should obtain a detailed analysis of the pros, cons, and other implications of a potential merger before considering a formal decision on whether or not to merge the school systems. At their regular meeting on March 5, 2003, the BOCC approved a goal statement charging the Manager and staff to work with the school systems and other interested parties to perform the necessary analysis. The timeline established in the goal statement calls for the Board to receive a report on this matter in August 2003. The Board made numerous changes at the March 5 meeting to the draft goal statement presented in the agenda materials that evening. As requested by the Board, staff has prepared a blacklined version of the approved goal statement that reflects the changes to the March 5 draft as staff understood those changes. This agenda item is not intended to provide for a re-examination of whether and under what circumstances to conduct an analysis of the implications of a possible merger of the County's two school systems. Rather, it is intended to provide the Board with the opportunity to formally approve the exact language of the analytical elements that staff should examine in the coming months. Staff plans to present a formal report on the subject to the BOCC no sooner than late August 2003, with at least two interim reports planned, one at the end of June 2003 and one at the end of July 2003.