Minutes - 03-27-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elizabeth Carter said that she found the task force meetings to be very fruitful. She said that the school boards were reminded that the Commissioners were not talking about a cap, but more of a target. She said that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board has not discussed the report. Susan Halkiatis said that she and Keith Cook appreciated the discussions of the task force. She reiterated her request that she made during the meetings asking that the Board of County Cammissianers allow the school boards to present their needs and allow for same flexibility in the funding of those needs. She also encouraged the Commissioners to recognize that both systems are experiencing a lot of demands placed on them by growth and that building and startup costs could skew any percentage that is set as a target. She is very appreciative of how Orange County has funded their schools. Chair Carey said that while some may look at the process as an end in itself, it is only the beginning of meeting the needs of the County that are competing with the needs of the schools. The County Cammissianers are looking at all of the needs in the County. Elizabeth Carter said that this is the beginning of a new approach for funding schools. She feels that all participants have a better appreciation for each other and the needs of all those competing for County funds. Rick Kennedy said that he appreciates the report. He would like to know what the average spending per pupil is nationwide to see haw Orange County compares. Keith Cook said that he would like to clarify the definition of mandates. The two school systems have a different perspective on mandates. Chair Carey talked about mandates and said that with federal and state mandates there are some legal requirements. His understanding was that the school boards have a broader definition of mandates that include some policy decisions that school boards can make which are not legal requirements. Keith Cook said that one of the mandates is that all children must be at grade level at grade three. He said that no money is lost if this is not accomplished, but children do not learn if they cannot read. As we look at mandates, he feels we need a bigger picture of what mandates are. Chair Carey said that the history of the Board of County Commissioners shows that they share the desire to da the best possible jab of providing educational opportunities for the children in the school system so that the children can achieve their maximum potential. Commissioner Gordon said that she read the material and saw agreements and disagreements. She made reference to the difference between operating expenses and capital and debt service and said that it is a percentage of the budget from the County's point of view. She asked if there were any further comments about debt service and recurring capital. Susan Halkiotis said that the concern and fear of those in the school systems was that in the years that debt service and recurring capital have a higher demand than the school needs, it would decrease the amount of funds that are available for operating costs. Commissioner Gordon asked if the thought was that there should be two targets. Susan Halkiotis said that there was a lot of discussion about breaking those items out separately. Elizabeth Carter likes the term benchmark better than cap. She said that there are certain things that are needed when a new school is opened. Susan Halkiotis said that the discussion was pointing out the pitfalls of lumping everything together. She does not recall that there were any recommendations on breaking those things out and setting separate targets. Chair Carey said that this perception was consistent with what was discussed. He said that the issue of separate caps was not discussed. Commissioner Jacobs said that in the whole discussion of operating versus capital and mandates, he feels that the word 'mandate' is confusing. He said that 'mandates' and 'imperatives' are often confused. He said that it has always been the goal to work with the school systems to give as much flexibility as possible because the money is all coming out of the same pocket.