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accomplished. He said there is a lot of room for improvement and some exciting opportunities far people <br />to learn from one another. He thinks it is time to create the opportunity for some of this crass-pollination <br />to take place. He thinks that beyond the bond, the Board needs to take a leadership position and try to <br />move the process forward of getting everyone to work together on these issues. <br />Dana Thompson, Orange County School Board Member, distributed a letter, which she read. <br />In summary, she said that the Orange County Board of Education would like to congratulate the <br />members of the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force far their work in recommending the bond package. <br />The school board appreciates that the County Commissioners are now deliberating this issue deeply sa <br />that wise decisions can be made. She said that it appears that same uncertainty remains haw to allocate <br />the school portion of the bond to be best prepared to meet future enrollment demands throughout the <br />County. She said that there are numerous reasons for building a new middle school in Orange County. <br />A list of the reasons was attached to the letter. However, the school board does not believe that it would <br />be productive to pit the Orange County school district against Chapel Hill-Carrboro. The Orange County <br />Board of Education would like to propose a solution that will benefit both school systems, as well as <br />make the best possible use of taxpayer revenues. The Orange County Board of Education invites the <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system to discuss with them the option of using existing high school <br />capacity in Orange County Schools to serve students from the city district. They propose having <br />discussions about an International Baccalaureate program, or same similar academic magnet program <br />currently not being offered in either system, at Cedar Ridge ar Orange High School. The magnet <br />program could be funded by both school systems and open to enrollment from students of both school <br />systems. She said that the Orange County Board of Education was eager to participate in solutions that <br />offer benefits to all of our citizens. <br />Commissioner Brown asked if this was something discussed by the Orange County Board of <br />Education. Dana Thompson said that there have been informal discussions with the members and there <br />is agreement throughout the board with moving ahead with this proposal. The board has not yet <br />communicated with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Board of Education. <br />Commissioner Brown said that there are several County Commissioners interested in having <br />a clear understanding of how space can be shared between the two school systems. This is such an <br />opportunity to foster this relationship between both systems. She asked how we could proceed ahead to <br />encourage both systems as quickly as possible to work together and bring back a proposal to share with <br />the County Commissioners. <br />Commissioner Carey said that Commissioner Jacobs offered that the County Commissioners <br />take a leadership role in fostering the relationship between the two systems and cooperation in sharing <br />facilities. He feels that the County Commissioners need to set goals for the school systems to work <br />toward and set a timeframe. He agrees that the two school systems should work together and maximize <br />the use of the facilities. <br />Commissioner Gordon made reference to the recommendations sent via email by Allen Spalt <br />and Judy Margolis and said that the County Commissioners should seriously consider these <br />recommendations, along with the commitment to fund the new middle school in Orange County and the <br />new high school in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. <br />Jahn Link observed that in order to have a successful bond issue there must be community <br />wide support. Another observation is that the driving force is to try to address some of the school needs, <br />affordable housing, senior centers, and parks. He said that if there is not some agreement, it might be <br />wise for the Board to consider some other alternative to the 2Q01 bond referendum. He urged the Board <br />to take a look at what has occurred in the last six months. It was impossible for the Capital Needs Task <br />force to have all the information, but they did make specific recommendations. He urged the County <br />Commissioners to look at the charts again and look at the projections for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro <br />Elementary school students. Under most any circumstance, there is a need far elementary school #9. <br />The need for high Schaal space in Chapel Hill is also apparent dawn the road. Planning far the new high <br />school could easily be done with certificates of participation or private financing. <br />Chair Halkiotis said that he has been part of three successful bond efforts while he has been <br />on this Board. The success has been directly related to the fact that there was something there for the <br />majority of the citizens in this County. He said that he supports the aquatic center in Chapel Hill because <br />he supported it at the Sportsplex in Hillsborough and it is the right thing to do. He is also supportive of <br />soccer efforts. He said that it would be a mistake to not support the middle school in Orange County. <br />