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Matthew Freytag thanked the Manager for recommending a per pupil increase. <br />Libbie Hough said that she is a parent of two children at Grady Brown Elementary. She also thanked <br />the Manager for addressing the funding disparity in the two school systems. She supports increasing the <br />total funding for the schools, but the funding disparity between the two systems still exists. She said that they <br />have opened two new schools in the past two years, which has drastically reduced the fund balance and they <br />are $500,000 short for the start-up casts for Cedar Ridge High School. They will have to consider completely <br />exhausting the fund balance to meet these needs. For the second year in a row, they will have trouble <br />meeting the mandated portions of their budget, let alone address any items in their expansion budget. They <br />are aver $700,000 short in the mandated portion of the budget. They will be forced to cut services, programs, <br />and personnel. Regarding moving funds from the capital budget to the operating budget, she said that she <br />cannot support this move since the capital budget for the upcoming school year will be cut as well. She <br />asked what they should do if they want to at the very least maintain the integrity of their program and <br />maintain services to their children. She does not want the education of the children in Orange County to <br />suffer and she does not want to lose valuable staff and programs. She asked for the County Commissioners' <br />leadership in taking along-term approach in addressing this issue. <br />Susan Houck spoke on behalf of the Orange County schools. She also thanked the Manager for <br />recommending an increase in per pupil funding. She reiterated the fact that this increase is more than what <br />was requested by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools but inadequate for the Orange County schools to meet <br />State mandated items and to open Cedar Ridge High School. She said that this underscores the disparity in <br />resources between the two school systems and she thinks this should be addressed as a priority, including a <br />discussion about a district school tax. <br />Liz Brawn also thanked the Manager for recommending a per pupil increase. She spoke about the <br />disparity between the two school systems and the fact that there is only one school in the County system that <br />provides Spanish classes. She spoke about how people in other countries are trained in many other <br />languages. She said that we should not stick our English-speaking heads in the sand while the rest of the <br />world strives to communicate with the whole world. She asked the County Commissioners what they saw as <br />the solution to the separate but unequal school systems. <br />Betty Eidenier, a teacher in Orange County schools, said that Orange County is one of the best <br />places in the world to live. She said that times are tough and that people in Orange County are ready to chip <br />in. She asked the County Commissioners to go ahead and raise the taxes because it just has to be done. <br />Anne Lutes also thanked the Manager for recommending an increase in per pupil funding. She has a <br />child at Grady Brown Elementary. She said that they have been so happy with the job done at Grady Brown <br />with such tight funding. She encouraged the County Commissioners to continue to support this kind of hard <br />work and dedication with the increased funding that the County Manager has recommended. <br />Sheila Whitt, a parent of a special needs child at New Hope Elementary, said that New Hope has <br />provided an outstanding environment and program for her son. She is concerned about the number of <br />positions that have been cut at New Hope. She said that the parents of special needs children already have <br />extra concerns and burdens and not having adequate supervision far educational needs puts more burden on <br />these families. She asked the County Commissioners to please make sure that our students are safe and <br />that all of our students needs are met and continue to be met. <br />Jeff Whitt said that some children in this County cannot talk or communicate. He asked for help for <br />these children. <br />Jamie Daniels, a candidate for County Commissioner, said that a lot of citizens were asking not to just <br />increase taxes but to show that there is reallocation of the tax money. He issued a challenge. He would like <br />to see 20°10 of waste cut out of the County's budget before he can lose 20 pounds. He would also like to see <br />mare of the work sessions done at the elementary schools in the County that need renovation. He said that <br />