Orange County NC Website
Council made recommendations to the local governments on the SAPFO. All of the local <br /> governments and school districts over the last two years have signed on to the Memorandum of <br /> Understanding, which includes a model ordinance. The model ordinance will eventually be <br /> implemented into the land development code of the local governments. In the Memorandum of <br /> Understanding, there are seven different facets, and three are considered as part of the base <br /> MOU. One is the level of service and the following decisions were made: Elementary School — <br /> 105%, Middle School — 107%, and High School — 110%. The third aspect of the base MOU was <br /> the building capacity to make sure that portable units were not counted as permanent capacity. <br /> There were other facets that needed to be included before the MOU was sent out. One was the <br /> capital improvement program that included some programming for new school openings in the <br /> future. The second issue was the student projection methods. He described each of these <br /> methods. The Schools and Land Use Council recommended an average of the five projection <br /> methods. The third issue was the student generation rate. It was recommended that the Tischler <br /> Associates student generation rate be used for this. There is a possibility that the levels of service <br /> could be breached, and it is not recommended to implement a new ordinance that would create a <br /> de facto moratorium. This is being reconciled. <br /> Regarding the timeline, it is the intent to fill the unknowns within the next couple of weeks <br /> and transmit them back to the local governments and school districts for the last run through. If all <br /> parties are in agreement, then on November 15`h we will be looking at new school membership <br /> data to make projections into the future. The Board of County Commissioners will certify the new <br /> numbers by February 1, 2003. If the new numbers are certified, then the SAPFO system would be <br /> in place, and by February 15, 2003 the SAPFO would go into effect. Any new developments that <br /> come in at that time would be subject to looking at available seats in schools. <br /> Commissioner Gordon highlighted that at the September 17`h Board of County <br /> Commissioners' meeting, the Board confirmed the County's commitment to address the SAPFO in <br /> a proactive and timely manner. The Board indicated its intent to schedule a work session on the <br /> SAPFO in mid-October. Also, the Manager's office will coordinate all of these meetings for the <br /> different task forces. The Schools and Land Use Council, in its meeting of September 25`h will try <br /> to address any remaining issues. At the end of the meeting, the Schools and Land Use Council <br /> will write a letter to all the jurisdictions, giving them an update on the status and what remains to be <br /> done and the timeline for implementation. <br /> Nick Didow said that his Board has already approved the Memorandum of Understanding <br /> and he asked if it would only come back for consideration again if there were any changes. He <br /> asked who had adopted the MOU. <br /> Craig Benedict said that all school boards have approved it and all entities have reviewed it. <br /> The only reason to take it back through would be the school projection implications with the level of <br /> service. All the boards can re-address the levels of service expectations. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that the changes that were most detailed were the ones <br /> proposed by the Town of Carrboro. Also, the Orange County Schools has some questions. One <br /> of the concerns of Carrboro is if the CIP actually does address the schools that are needed in time. <br /> Carrboro does not want a moratorium to go into effect. She said that if it is clear that the proposed <br /> schools are going to come online in a timely manner, then we may need to temporarily raise the <br /> levels of service. <br /> d. Water Conservation Measures <br /> Chair Jacobs said that no one forced the school systems to do anything in the way of water <br /> conservation, but both systems have taken some proactive steps. The Boards received this as <br /> information only. <br /> e. Affordable Housing Opportunities for School Employees (such as IDA Program) <br /> Chair Jacobs said that a lot of the public employees are not always able to find affordable <br /> housing in Orange County. As we talk about trying to attract and retain teachers, it seemed <br />