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Joanna Edwards: Good evening. I'm Joanna Edwards, I'm the President of Sewell PTA, and I'm here tonight to say that the Sewell PTA has taken a position against merging the two school systems. We specifically are very concerned about parent participation. It's been one of our greatest challenges getting parents involved and having them participate in their children's education. It's something we work fiercely and vehemently about, and if you think it's difficult to get parents to participate when they live near the schools, it's almost impossible once their children are bussed across the County. It's unfortunate that this situation has come down to a question of equitable funding at any cost. And I think that the cost to the children is that their parents, unless, many parents in Chapel Hill, I'm sorry, many homes have two working parents which means that unless you are in a position, in many ways, unless you have the luxury of doing this extended drive into Hillsborough, it becomes a hardship for the parents in Chapel Hill who are passing the schools in their neighborhoods to came to the schools in Hillsborough in an effort to create equitable funding. I think both school systems are burdened by stereotypes. Many of the things we've heard tonight boil down to Chapel Hill being an elitist community who wants to protect their property values or their way of life. But I'm here to say that there are many families in Chapel Hill who struggle, and not everyone in Chapel Hill fits that stereotype. In fact, I think that not all of the families in Hillsborough or in Orange County, I'm sorry, fit the stereotype that we've heard presented for those children as well. We da not begrudge Orange County schools, their equitable funding. And I agree that there are many brilliant minds, many that are in this room tonight. And I suggest that we get them an board and allow them to think of other ways to come to a solution. Merger is a radical solution for this problem. One of the parents said tonight that education starts in the home. That's true. And I think that when people are taken out of their communities, they became less effective for their children. And we would like an opportunity to participate in this process. When our schools are not centrally located we create an undue hardship. I guess I should speak also as a parent and just say that I'm just mortified that we've been excluded from this process and I can't make sense of it. And it just feels very excluding and very familiar, and I guess I would concur with the gentleman who spoke earlier and say we want to participate in the process and we would like to have a vote. Etta Pisano: I'm Etta Pisano. I'm here tonight speaking on behalf of the Chapel Hill- Carrboro Council of Parent Teacher Associations. As you all know, the Chapel Hill- Carrbaro Council of Parent Teacher Associations is an organization comprised of representatives from each of the 1 ~ individual PTAs in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School system. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Council of Parent Teacher Associations at this time opposes the merger of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County schools. The information presented during the merger debate has not made a convincing case that a merger is the best way to improve the quality of education for all students. Too many questions remained unanswered about how academic programming, resource allocation, facility construction, student assignment, student transportation, community input, and system governance would be handled in a merged system. Without answers to these questions it is not possible to say whether a merger will improve the quality of education and whether any improvements also could be made without a merger. Given the potential disruption of student life and programs and the reduction of local control