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who attended the school was evident in the way that they supported the life and the work <br />of that school. Are my neighbors frustrated by the way this merger was presented? <br />Yes. Are they frustrated with some of the misinformation that has been put forward in <br />these discussions? Yes. Would we like to see hard numbers behind some of the <br />rhetoric? Yes. I'm apposed to merger for two reasons. The first is the prospect of <br />bussing. We moved to Chapel Hill two years ago so we could be closer to the high <br />school that my kids will attend. I drive my kids to school in the morning, I volunteer in <br />the class, we do our best to attend assemblies, concerts, programs, and it's going to be <br />hard to do that for my kids if they are on the other side of the County. When you say no <br />kids will be bussed for the first two to three years after merger, what we hear is that we <br />should plan bussing after those first two to three years. My request, my advice is to <br />keep kids at the schools in their neighborhoods and make it easier for the families to <br />participate in the life of those schools. My other concern deals with a lack of hard <br />information on issues that have been raised in these discussions. If you say all kids <br />have the right to reach their full potential, we agree. But how would you measure <br />success so that we can track any change from where things are now? If you say we can <br />save money with a merger, show us haw, show us where. If you say you can't raise <br />money without going to a merger, then tell us why you won't use a raise in Ad Valorem <br />taxes with one of the three scenarios detailed by your awn County Manager. Many of us <br />attended the forum hosted by INFORM where a professor from UNC presented research <br />that raised questions on whether increased funding can improve performance in schools <br />in counties like Orange County. When Mr. Carey was asked to comment an the <br />presentation that night, he dismissed the points made by the professor saying, "We <br />know what we need to know." I think many of us would like to know what he meant by <br />that. And I would like to knave if he was speaking for the Board with those comments. <br />Let me conclude with this. Let's be thoughtful about how we proceed; let's stop the <br />name calling; let's listen to ourselves and each other; and let's agree that the families in <br />the City schools and County schools both care about their schools, their children, and <br />their communities. And we both want to knave this: 1}what is not working in our <br />schools? 2} how would a merger fix those things? 3} whatever changes are made, how <br />do we not lose those things that are working well? I would like to leave a copy of my <br />comments as well as an article from just last week's U. S. News and World Report on <br />how to improve our schools. Thank you. <br />David Weinberg: Commissioners, good evening. My name is David Weinberg, and I <br />speak tonight on behalf of about 50 families from the Chapel Hill district that remains <br />opposed to merger. Let me start by acknowledging the very fine and detailed proposals <br />put forth by Commissioners Brown, Jacobs, and Gordan. The many suggestions for <br />study and collaboration, along with the beginnings of an effort to equalize funding, <br />demonstrated clearly that you have been listening. Commissioner Cordon's proposal for <br />an immediate tax increase that would be available to Orange County Schools next year <br />seems appropriate. It would be cynical of us to spend all this time discussing the <br />deprivations in the Orange County system, but then let months go by without taking any <br />steps to help. Yet even with this new initiative, I believe the shadow of merger still <br />hangs over these proceedings. Three of you, Commissioners Brown, Jacobs, and <br />Halkiotis have yet to take a clear stand on merger during this debate. This is puzzling <br />and distressing to thane of us who have lived with the prospect of merger for nearly a <br />year. It is not as if you have never articulated a position. A survey prior to last year's <br />primary asked the candidates, "Do you support merger of the school districts?" Mr. <br />Jacobs and Mr. Halkiotis both replied that they favored collaboration rather than merger. <br />Mr. Halkiotis said, and I'm quoting that, "A countywide finance plan, with equalized <br />