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contractor, I see many different homes and lifestyles all over Orange County. Everyone seems pleased with the schools where they live. The bus ride for our kids is 45 minutes long. This is due to school redistricting-a second redistricting in just four years. People move to Chapel Hill for one top reason -the school system. Thousands of families change their life to be in that particular school system, by choice. An abruptly merged school system could fail and force people to move out or switch to private schools taking a lot of good money away from the community. Look at Durham, it happened there, and their dream flagship Hillside High School does not hold up academically even though it got the biggest funding in Durham schools history. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro system grows steadily, adapting to change. I can only imagine what would happen to thousands of other people in this situation if the school systems merge and the whole County is redistricted on a much larger scale. It has been stated that merger should be done to equalize spending in the two school systems, that County schools don't get their fair share. Well for years County voters have been voting and telling you they don't want you to spend that much more money than they do. On another note, two public meetings were held at Cedar Ridge High School. It was a beautiful, immense school in much better shape than my daughter's Chapel Hill High. I know that both school systems have old and new schools. My son goes to one of the oldest, Frank Porter Graham. When I heard first at the INFORM meeting that while Chapel Hill-Carrboro has twice as many students as Orange students, I was surprised to learn the school boards are about the same size. Simply correcting that alone could pay for the books, language teachers, nurses, custodial staff, and other items that have been so overdue to them. It also appears that Cedar Ridge High was built bigger than needed for now and in the immediate future. Again, major money was spent unbalanced on things not needed as desperately at the time. Where was the lack of communication and thus the funding? It sounds like money went in some wrong directions to me. Orange schools are also excellent schools and are among the top five in the State. They are also one of the five best-funded systems in the State. A hasty merger would require a hasty appointment of a new school board. Since a board is usually voted in, it would be very undesirable to have our County Commissioners appoint a board of their own. Both systems will suffer in a hastily merged board. Also, there is the fact of volunteer effort and fund raising. One of the things that make Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools unique is its volunteer efforts and community contribution through our PTA and other forms. It accounts for well over $1 million and thousands of hours of service given within our community straight to the school. This helps so many aspects from our environment, minority support, and community connections. This pays for supplies, computers, property upkeep, activities, field trips, cultural and special programs, and other expenses. It is an absolutely needed element that our schools of this great concern, because it would take an absolutely equal look and commitment from Orange County schools and its community to work. That would need to be studied carefully. Many people have been discussing a minority imbalance. To review, Orange schools have a higher AfricanlAmerican minority percentage. Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools have a higher Latino percentage and a higher Asian percentage. The total minority percentage is higher in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. A small group of people have been making some statements, "I want this - I want that, separate but unequal, people must