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Public Hearings and Work Sessions (All Meetings Begin at 7:30 p.m.) Document Availability • Clerk to Board of Commissioners • County Budget Office • Orange County Library • Chapel Hill Public Library • Carrboro Library • Cedar Grove Library • Orange Caunty Website: - www.co.orange.nc.us Chair Jacobs asked everyone to limit their comments to three minutes so that everyone could speak. He said that the Board does not start talking about the budget until it hears what the public has to say. PUBLIC COMMENT: Kate Sanford read a prepared statement. She has worked in the field of childcare for 27 years in Orange County, and 21 of those years as a director. In 1997, her daughter was enrolled in childcare at the center where she was the director, but she could not afford to pay for her care without help from Childcare Services. She is a single mother with an income of an administrator and could not afford to pay far childcare. She said that she was fortunate to receive assistance, because today if she applied, she would be placed on a waiting list. She said that research indicates that children who receive the benefits of quality childcare are better able to be successful in further education and beyond. She said that finding and keeping degreed employees is challenging and finding and keeping degreed employees with young children is almost impassible when the children are placed on waiting lists for subsidies. She said that teachers are leaving childcare centers across Orange County because they cannot afford to pay for the childcare for their children. She asked that $306,000 be put into the County budget to pick up the families on the waiting list who work in childcare, the public schools, and County employees. These are the three groups that support the economic base for Orange County. Kimberly Johnson read a prepared statement. She is the Director of Brooks Day Care Center in Hillsborough. She spoke on behalf of every parent that needs subsidy to provide quality childcare for their children. She spoke in support of education for young children. She said that every penny that is budgeted towards the education of our children increases the wealth of the County. She asked the County Commissioners for $306,000 to provide subsidy for parents who work in early childcare education and other educational fields within the County. She summarized her "selling points" as the education of our young children, the wealth of our County (monetarily, cultural, spiritual, and emotional), and how these can make our Caunty prosper to new heights. She provided letters from parents, board members, and staff. Pam Anderson is the Director of Chapel Hill Day Care Center, anon-profit, five-star childcare program that has been a part of Chapel Hill since 1967. She gave some