Minutes - 20050531 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

the sciences. He asked the County Commissioners to consider increasing the per pupil funding far all schools in Orange County. Linda Carver is a first grade teacher in Orange County. She is also speaking for the members of the American Federation of Teachers in Orange County. She knows that if OCS's budget is not fully funded, it will bother the first grade students that she knows. It will make a difference if they do not have assistants. The OCS budget only maintains those things that were started with the with their fund balance and sustains current practices. She said that the American Federation of Teachers in Orange County asks that the County Commissioners fully fund the school budget. Sheila Sholes-Ross is Executive Director of Communities in Schools of Orange County. She thanked the County Commissioners for the support given to Communities in Schools in the past. She also thanked the County Manager. This organization is a dropout prevention organization and they have programs in all six of the middle schools. Last year, they served over 1,800 students. They ask that the County Commissioners support the recommendation of the Manager to continue funding for Communities in Schools of Orange County. Communities in Schools was selected for the third year in a row by Worth Magazine as one of the top 100 non-profits that is keeping children in school. Katy Weinberg is a fifth grader at McDougle Elementary School. She is concerned about the proposed school budget. By not funding the full budget, her education would be greatly impacted. Her first concern is that her school would have fewer supplies. Another concern is that cuts might be made to programs of special needs children. Also, cuts would force the school board to reduce foreign language teachers. To help save money, her class turns off lights when they do not need them, and they also use the backs of recycled paper. Her biggest concern is the possibility of losing teacher assistants. Jennifer Jansen is Co-Chair of Seawell's SGC, which has sponsored a petition and collected 293 signatures. She read the petition as follows: "The undersigned parents from Seawell Elementary School petition you to continue your commitment to excellence in education by fully funding both the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Orange County Schools budget requests. We request that you continue to prioritize education in Orange County and preserve the integrity of the classroom learning process by fully funding the schools' budget requests. We acknowledge the challenging budget climate this year, we recognize the Commissioners' goal of funding increases for Orange County Schools and we trust that you work toward this funding equity in a manner that helps both Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools. A solution needs to be implemented in the 2005-2006 year. Move toward funding equity and preserve local control." Lynn Lehmann is a CHCCS parent. She is also a member of the Carrboro Elementary SGC and she was representing this group. She introduced the Spanish-speaking member of the SGC, who was representing the Hispanic community. She asked the County Commissioners to rework the County Manager's recommended budget to approve the Superintendent's request for a fully funded budget. The Manager's recommended budget could do harm to their students by possibly denying things such as studentladult ratios in the elementary classroom, afterschool programs for at-risk middle school students, school resource officers, elementary world language teachers, exceptional children's teaching staff, and gifted education specialists. The district may also have to reduce school supply money by 20°l°. She said that she recently saw a figure that it costs North Carolina a minimum of $23,000 to house one prisoner for a year. The Superintendent and school board are asking fora $270 per pupil increase, for a total of $2,898 per person. She said that if the budget cuts continue, there could be more prisoners than school students in North Carolina at a much higher cost. She asked the County Commissioners to make a statement that education is the first priority in Orange County. Linda Coleman is the Co-President of the East Chapel Hill High PTSA. She would like to see both school budgets fully funded. She said that 13 years ago her family had the