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CHCCS gets more funding if its citizens choose to pay more. She said that their children should <br />not be held hostage by a one-sided notion of fairness. <br />Gary Wallach is a CHCCS parent. His son has special needs and will be in third grade <br />at Frank Porter Graham. He said that the Manager's recommended budget could be <br />devastating for his son. One of the reasons is the threatened loss of teacher assistants, which <br />are very important for a child with special needs. He said that he and his wife chose to live in <br />Chapel Hill for the schools. They are willing to pay a premium so that their son can get the <br />services he needs. He said that an increase in only two cents over the proposed rate is worth it <br />to them. <br />Martha Sheard Farley is a CHCCS parent and a math teacher. She asked the County <br />Commissioners to please fully fund the schools. <br />Chistina Grobin has lived here for about 29 years and she works at UNC. She said that <br />Orange County has historically been the subject of admiration in terms of public schools. She <br />said that this cannot and will not continue if the schools' budget request is not fully funded. <br />Good public schools are the bedrock that supports the County's economy. She said that the <br />PTA at Smith Middle School has had a dramatic increase in the number of appeals from <br />teachers for direct support in classroom items. She is willing to pay higher taxes to support <br />public education and she expects the County Commissioners to respect and reflect the will of <br />the people. <br />Katherine Everson is a special education teacher at McDougle Elementary. She asked <br />the County Commissioners to fully fund both school districts' budgets for the next year. She is <br />very passionate and concerned about the impact on special education and at-risk students, <br />many of who are African American and Latino, if classroom assistant positions are reduced. <br />She said that their district has long supported an inclusive model of special services where <br />students with exceptional education needs remain in their classroom for most of the day. She <br />said that there are so many ways that the teacher assistants contribute to the success of these <br />at-risk students. If these positions are lost, she believes that the weakest students will suffer the <br />most. <br />Faith Nager lives in Chapel Hill. She has listened to individuals tonight and has thought <br />how fortunate these children are to have caring, highly motivated staff affecting the outcome of <br />their education. Her son has high functioning autism and he has not been that fortunate. She <br />said that children with disabilities who are more challenging to teach get shoved around from <br />one placement to another. Her son has been in two schools in three years and will attend a <br />third school next year. She said that children like her son are truly at the mercy of people who <br />are inadequately trained and lacking any kind of empathy. Her son has had one staff member <br />fully trained in the education of people with autism, and this person has been spread around to <br />two or three locations in one day. Her son is meeting approximately half of his IEP goals, and <br />with the proper help, he could meet them all. She said that the system is failing him, and he is <br />not the only child caught up in this situation. She does not understand how a school system <br />that is unable to give staff adequate training for children with special needs with the current <br />funding, is expected to cut back on its budget and still enrich children's lives. She asked the <br />County Commissioners to not ask the school system to educate autistic students without the <br />behavioral, visual, and educational modifications necessary to offer them an appropriate public <br />education. If the proposed cuts are made to this budget, it will most likely affect the neediest <br />students. <br />Gayane Chambliss said that everyone throughout the County values education and all <br />are willing to pay for that education. She said that last year the County Commissioners <br />recommended that the OCS reduce their fund balance, indicating that once the fund balance <br />was used to implement programs, the Board of County Commissioners would support the <br />continuation of those programs. Using the district funds, OCS increased local teacher <br />supplements, added social workers and elementary Spanish teachers, and now they ask that <br />