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successful middle school after school program, then some of them will be left on their awn and might end up needing other kinds of help in the future. This will not save any money. She said that our children are tested beyond endurance on reading, math, and writing; but this might not be where their skills lie. Skills such as foreign language, mechanicacs, music, and art will go unnoticed if these programs are cut. She asked the County Cammissioners to look at the long-term consequences of their decisions. She said that probably the most endangered students would be most likely affected by the budget shortfalls. Rosetta Wash is DSS Board Chair and Dee Gamble is Chair of the Orange County Daycare Task Force. They requested that $100,000 be reallocated to the Child Care Trust Fund for daycare subsidies. Because of the generosity of the County Commissioners last year, 46 children at 20 different facilities benefited because it reduced the amount of time they had to wait to receive these subsidies by about two months. As of May 5th, there were aver 400 children still an the waiting list at DSS and Child Care Services Association. These children are eligible for the subsidy. Mary Purcell is a reading recovery teacher at Central Elementary in Hillsborough. She asked for full funding of all Orange County schools. She particularly supports funding to add social workers. At Central Elementary, 69% of the student population receives free and reduced lunch. She spoke of a personal experience that shows the urgency of added social worker positions. She said that apart-time social worker is not enough and it is critical that all schools in the County have full-time social workers. Jack Nestor is a CHCCS parent. He spoke in support of full funding for both school systems. He said that it is time to fix the broken system by raising the countywide property tax and reducing the City district tax accordingly. He asked what excuse there was far not adjusting the taxes in order to achieve equity and balance. Amy Levine is an OCS parent, and two of her children have autism. The only thing that has ever been proven to help this condition is education. She asked for full funding far both school systems' requests. She does not mind paying mare taxes. She said that, as County Cammissioners, there is no more important duty than the future of the children. Kelly Monroe Parco said that she would like to know why the County could not institute a countywide supplemental tax with a commensurate decrease in the district tax to begin instituting some equity in the school systems. She asked for an answer via email. She also spoke in support of a new organization called NC CARE, which stands for North Carolina Community Advocates far Revitalizing Education and is run through the North Carolina justice organization. The email far information is infoCanclustice.org. This is a parent group that supports the Leander decision and also supports ensuring that the State continues to provide money far quality education. She said that she spends a lot of time in Orange County schools on different committees. Mostly, the committees involve raising funds for the school system. She is also a former high school English teacher and is tutoring students in both districts. She said that the time is right far the County to do something. She said that according to the Rural School and Community Trust, North Carolina is overlooking its rural schools and ranks ninth in the United States in need of rural education attention and improvement. According to the Leander decision, one of the requirements for a sound basic education is that every school must be provided the resources necessary to support effective instruction within that schools, so that educational needs of all children, including at-risk children, can have the equal opportunity to have a sound basic education. She said that Dr. Madeline Grumet pointed out that Orange County children do not have an equal opportunity when compared to CHCCS, especially after elementary school. She hopes the County