Orange County NC Website
SAPFO Considerations <br /> • 15 students per classroom <br /> • EC Pre— K class counts are much smaller <br /> • Pre — K (18 classrooms) currently equates to about 70% of our average elementary <br /> school (25 classrooms) <br /> Moving Costs <br /> • Room Requirements <br /> ➢ Bathrooms <br /> ➢ Exterior Entrance <br /> ➢ Building, Health, and Fire Safety Codes <br /> ➢ Licensing time and expenses <br /> ➢ Lost income <br /> • Furniture Needs <br /> • Separate and age appropriate playground <br /> Family Impacts <br /> • Disruption of delayed start or abbreviated start <br /> • Uncertainty with last minute changes in location <br /> • Pick up and drop off challenges <br /> • Impact on their employment <br /> Staff Impacts <br /> • Disrupts PLC groupings <br /> • Disrupts teacher/school relationships <br /> • Administrative time spent on the move rather than curriculum, program monitoring, and <br /> staff development work <br /> • Staff Stresses <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that there was a 20-year period where no new schools were <br /> built anywhere in Orange County. Both school systems have old schools. The Commissioners <br /> need to be proactive in looking at Pre-K but also remember the old schools, and the renovations <br /> that are needed, when funding for capital needs is discussed. <br /> CHCCS Chair Mia Burroughs asked Margaret Samuels to come up and address the <br /> issue of public Pre-K slots competing with private providers. <br /> Margaret Samuels said that there are now two rulings that say that Pre-K needs to <br /> expand. It was asked that the appeals court go straight to the Supreme Court to get a ruling, <br /> and the Supreme Court said no. Now it hinges on what the legislature decides to do. She <br /> explained how the partnership between public and private entities worked. The majority of the <br /> slots are in the two school systems and administered by the school systems. <br /> Chair Pelissier said that she is interested in knowing if kids that attend public versus <br /> private schools do better in schools. <br /> Linda Hynmen, Program Manager of Orange County Partnership for Young Children, <br /> said that some of the barriers in private childcare facilities are the fact that they do not have <br /> traditional staff to collaborate with or the ongoing professional development that the schools are <br /> able to offer. Regarding requirements, the private providers in Orange County are equal to both <br /> school systems. <br /> Chair Pelissier said that the County could develop a policy going forward to make sure <br /> new schools have adequate capacity for Pre-K. <br />