Minutes 09-13-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Hemminger said that they need to think about each school taking one classroom and making it a Pre-K classroom for the older schools. 3. County Update Pre-K Enrollment Impact on the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Craig Benedict said that each school that exists today has a Department of Public Instruction capacity. If the schools considered changing a K-5 classroom to a Pre-K classroom, the school systems would have to lower the capacity for that school and the available seats for SAPFO would go down. Commissioner Hemminger asked if mobile classrooms were included in SAPFO and the answer was no. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools have six mobile units for Pre-K right now. Orange County Schools have none. Commissioner Gordon said that one of the reasons the older schools have not been able to keep up is because the funding of new schools is given priority. She said that it is not right to have such a difference in the older and the newer schools. Commissioner Hemminger said that she does not see the school systems getting rid of Pre-K classes because the SAPFO numbers are going up. She said that older facilities do not make the education, but the programs do. Steve Halkiotis agreed with Commissioner Hemminger and said that we are not just programs. He said that the County needs to talk about comparing apple to apples. The Board of County Commissioners has historically been supportive of schools. He suggested getting a small group together and trying to figure out how to have a minimum of one Pre-K classroom per school. OCS Chair ponna Coffey agreed with Mr. Halkiotis and Commissioner Hemminger and said that Pre-K is part of a longstanding culture that makes Orange County a caring and compassionate place to live. Commissioner Gordon said that she wants to look at both the Pre-K and the older schools. It is complicated and a phased program will be needed for both. Mia Burroughs said that both districts are here to acknowledge what they are currently doing and these Pre-K numbers are making the SAPFO numbers incorrect. She said this was on the agenda so they could know the reality of the Pre-K issue and to acknowledge it. Chair Pelissier suggested taking the next step and inviting Margaret Samuels from Orange County Partnership for Young Children and involve her in the conversation. Jamezetta Bedford said that the school systems may need to adjust/revise the SAPFO numbers to accommodate Pre-K classrooms. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is no coherent, universal approach between the two school systems and the County for providing Pre-K opportunity. He would still like to talk about this. He is not willing to have that conversation tied to SAPFO yet. Commissioner Foushee agreed with Commissioner Jacobs and said that the purpose of Pre-K is "readiness." Pre-K prepares children to come to kindergarten ready. Frank Clifton suggested broadening the discussion that the model should be to build Pre-K classrooms with the building of new schools. Commissioner Jacobs said that the first discussion should be articulating the values and policies and the second discussion is what to do about it. Jamezetta Bedford said that CHCCS spent some time with Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center and there was a partnership. She said that CHCCS has a philosophy, which is that children need to be in Pre-K at the school that they will attend if possible and the curriculum and staffing from age 3 through 3�d grade should overlap. She said that the school board would be glad to share the information. She does not think a whole year should be spent on the philosophy. Chair Pelissier said that she hears that everyone acknowledges that Pre-K is needed. The implications for SAPFO need to be balanced within the entire County budget.