Minutes - 20070531 - Laserfiche WebLink

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could not finish Gravelly Hill and complete the mandates with the amount of money proposed by the Manager. Also, Orange High School's track is eroding. She asked the County Commissioners to please explore more options to raise the funds to fully fund the schools' budgets. She spoke in support of raising taxes to fund the schools. Andy Hencke has children in CHCCS. He commended the County Commissioners for placing the education of all children in the County at the forefront of the budget process. He encouraged the Board to return the budget for revision to fully fund the school systems. He asked the Board to be willing to increase property taxes and to consider aneeds-based exemption. He suggested investigating fully financing capital projects across the lifespan to spread out the debt service without putting pressure on the annual process. Michael Buck said that he read in the newspaper that as County Commissioners, they desire to remember Mildred Parker as they deliberate on the impact of fully funding the schools. According to the paper, Ms. Parker, in her letter to the County Commissioners, expressed concern that a tax increase could cost her as much as three month's social security. As he read this article, he wondered why Ms. Parker was being remembered only now. He asked what policies were crafted to assist those for whom taxes are a substantial burden between the annual budget processes. He said that the rising costs of maintaining and operating schools are not new phenomena. He asked what steps the County Commissioners plan to take in the coming year to avoid this situation next year. He asked the County Commissioners to raise his taxes in spite of the hardship on Ms. Parker. He said that past failure to protect Ms. Parker should not be an excuse to compound that failure by under-funding 18,000 school children in the County. He said that his school district needs new teachers and funding to renovate alder schools. He said that no one likes tax increases, but they provide services for all citizens. He said that the County will be building new facilities and there should be a commitment to education also. Kelly Monroe-Porco is the current OCS Parent Leadership Council President. She said that the Parent Leadership Council supports the full funding for the OCS and raising taxes to do this. She said that it is a misconception that OCS parents are not in favor of raising taxes. She asked those people that were in favor of spending about $15 mare a month to fund the schools to please stand. She said that this County may be one of the tops in the State for education funding, but the State is 43rd in the nation in educational funding. She said that building new schools does not necessarily mean that they are funding education, but funding growth. She said that in order to say that Orange County is one of the tops in educational funding, they need to fully fund the schools that they build. She said that by not funding the budget fully, the Board of County Commissioners is saying that these budget items are not necessities. Jennifer Pepin has children in OCS. She is also an employee of the CHCCS. She said that the shortfalls that are projected are overwhelming. She said that, as a parent, she does not understand any decision that does not include fully funding the schools' budgets. She said that schools today are asked to do so much more than simply educate the youth -they are asked to parent, socialize, protect, and teach them. She said that when she was in school, they did not need SROs, ESL teachers, or nurses; but there were not so many problems and issues like there are today. She said that if the teachers are not given every possible resource available, they will eventually leave. She said that teachers are asked to do too much to not be funded by the Board of County Commissioners and supported. Lydia Pepin is 11 years old and is an OCS student. She spoke in support of fully funding the schools' budget. She said that she is concerned that if they are not fully funded, there will not be teacher assistants. She said that taking away gifted and exceptional student teachers is like taking away children's comfort, stability, and needs. She said that if the County Commissioners do not fully fund the schools, it will hurt the students. She said that the schools need all of the staff to help successfully teach the students.