Minutes - 20070531 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Sarah Kendall is in the 3rd grade at Cameron Park. She said that their school needs money and fully funded budgets. She asked the County Commissioners to give OCS the money it needs. Aaron Kendall is a ~h grader at Stanford. He said that it is budget crunch time. He said that he could tell the County Commissioners all about the budget line items. He said that all OCS schools have needs. He said that they couldn't afford to not fund their schools. He said that each student deserves to have a clean, functioning school that houses dedicated and appreciated staff. He said that if excellence is possible, then good is not enough. Suzanne Gould has a son that works at the jail as a Deputy Sheriff and she is a teacher. She said that her son says that there are so many young people in jail. She told him that school systems that support children at an earlier age are much better off. She said that these at-risk children need school-funded programs. She said that Orange County needs to have alternative sources for the tax base and it needs to broaden the tax base. She agrees that all schools need to be funded. She suggested charging developers with taxes, going after delinquent taxpayers and cheaters, going after the University to make it pay far the infrastructure that it is requiring, reconsidering the bonds and reducing the debt on the bonds by spreading it over the lifetime and possibly refinancing at a lower interest rate. She also urged the County Commissioners to go after the education lottery. She thanked the County Commissioners for the good job that they do. Susan Houck is an OCS parent. She said that she appreciates all of the services she receives from their taxes. She said that they may save a few dollars in their taxes now but they will pay in the future for not fully funding the schools. She asked the Board to fully fund the OCS by raising ad valorem or by having the real estate transfer tax or widening the commercial base. Carol Elliot is a parent of OCS children. She added support to all who came before her asking the County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget. Virginia Guilfoile is an eight-year volunteer of CHCCS and President of East Chapel Hill High School PTA. She said that the PTA believes it is counterproductive to cancel contracts and cut back hiring teachers and teacher assistants in order to provide State-mandated pay increases. She said that they have placed a tremendous burden on the educators to accomplish the objectives of No Child Left Behind. She said that staff is being demoralized by being asked to do more and more every year and with fewer programs to support student achievement. She said that the PTA of East Chapel Hill High School asks the County Commissioners to uphold the commitment to education and to fully fund the budget. Joseph Shinnick is a parent of OCS children. He thanked the Board of County Commissioners far the support of education. He supports fully funding the OC5 school budget. He spoke in support of raising his taxes and doing whatever needs to be done to fully fund the schools' budgets. Ron Geib is a parent of OCS children. He said that there are repair issues at Cameron Park. He said that the fact that the County Commissioners are considering not funding the full budget is not acceptable. He supports an increase in his taxes. Gene Mauck is a substitute teacher in Orange County. He said that he does not think the Board of County Commissioners realizes what they have in the teachers of Orange County. Teachers help out wherever and whenever needed, with or without raises each and every year. He said that he has seen teachers paying out-of-pocket for school-related items. He said that teachers stay as long as is needed during the school day. He said that taxes are low here and he asked the County Commissioners to raise taxes. He said that athletics in middle schools should not be cut because some students go to coaches far advice and have no one else to turn to, and have better success at school because of participation in sports. He said that the County Commissioners should write the State about the lottery funds.