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Cameron Park due to a very large entering class. She said that it will be difficult if the kindergarten teachers are spread too thin. She said that she would gladly pay mare taxes to preserve the top-notch education of the County's children. Robyn Whitman is a northern Orange County native and is in support of fully funding the OCS budget. There will be more cuts in instructional materials, for which teachers and parents are already paying out-of-packet. She said that the Superintendent's letter points out that OCS is woefully in need of physical improvements. She said that she is very concerned about the possibility of cutting middle school and JU athletics. She said that athletics is a positive in children's lives and gives them academic incentive, escape, bonding, etc. She said that sports provide a ray of hope for a lot of children. She asked the County Commissioners to fully fund the OCS budget as requested as well as the CHCCS budget. She said that every time the County supports things like a senior center, an animal shelter, and other special interests, the children end up paying a price. She is willing to pay more in taxes this year and next year, but it is not fair to ask this for infinity. She said that merger would cause more problems than it will 501Ve. David Werden is an OCS parent and he is in support of raising taxes for the schools. He said that his six-year old son already knows more Spanish than he does. He said that this is an example of the high level of education received at OCS. He said that this level should be maintained and improved upon. Jennifer Jansen is a CHCCS parent and a parent volunteer. She said that she is astounded how many people moved cross-country just to be in the CHCCS district. She is in support of raising taxes to support the schools and to fully fund the budget requests. She said that the schools are an engine driving the local economy and helping the real estate market. She is also concerned about the impact of tax increases on the elderly and those with fixed incomes in the County, however, she said that senior citizens benefit also from the healthy economy and the real estate markets that excellent school systems provide. She is also concerned about cutting the ESL teachers, which would hurt the Hispanic population. She is also concerned about the prospect of cutting middle and JU athletics. She asked the County Commissioners to find creative ways to fully fund both budget requests. She supports tax increases to maintain educational excellence. Ben Lloyd is an Orange County farmer. He commended Laura Blackman far the budget proposal. He said that at last year's budget public hearing there was a man that had done a study of his tax increases since he moved into his house in 1986. The properly tax on the gentleman's house had increased 512°~, along with every other property owner in Orange County. He said that with last year's 7°~ increase added to it, that makes it 519°~. He made reference to Commissioner Steve Halkiotis, who commented last year that the property tax has reached its saturation point. He said that he has lived in Orange County for 77 years. He said that, so far, out of the speakers here tonight, he has only known one. He said that he is delighted to live in a county where the people are so affluent that they can pay taxes unlimited. He said that he assumes that everyone that spoke all have the ability to pay. He said that he wonders haw many of them expect to make less money this year than they did last year. He said that he puts in about 200 acres of soybeans every year. He has been trying to put in soybeans today and the ground was so hard he could only get 150 acres in. He is concerned about crop loss. He said that property owners in northern Orange County -the farmers, the elderly on fixed incomes -are struggling to survive. He said that Orange County used to have 120 dairy farms and now there are 10. There will not be any more dairy farms because the property taxes have become a major expense. He asked how many tax proponents are willing for their food bill to go from 10°~ of their income to 25-30°l0 of their income to save the family farm. He said that these tax increases are going to kill a lot of the people in Orange County. He made reference to the State of the Economy book prepared recently and listed tax rates in neighboring counties - Alamance County is 57 cents, Chatham County is 59 cents, Person