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18 <br /> 1 CHCCS Board Member Mia Burroughs asked if there can be agreement on philosophy, <br /> 2 without inclusion of the last paragraph. <br /> 3 Chair Jacobs suggested agreement on the "whereas" statements with more time to <br /> 4 digest the therefore statements. <br /> 5 Commissioner porosin noted the third whereas, which mentions co-location and he <br /> 6 asked for clarification on what this means. He feels that there needs to be broader thinking. He <br /> 7 suggested that the co-location sentence be removed. <br /> 8 Commissioner Rich clarified that schools built now are required to have pre-k on <br /> 9 campus and said that this would have to be changed. <br /> 10 CHCCS Board Member Mia Burroughs said she is comfortable taking that sentence out. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 A motion was made by Commissioner porosin, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to <br /> 13 approve the three "whereas" paragraphs in the draft resolution (with the removal of sentence <br /> 14 proposed by Commissioner porosin) below: <br /> 15 <br /> 16 Whereas, children who are at risk for school failure are more likely to succeed in school <br /> 17 and in later life if they attend a high quality preschool. North Carolina and national studies <br /> 18 have shown repeatedly that good preschool programs give children long term advantages in <br /> 19 cognitive and social development. Studies that track preschool graduates into adulthood <br /> 20 demonstrate positive impact on graduation rates, employment and arrest records. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 Whereas, the public schools in Orange County provide pre-kindergarten programs for <br /> 23 three and four year olds in order to improve the participants' success throughout their school <br /> 24 careers. This investment is good for the individual students and should also reduce the <br /> 25 districts' expenditure for specialized intervention services. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Whereas, the school systems are an integral part of a network of preschool providers in <br /> 28 Orange County who are willing to accept subsidies for low income children provided by the <br /> 29 state and federal preschool programs. The schools help their preschool students' transition <br /> 30 successfully to kindergarten by aligning their curriculum and services with the rest of the public <br /> 31 school program. Schools include their Pre-K programs in their efforts to evaluate what works <br /> 32 and to continuously improve outcomes for children. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 Commissioner Pelissier said she thinks this isn't an opinion issue but is about what <br /> 35 works best. She said there needs to be information put forth to thoroughly discuss this issue. <br /> 36 Commissioner porosin said he is specifically addressing the older schools, where this is <br /> 37 an issue for the schools. <br /> 38 Commissioner Pelissier said, even with the older schools, the basis for decisions should <br /> 39 be based on information about what really works best in Pre-K. <br /> 40 Commissioner Gordon said the main point is that Pre-k education is valuable. <br /> 41 Chair Jacobs said on June 12 at 10am there will be another school collaboration <br /> 42 meeting and this will be addressed further at that time. . <br /> 43 <br /> 44 VOTE: UNANIMOUS—Board of County Commissioners <br /> 45 <br /> 46 Commissioner Pelissier said it would be helpful to run some scenarios to see how this <br /> 47 issue affects debt capacity. <br /> 48 Commissioner McKee said there was no discussion on the "therefore be it resolved" <br /> 49 paragraphs and he feels the Board of County Commissioners needs to address this sooner <br /> 50 rather than later. <br />