Agenda - 09-05-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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6 1 Superintendent Rhodes referenced the slide on 2013-14 Budget Drivers and said that 2 there are 667 homeschoolers in Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Orange County and 416 home schools. 3 He said that if a virtual charter is established, and half of those students sign up, this would 4 equate to a drop of just over a million dollars in funding. 5 He noted the all time high in students eligible for free and reduced lunch, and said that 6 schools are a safety net for many students. He said that the spikes in 2010-11 Federal Funding 7 Levels were due to the stimulus and stabilization efforts. He said that the current year federal 8 funding amount is unknown, but it will be lower and affected by sequestration. 9 He said that the impact of funding reversions has been absorbed in ways that protect 10 the classroom up to this point. He said this has resulted in cuts to the central office staff and all 11 staff inembers are now doing multiple duties. He said recurring fund balance reserves have 12 also been spent. 13 He said that the proposed budget reduces the funding for teacher assistants, and this 14 will result in the loss of teaching assistant positions in grades 2 and 3 across the state. He said 15 that the budget presentation included the claim of increasing teaching positions to cut class 16 sizes; however the increased teaching positions simply mirror enrollment growth. He stressed 17 the importance of small class sizes and said teacher assistants are critical in maintaining this. 18 Superintendent Rhodes referred to the slides on Local Funding Requests and said the 19 Board of Education is requesting an additional $158 per student for the coming year to increase 20 the per pupil appropriation. He said this was approved on Monday night. 21 He said that several one-time needs have been identified for the unassigned fund 22 balance, including the 50 year old steam lines at Orange High School, which are leaking and 23 will require a minimum of$1 million to repair. 24 Superintendent Rhodes introduced and played a student video regarding the laptop 25 program. 26 Superintendent Rhodes said the school board appreciates the financial support for the 27 laptop 1 on 1 program through the quarter cents sales tax. He said this has resulted in better 28 student performance and fewer suspensions. 29 Commissioner porosin asked if students have to turn the laptops in at graduation. 30 Superintendent Rhodes said the laptops are returned and re-cycled for the next set of 31 students. These are used for four years before being refreshed. 32 Commissioner Price asked how many students still need laptops. 33 Superintendent Rhodes said 4100 were deployed for students and 800 for staff. He said 34 all high school and middle school students have laptops. He said that if funding is approved, 35 computers will be purchased for 4th and 5th graders in the coming year; these will not go home 36 with the lower grade students. 37 Commissioner Pelissier thanked the board for providing information on what the schools 38 get for their county funding. 39 Commissioner Price gave kudos to the students who produced the video, and 40 Superintendent Rhodes said this was done by students from Cedar Ridge High School. 41 Chair Jacobs asked what is paid for through fair funding. 42 Superintendent Rhodes said that funding pays for resource officers and school nurses. 43 He said the legislators denied matching grants funding school resource officers and other 44 security measures. 45 Chair Jacobs said he asked Congressman Price about federal funding and was told that 46 there had been discussions. 47 Chair Jacobs thanked the board for the presentation and expressed appreciation for all 48 that OCS does. 49 50 Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) Presentation: