Minutes 04-25-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Superintendent Rhodes, referring to the slide on Budget Drivers, said the Governor's Budget is an unknown factor. He said it has been stated that there is no more funding to be approved for schools until problems in Health and Human Services are fixed. He said he is not planning for any additional funding, other than what the Governor has already identified. Superintendent Rhodes referenced the slide on 2013-14 Budget Drivers and said that there are 667 homeschoolers in Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Orange County and 416 home schools. He said that if a virtual charter is established, and half of those students sign up, this would equate to a drop of just over a million dollars in funding. He noted the all time high in students eligible for free and reduced lunch, and said that schools are a safety net for many students. He said that the spikes in 2010-11 Federal Funding Levels were due to the stimulus and stabilization efforts. He said that the current year federal funding amount is unknown, but it will be lower and affected by sequestration. He said that the impact of funding reversions has been absorbed in ways that protect the classroom up to this point. He said this has resulted in cuts to the central office staff and all staff members are now doing multiple duties. He said recurring fund balance reserves have also been spent. He said that the proposed budget reduces the funding for teacher assistants, and this will result in the loss of teaching assistant positions in grades 2 and 3 across the state. He said that the budget presentation included the claim of increasing teaching positions to cut class sizes; however the increased teaching positions simply mirror enrollment growth. He stressed the importance of small class sizes and said teacher assistants are critical in maintaining this. Superintendent Rhodes referred to the slides on Local Funding Requests and said the Board of Education is requesting an additional $158 per student for the coming year to increase the per pupil appropriation. He said this was approved on Monday night. He said that several one-time needs have been identified for the unassigned fund balance, including the 50 year old steam lines at Orange High School, which are leaking and will require a minimum of$1 million to repair. Superintendent Rhodes introduced and played a student video regarding the laptop program. Superintendent Rhodes said the school board appreciates the financial support for the laptop 1 on 1 program through the quarter cents sales tax. He said this has resulted in better student performance and fewer suspensions. Commissioner Dorosin asked if students have to turn the laptops in at graduation. Superintendent Rhodes said the laptops are returned and re-cycled for the next set of students. These are used for four years before being refreshed. Commissioner Price asked how many students still need laptops. Superintendent Rhodes said 4100 were deployed for students and 800 for staff. He said all high school and middle school students have laptops. He said that if funding is approved, computers will be purchased for 4th and 5th graders in the coming year; these will not go home with the lower grade students. Commissioner Pelissier thanked the board for providing information on what the schools get for their county funding. Commissioner Price gave kudos to the students who produced the video, and Superintendent Rhodes said this was done by students from Cedar Ridge High School. Chair Jacobs asked what is paid for through fair funding. Superintendent Rhodes said that funding pays for resource officers and school nurses. He said the legislators denied matching grants funding school resource officers and other security measures.