Minutes 05-30-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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community. He read the goals listed by the Parks Department, and he asked for help from the Board to move forward. Mary Parry lives in Chapel Hill and has three kids in CHCCS. She said she is embarrassed to see our state moving backwards. She realizes this is not the fault of the Board, however the residents are here to ask the Commissioners to step up. She said the County will need to fill in the gaps that the legislature is making, and she said that residents should be willing to pay higher taxes. She encouraged residents to write letters and attend rallies in order to stand up for all of the residents of this state. Emma Parry is a rising 6th grader at Phillips Middle School, and she said her school is known to be in the best school system in N.C. She said that core classes need to stay at reasonable sizes to avoid stretching teachers too thin and losing the quality of education that Orange County is known for. She said spending money on education is important, and she asked the Board to invest in schools in Orange County. Andrea Knight said her family has lived in Orange County for 17 years. She said she and her husband located their small business in Orange County mostly because of the schools. She said that quality education is essential. She thanked the Board for their fiscal stewardship, but said that now the schools need more funding. She asked the Commissioners to please fully fund the schools' requested budget. Her daughter also spoke and said, "if you take care of me now I will take care of you later." Stephen Redman spoke on behalf of Cedar Ridge and the school's request to have an auxiliary gym and classrooms. He stressed that both of these things are needed. He said that teachers are not in this for the money but for the spark in the kids' eyes. He asked for the Board to fund these requests in order for students to have the facilities to move forward with athletics that open gateways to success. Lisa Kaylie is a parent of children in CHCCS, one of whom is special needs. She asked for full funding for their school district. She said that special needs children require more attention in the classroom, and her son needs a teacher assistant in his classroom. She said that a lack of full funding will result in a loss of jobs that will hit special needs kids hardest. She said that her son is high functioning autistic and has an Individualized Education Plan that requires him to have specific support in the classroom. She said this support will not be available in the face of some of the proposed cuts. She said this support is critical in allowing special needs kids to access their education. She asked the Board tom to raise the special district tax in order to pay for full school funding. Lixia Yao lives in Chapel Hill and he said that research done by the National Education Association shows the national average per capita tax revenue of state and local government in 2010 was $4,112; however, this same number was $3,403 in North Carolina, which ranks the state as 35th. He said the average per-student revenue was $12,000 nationwide and only $9,020 in N.C., which ranks the state as 50th. He hopes that Orange County can do its part to mitigate the seeming disproportionate numbers. He said that the county is already paying less personal income taxes while having higher income. He asked for full funding for the schools. Jay Miller said he is on the Arts Center Board, and he has been involved for over 30 years with the center. He said that the center is asking for$10,000 through the outside agency process. He said this will be used for arts and education, and this program is being expanded into three Title 1 schools. He said this money will fund scholarships for underprivileged children. He also has a daughter who is a special education teacher, and he would like to ask for full funding of schools as well. Monica Palmera spoke on behalf of the Jackson Center. She said the center asked for $9000 through the outside agency process for the Jackson Center but funding was denied. She