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Chair Coffey asked what the equivalent of$1 million in debt would be in debt service. <br /> Clarence Grier said this would be $80,000-$100,000. <br /> Chair Brownstein said the threshold needs to be defined as to what is unfunded. She <br /> said this clarity is needed before next budget process. <br /> Clarence Grier said there is a monthly meeting of superintendents and managers, and <br /> this will be discussed at that time. <br /> Chair Coffey said it would be good for the school collaboration group to hear this <br /> discussion. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked if each of the boards will get the same template to use for <br /> the budget process. <br /> Clarence Grier said yes. <br /> 3. Proposed County Jail and Chapel Hill — Carrboro City Schools Middle School #5 <br /> Discussion <br /> Chair Jacobs said these are the two biggest ticket items on the horizon. He said that <br /> these needs must be defined to have starting parameters for a possible bond in 2014. <br /> Clarence Grier said the state has given the county a 50 year land lease for the new <br /> county jail facility. He said the jail will cost approximately $30 million and house 250 prisoners. <br /> He said construction will begin in 2015, with completion by 2017. The state has given the county <br /> 5 years to complete the project. <br /> Clarence Grier said the Culbreth science wing has been approved to alleviate <br /> overcrowding. He said this pushes out the need for a 5th Chapel Hill/Carrboro middle school by <br /> two years. He said the project will be completed in years 2017-2020, and the cost is projected <br /> to be $43 million. <br /> He said the total of these two projects is $74 million. He said there are no projects for <br /> Orange County Schools addressed here, and there is a possible need for an 8th elementary <br /> school in Orange County. He said the debt service for the two big items, measured over 20 <br /> years, is $4.9 million with 3 cents on the tax rate. <br /> Chair Coffey said DPI projected that Orange County Schools would grow by 82 students <br /> this year. She said there were already 186 new students as of the 10th day of school. She said <br /> the bulk of this has come at the high school level. She said the County is already over 100% at <br /> the high school level, which means that this number will be bumping up to 110% over the next <br /> couple of years. She asked for some consideration of how far the 500 student addition will go <br /> at Cedar Ridge, versus a 1200 student high school. She said the cost effectiveness needs to <br /> be considered. <br /> She encouraged the Board to consider the new facilities needed by Orange County <br /> schools as bonds are being discussed. <br /> Chair Brownstein said the other piece to this is the need to address the issue of older <br /> schools and the need for new construction. She feels that this issue must be addressed. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said there is a process in place to handle school growth, and that <br /> is the SAPFO process. She said the County gets new student enrollment numbers in the fall, <br /> and these are reviewed by the technical committee. She said projections of growth are not the <br /> problem; however the funding of growth is another question. She said that if a bond were <br /> initiated, this would involve a bond committee and a process. <br /> Chair Jacobs said this is a discussion about two different things— 1) projections 2) two <br /> large projects as the impetus for when the Board would make a decision about a bond. He said <br /> this grows into the question of other perceived needs of the older schools and whether these <br /> would be addressed with a bond or not. He noted that the jail is a pressing item as this land is <br /> leased and must be used by a certain date. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification of the state law for paying off bonds for <br /> jails. <br />