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4 <br />Attachment 1 <br />Date: April 17, 2014 <br />To: Craig Benedict, Orange County Planning Director <br />From: Todd LoFrese, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services <br />Re: SAPFOTAC Draft Annual Report Comments <br />On April 10, 2014, administration presented the draft SAPFOTAC annual report to the <br />Board at the regular Board of Education meeting. As requested, Board members shared <br />their thoughts and feedback with respect to the draft report. A summary of that feedback <br />is contained below. <br />Facilities Study: The district has completed a comprehensive study of its older <br />facilities' needs. Recommendations across all school levels include increased <br />capacity as part of the needed renovations. If the recommendations are funded <br />and completed, the need for Elementary #12 and the High School expansion could <br />be delayed significantly beyond our 10 year planning window. The timing of <br />these projects is critical. Comprehensive renovations take careful planning and <br />phasing. Phasing becomes increasingly difficult as school levels reach and <br />exceed capacity. Our ability to delay the need for new schools is dependent upon <br />the successful completion of renovations and additions at our older schools. <br />Pre -K: Currently SAPFO doesn't reflect the impact of having Pre -K in our <br />schools although this has a significant capacity impact, especially at our older <br />schools. Our district has over 250 pre- school students enrolled in our program. <br />This equates to twenty classrooms that are utilized for this purpose located on all <br />of our eleven elementary school campuses. The aforementioned facility study <br />includes recommendations to centralize our Pre -K program. If completed, <br />permanent Pre -K classrooms would be created releasing classrooms for additional <br />K -5 students at our elementary schools. <br />• Student Generation Rates: We have previously questioned whether the student <br />generation rates currently in use accurately reflect the impact of new development <br />that is occurring in our school system. The County has agreed to conduct a new <br />study and the process is underway. We are pleased that this has been supported. <br />The Board also voiced continued support for the SAPFO report and process. Board <br />members expressed appreciation of the collective commitment of all the SAPFO partners. <br />L'ncoln Center, 750 S. Merritt Mill Road - Chapel Hill, NC 27516 -2878 - (919) 967-8211 - www.chccs.k1 2.nc.us <br />