Agenda - 02-17-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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12 1 Sherri Carmichael said she is speaking on behalf of Smith Middle School, which has 800 2 students. She said the families here are doing their best to advocate on a state and local level 3 for full funding of their school system. She said cuts have been made in existing resources, 4 staff has been lost, and raises have been given up. She urged the Board to take bold action 5 and do whatever needs to be done to fully fund the schools. 6 Elizabeth Welsby has been a resident of Orange County since 1987, and she has three 7 children in the school systems. She said this has become personal, and Texas is having job 8 fairs to lure teachers away with higher salaries. She advocated for full funding of education and 9 an increase to teachers' salaries. 10 Bonnie Hauser said she is here to support fully funding the schools. She suggested 11 using the County's well funded reserves. She said she would also like to suggest several 12 savings ideas, including waiting on the Eubanks convenience center and the roll carts for 13 recycling. She said there is no plan, and the costs are not sustainable. She said the 14 convenience centers are funded mostly out of the general fund, which also funds the schools. 15 She questioned why the convenience center and recycling services cost more than in other 16 counties. She suggested simplification of services and a hold on the Eubanks facility and roll 17 carts in order to avoid committing millions to services before a plan is in place. She asked the 18 Board to take the time to get this right, and to fully fund the schools in the meantime. 19 Gillian Schmidler has three children who hope to be using the CHCC schools for the 20 next 18 years. She volunteers in the kindergarten classroom, and she understands the value of 21 the teaching assistants. She is concerned with anything that would affect this, and she and her 22 husband fully support full funding of the school system. 23 Melinda Abrams has lived in Chapel Hill since 1980 and she has students in CHCCS. 24 She said a group of Carrboro High School students went to the legislature with a sign that said 25 "Don't let our teachers move to Texas." She said these students love their schools and asked 26 about attending this meeting as well. She told them that the Orange County Board of 27 Commissioners love the school system and will probably fund it. 28 Patrick McDonough said he is a parent of two students in the CHCCS and the son of two 29 public school teachers. He said this County has built two of the best school systems in the 30 southeast over the years. He said the state has reduced their investment in education, and they 31 intend to tear down what the Board and this community have built. He said no one wants to 32 raise property taxes, but it may be time to do this. He said every child deserves an education, 33 and every teacher deserves a fair wage. 34 Deborah Gerhardt is a law school teacher at UNC, and she has three children in the 35 public school system. She said research has shown that the most important thing in a child's 36 education is a quality teacher, and her biggest fear is that the County will lose their best 37 teachers this year if the school's budget requests are not funded. She said three of five of the 38 most impactful teachers at Carrboro High School are leaving. She said the Board needs to 39 send a strong message this year, and she asked for full funding for the schools. 40 Matt Bailey is a parent of a child in the CHCCS and he asked the Board to fully fund both 41 schools' budget requests. He said he is a cheapskate, but he is willing to have higher taxes for 42 the schools. He said the school system is the direct reason for the stable property values in this 43 area. 44 Jane Kerwin thanked the Board for their support and their time. She said all of the 45 people here are Orange County residents, and the two school districts are one community. She 46 asked the Board to fully fund the schools' budget requests. 47 Jim Siplon said he came there to thank the Board as they find themselves in the midst of 48 this maelstrom. He said fortune does not pick its time, but the Board has a responsibility to 49 lead, and it is hard. He thanked the Board in advance for the courage it takes to make the long 50 term investments. 51 James Barrett delivered to the Board the names of 223 citizens who are out in the 52 hallway. He said everyone is here because they value education.