Minutes 05-29-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Jim Woodall said Pre-Trial Services is a small budget item for the County, but it is essential. He said this program is important everyday in the court system. He said this program allows them to get people out of jail that should not be there, and it saves the County money. He asked the County to look at the letters from the judges and to fund Pre-Trial Services. Sarah Black is the Director of the Exchange Club Family Center, who provides child abuse prevention and treatment services in Orange County. She asked the Board to re- consider them for funding through the outside agency funding. She said her organization is addressing issues related to juvenile crime, homelessness, and mental health services in the home. Sherri Carmichael said she is speaking on behalf of Smith Middle School, which has 800 students. She said the families here are doing their best to advocate on a state and local level for full funding of their school system. She said cuts have been made in existing resources, staff has been lost, and raises have been given up. She urged the Board to take bold action and do whatever needs to be done to fully fund the schools. Elizabeth Welsby has been a resident of Orange County since 1987, and she has three children in the school systems. She said this has become personal, and Texas is having job fairs to lure teachers away with higher salaries. She advocated for full funding of education and an increase to teachers' salaries. Bonnie Hauser said she is here to support fully funding the schools. She suggested using the County's well funded reserves. She said she would also like to suggest several savings ideas, including waiting on the Eubanks convenience center and the roll carts for recycling. She said there is no plan, and the costs are not sustainable. She said the convenience centers are funded mostly out of the general fund, which also funds the schools. She questioned why the convenience center and recycling services cost more than in other counties. She suggested simplification of services and a hold on the Eubanks facility and roll carts in order to avoid committing millions to services before a plan is in place. She asked the Board to take the time to get this right, and to fully fund the schools in the meantime. Gillian Schmidler has three children who hope to be using the CHCC schools for the next 18 years. She volunteers in the kindergarten classroom, and she understands the value of the teaching assistants. She is concerned with anything that would affect this, and she and her husband fully support full funding of the school system. Melinda Abrams has lived in Chapel Hill since 1980 and she has students in CHCCS. She said a group of Carrboro High School students went to the legislature with a sign that said "Don't let our teachers move to Texas." She said these students love their schools and asked about attending this meeting as well. She told them that the Orange County Board of Commissioners love the school system and will probably fund it. Patrick McDonough said he is a parent of two students in the CHCCS and the son of two public school teachers. He said this County has built two of the best school systems in the southeast over the years. He said the state has reduced their investment in education, and they intend to tear down what the Board and this community have built. He said no one wants to raise property taxes, but it may be time to do this. He said every child deserves an education, and every teacher deserves a fair wage. Deborah Gerhardt is a law school teacher at UNC, and she has three children in the public school system. She said research has shown that the most important thing in a child's education is a quality teacher, and her biggest fear is that the County will lose their best teachers this year if the school's budget requests are not funded. She said three of five of the most impactful teachers at Carrboro High School are leaving. She said the Board needs to send a strong message this year, and she asked for full funding for the schools. Matt Bailey is a parent of a child in the CHCCS and he asked the Board to fully fund both schools' budget requests. He said he is a cheapskate, but he is willing to have higher taxes for the schools. He said the school system is the direct reason for the stable property values in this area.