Minutes 06-05-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner McKee said he does not think that SAPFO is picking up all of the projected students. Chair Coffey said she does not think that a lot of the numbers have been captured. Commissioner Gordon asked how far the $95 per pupil in manager's budget would go. Del Burns said this would basically cover growth. Michael Talbert said the increase that was put in for both school systems covered their projected student growth and the three percent teacher raise that was proposed at that time for the County share. He said that is where the numbers come from. Chair Jacobs said their legislators have said the legislature is expected to adjourn before the schools are out. He said the Board of County Commissioners will not have adopted a budget by then, so adjustments can still be made at the last minute. Chair Jacobs asked Del Burns to go back one slide. He asked how the projections are made for the number of teachers who would take the pay increase. Del Burns said he does not believe this can be done. He said there are on-going lawsuits, and there is no way to predict how many people will be eligible. Chair Jacobs asked how the Board can anticipate what to budget. Del Burns said this should be based on the original Department of Public Instruction (DPI) projection of 3 percent and the proposed changes from the senate. Commissioner porosin asked why the Orange County Schools (OCS) did not share in these lawsuits. Steve Halkiotis said OCS attempted to follow the leadership of the NC School Board Association. He said the district did not want to take on more legal issues and costs, and the board did not feel the same commitment that Guilford and Durham County felt. Chair Jacobs asked if any of their state funded nurses are jeopardized. Steve Halkiotis said probably one and a half positions are affected, and this is not reflected in their budget. Steve Halkiotis read a brief written commentary to the Board. He noted that OCS has 525 driver's education students Commissioner McKee said he wanted to follow up on the comments regarding driver's education. He said this will not only affect private schools and families who cannot afford it, but it will also severely reduce new drivers' ability to drive competently and negotiate the roads effectively. Commissioner Price asked if the transportation cuts have been included in the budget. Del Burns said yes. Commissioner Pelissier asked for a clean sheet to be provided at the next work session, to include the original budget with the updated changes that have been made due to state actions. Michael Talbert said they will plan to do that next week, but staff has been waiting to see the house budget. • Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Pg. 124 & 133 Mike Kelly and Michelle Brownstein Michelle Brownstein said the Orange County staff did a good job of summarizing the state budget cuts. She said Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) are facing over $6 million in cuts in the context of the proposed budget of$91 per pupil. She asked the Board to continue to support the schools and to be creative and think out of the box for funding them. She said the impact of the cuts to staff is going to be very great. She said CHCCS is grateful for all that the Board does, and she understands that school funding affects all other aspects of County government.