Orange County NC Website
13 <br /> 1 bathroom facilities, HVAC systems, roofing systems, unfunded state mandates, antiquated <br /> 2 science wings, etc. <br /> 3 Chair Halkiotis said Orange County Schools realize the bond will not be split 50/50 but <br /> 4 probably a 60/40 split. He said OCS will provide the BOCC with a 40 percent priority list with <br /> 5 safety as their top priority. <br /> 6 Commissioner Dorosin said the School Board came to the Board of County <br /> 7 Commissioners with a list of renovations for older facilities. He said he was confused as to why <br /> 8 Chair Kelly would think the bond would be for something else given the repeated emphasis <br /> 9 placed on the older buildings by the CHCCS School Board. <br /> 10 Chair Kelly said while the School Board makes requests, it does not assume approval. <br /> 11 He said the agenda abstract stated "Capital Needs" and he just sought clarification. <br /> 12 Andrew Davidson said CHCCS are very fortunate to have a supportive Board of County <br /> 13 Commissioners. He said the capital needs of both schools are about $320 million and $125 <br /> 14 million would only cover about 40 percent of these needs. He said they have their work cut out <br /> 15 for them, but they are very appreciative of the Commissioners' support. <br /> 16 Michelle Brownstein said she applauded all the hard work thus far and was thrilled to <br /> 17 hear the BOCC's decision to have the Schools be the single issue on the bond. She said the <br /> 18 focus must remain on the older facilities for the sake of the entire County and its children. She <br /> 19 said there are a lot of capital needs, but the huge needs of the older schools are paramount, <br /> 20 and the focus must remain clear. She added that the very careful planning done thus far are <br /> 21 now documents of public record. She said the logistics of making renovations while continuing <br /> 22 to educate the children is going to be tricky, and focused collaboration across the County will be <br /> 23 crucial. <br /> 24 James Barrett said he has heard repeatedly from the public that the current state of the <br /> 25 schools is from chronic deferred maintenance. He said it will be important to have and be able <br /> 26 to demonstrate a plan for keeping up with ongoing maintenance needs going forward. <br /> 27 Commissioner Pelissier said there must be a serious conversation about how to address <br /> 28 the remaining maintenance issues the bond will not be able to cover, in order to assure the <br /> 29 public there is a plan in place. <br /> 30 Commissioner Jacobs said the dynamic tension between capital needs versus per pupil <br /> 31 needs must also be looked into. He said the more money there is per pupil, the less money <br /> 32 there is for capital needs. <br /> 33 Chair McKee added the schools' needs are not the only needs in the County. He said <br /> 34 there are Senior Centers bursting at the seams, undeveloped and therefore unusable park <br /> 35 lands, affordable housing issues, child care, and other needs. He said making the decision to <br /> 36 focus the bond solely on schools did not indicate an abandonment of those issues but rather a <br /> 37 choosing to take them off the table at this time. <br /> 38 Chair McKee said the bond will not address all the needs of the schools, but it will make <br /> 39 a start. He said the Commissioners did not address the Education Committee until there had <br /> 40 been conversations with the school boards about their priorities. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Rich to <br /> 43 adjourn the meeting at 9:02pm. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 46 <br /> 47 <br /> 48 Earl McKee, Chair <br /> 49 <br /> 50 Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board <br /> 51 <br />