Minutes 04-28-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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