Minutes 05-21-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Document Availability • Clerk to Board of Commissioners • County Finance & Administrative Services Office • Orange County Library • Chapel Hill Public Library • Carrboro/McDougle Branch Library • Orange County Website— http://orangecountync.gov/ Conclusion Orange County exists to provide governmental services requested by our residents or mandated by the State of North Carolina. To provide these quality services efficiently, we must; • Serve the Residents of Orange County— Our Residents Come First; • Depend on the energy, skills, and dedication of all our employees and volunteers; • Treat all our Residents and Employees with fairness, respect, and understanding. Orange County Residents Come First Commissioner Rich said will the budgeting be done based on the prior year if the charters schools are not counted as part of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Paul Laughton said the DPI numbers received this year are 322 students less than last year. He added that the numbers from DPI show the seats that are filled in the schools while there is a separate number for the Charter Students. He said the County budgeted according to the March 2015 numbers and then looked at the enrollment numbers for the Charter Schools. He added that the Charter Schools must supply their numbers to the DPI. Paul Laughton referenced page 145 which showed the enrollment projections. He said the chart showed that the total number of projected students for both school districts in 2015- 2016 is 19,729. He said the number of students that are out of district, which is 220, is then subtracted, and the number of Charter School students, which is 531, is added in for a grand total of 20,040 students. He said the charter schools must give enrollment numbers to the School Districts on a monthly basis and the current number of charter students enrolled in Orange County Schools (OCS) is 475 and in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) is 217. Commissioner Rich asked if Paul Laughton is comfortable with the numbers and how they will be achieved. She asked if there is any concern that the student numbers may be incorrect resulting in the Charter Schools receiving too little or too much money. Paul Laughton said he is very comfortable with the numbers as the numbers are given by the Charter Schools to the State as well as reported to both school districts on a monthly basis. 3. Public Comment Chair McKee briefly reviewed the procedures for Public Comment. He emphasized that typically the Commissioners do not comment at Public Hearings. He said this lack of response does not mean that the Commissioners are not listening but rather it allows the public the maximum opportunity to speak. Commissioner Price asked the public to give a specific explanation of how their requested funds will be used. She further requested that staff keep this information available for future reference in the budget.