Agenda - 05-17-2016 - 5-a - Minutes

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11 1 Commissioner Burroughs said she is pleased that the two districts are working 2 collaboratively. 3 Commissioner Burroughs said she is not in a panic yet about the budget requests, and 4 she complimented the Manager on her hires for the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy 5 Manager. She said more details will be known about the budget this year, and there may be a 6 little wiggle room. 7 Commissioner Burroughs said there are things that the BOCC can delay in funding. 8 Commissioner Dorosin appreciated the collaboration, and said the goal next time should 9 be to come in with the same per pupil request for both districts. 10 Commissioner Dorosin said it is a mistake to consider these times as a crisis, because 11 this is the current reality, which may last another four years given the issues in the legislature. 12 He said there are also other counties that do not prioritize education. 13 Commissioner Dorosin said the school districts should look at what else goes into 14 recruitment and retention of teachers. He said there are other factors besides pay that drives 15 teachers out of their jobs, some of which are uniquely in control of the BOE. 16 Commissioner Dorosin extended his sincere compliments to OCS for adopting a 17 resolution asking for the repeal of HB2. 18 Commissioner Pelissier said one of her concerns is that less people are going into 19 education training, and therefore there will be less people from which to recruit. She said she 20 wanted to know how many teachers are leaving due to actually leaving the profession. She 21 echoed the compliments to the districts for their collaborative efforts. 22 Commissioner Pelissier referred to the tax issue, and said her real concern is that 23 services continue to increase in cost, and the government needs to be able to respond 24 accordingly to be able to provide services and education. She said there certainly must be 25 serious thought given prior to raising taxes. She said it is a complex topic, and general 26 statements can be harmful. She said a lot is being done for those in need in Orange County. 27 Chair Barrett referred to Commissioner Burroughs comments regarding a state increase 28 in teacher pay, and said the legislature may cut other items, thus eradicating any buffer that 29 may be in place. 30 Chair Barrett said part of the reasons there are cuts in education at the state level is 31 because the income taxes were cut. He said this difference may have to be made up locally. 32 Steve Halkiotis thanked the Board of County Commissioners for what it can do in 33 regards to education. He said it was wonderful to see the two districts work together. He said 34 there is a rise in serious needs amongst the families of Orange County, but he knows the 35 BOCC and the BOEs are going to do the very best with the resources available in these times 36 where education is under attack. 37 Todd Wirt said for years the value of experience within Orange County Schools has 38 been stressed. He said OCS understands that a great number of variables go into recruitment 39 and retention, and commitments are being made to these things when possible. He said he 40 wants higher salaries for the teachers, and he wants TAs, as both are valuable. 41 Rani Dasi thanked the BOCC for its support of education. She said salary is not the 42 highest priority for teachers, when it is within a normal range. She said her salary as a starting 43 teacher 25 years ago is the same as what the districts are seeking to offer now, noting that 44 there are many inflationary issues to consider. She said the State has created this problem, but 45 the children cannot wait another year to have a quality teacher. 46 Commissioner Jacobs wanted to bring up the topic of raising school impact fees. He 47 said this topic should be considered going forward and possibly before the summer break. He 48 said this is a tool at their disposal, which should be pursued, especially given the expected 49 continued growth in Orange County in the coming years.