Agenda - 05-17-2016 - 5-f - Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance – Approval and Certification of 2016 Report

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8 CAPS Phasing with SGR The current CAPS system allows for major residential developments consisting of multiple phases to be placed into the CAPS system by each phase. This allows for Orange County and Orange County Schools to see the number of students generated from each phase of the residential development. The current process accounting for students in the CAPS system once they are actually enrolled in the school system emphasizes a delay that exists from the time a residential development is approved and developed to when students begin to enter the system. For example, the significant proposed residential growth that has occurred in the recent past within Mebane's jurisdiction (and Hillsborough as well) has yet to be seen with OCS student membership numbers and fully realized into the historically based projection methods due to the recession, delayed construction, charter schools, and new family dynamics. Future efforts may include documenting when certificate of occupancies are issued for units in these developments and monitoring actual student membership numbers emerging from these developments. This may provide opportunity to review actual student membership compared to the original CAPS and a greater understanding of development timing. Since student addressing information is not accessible for Orange County Planning staff these efforts would require assistance from Orange County Schools. Levels of Service The adopted levels of services were originally developed based on information provided from the school districts, regarding existing school facilities and their functional ability to handle overcapacity situations, and discussions among the Schools and Land Use Council. The Schools and Land Use Council included members from the School Boards, the BOCC, and Orange County staff. The service levels were adopted in the two Memorandums of Understanding in 2003 between Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) and Orange County, Hillsborough, and Orange County Schools (OCS) after three years of negotiation. Level of service is illustrated as a percentage of a hybrid formula agreed to by the school districts and BOCC and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) rated capacity of schools of a certain level added together. One of the reasons level of service standards above 100% were chosen as benchmarks is that membership may rise near the 100% mark and yet not create a long-term need. For example, if a couple of years have larger than normal grade level class sizes the need for more capacity may exist for only a limited time. The level of service standard can be revised if all original parties are able to agree on new service levels. A level of standard revised upward is usually easier than the opposite because a reduction could potentially create a home building moratorium or create an immediate financial burden on the County. For example, based on the 2016 SAPFOTAC Annual Report, if level of service standards were reduced to 100% the following school needs would arise: o Cedar Ridge High School expansion would be immediately needed o CHCCS Elementary School #12 would be needed in 2022-23 o CHCCS Middle School #5 would be needed in 2019-20 o Carrboro High School expansion would be needed in 2020-21.