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a <br />DRAFT <br />April XX, 2007 <br />Kevin Foy <br />Mark Chilton <br />Tom Stevens <br />Glendale Stevenson <br />Dear Sirs: <br />The Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Orange County Board.of County Commissioners, the <br />Orange County Board of Education, and the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Board of Education <br />have collaborated over the last few years to address a variety of common interests. Our <br />work group's most recent discussions have centered on the County's School <br />Construction Standards. The Standards provider benchmarks for various school <br />construction components. Examples of components outlined in the Standards include <br />square footage, school site acreage, and .student capacity at each school level, <br />elementary, middle and high.. We recognize the fact that 'it is .important to look beyond <br />"traditional schools" -large schools that require 25 to 50 acres of land - to more non- <br />traditional schools that would offer flexibility and accommodate various. local conditions <br />including the availability, or the lack thereof, of land. <br />One of our next tasks is to collaborate with our municipal partners and identify potential <br />future school sites that fit the parameters outlined in the standards. The ultimate goal of <br />this process would be that the County, who is statutorily responsible for funding school <br />construction, might possibly consider opportunities to "land bank" properties that would <br />be suitable for future school sites. <br />As growth and development continues throughout our County, available and suitable <br />future school sites become limited. In turn, we must grow smarter through proactive <br />cooperative .efforts and find appropriate school sites as far in advance of our needs as <br />possible. Land banking will allow the County to find sites that exhibit as many smart <br />growth attributes as possible. Attributes, although not adopted at this point, can include <br />a variety of subjects from public transportation and walkability to green building <br />designed schools and the community communication aspects therein. <br />Our collective past work with regard to the Schools Adequate Public Facilities <br />Ordinance (SAPFO) has helped us project future school capital needs for aten-year <br />