Agenda - 02-09-2006-9b - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 9, 2006 Action Agend Item No. ~~ SUBJECT: Discussion Regarding Inclusion of School Merger Option in School Equity Considerations DEPARTMENT: Commissioners/Manager ATTACHMENT(S): None PUBLIC HEARING: (YJN) No INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry .)acobs, Chair, 919-245-2125 John Link or Rod Visser, 919-245-2300 PURPOSE: To decide whether to include merging the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Orange County Schools in ongoing discussions of school equity, BACKGROUND: The BOCC recently expanded the meeting time of a work session to be held beginning at 4:OOpm on February 16. As discussed at the Board's annual planning retreat on .lanuary 20, and at the ,)anuary 31 work session, the first topic of discussion for the February 16 work session will be school equity, At this February 9 regular meeting, the Board may wish to determine whether or not the possibility of merging the County's two school systems is an aspect of school equity that the Board wishes to discuss in more detail at the Febn~ary 16 work session, At the January 20 retreat, the Board reviewed all the priorities that Commissioners had identified back in November 2005 as work elements they would like to see the County accomplish in coming months, Included among the suggested school-related priorities were: • Bring closure to school system funding equity debate • Discuss school funding and opportunity • Define and move towards funding equity • Define school funding equity and then decide the school funding equity issue • Bring closure to school merger debate In response to a request for clarification from Commissioner Carey, the Board may decide either to preserve or to remove this strategy from the mix, preparatory to further deliberations at its work session on February 16, 2006, The Board also discussed at the retreat the notion of Commissioner "homework" related to the equity question. The Board may wish to discuss fiarther what other preparations individual Commissioners should make for the February 16 work session discussion on school equity. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated directly with discussion of this item. However, decisions that the Board may make subsequently will have significant impacts on school funding, which comprises roughly half of Orange County's annual operating budget.