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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ~a <br />Resolution Supporting State Public Education Initiatives <br />That Are Clearly and Fully Funded by Additional State Revenue <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners firmly believe that every <br />child in Orange County should have equal access to high quality public education in <br />a safe learning environment; and, <br />WHEREAS, roughly half of Orange County s annual operating budget historically <br />has been expended for school operating and capital purposes; and, <br />WHEREAS, Orange County has for the past decade consistently ranked first among <br />North Carolina's 100 counties in annual per pupil expenditures for school operations, <br />capital expenditures, and debt service; and, <br />WHEREAS, the average cost per square foot of new school construction has <br />increased by approximately 50 percent since 2003; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners believe that the State of <br />North Carolina's commitment to quality public education for all students should <br />match Orange County's commitment thereto; and <br />WHEREAS, the Governor's initiatives and the General Assembly's actions in recent <br />years to reduce average elementary class size, though laudable in intent, have <br />created the effect of an unfunded mandate for Orange County and counties across <br />North Carolina; and, <br />WHEREAS, the resulting reduction in effective school capacity for kindergarten <br />through third grades in Orange County's two public school systems leads to the <br />immediate need for additional school space equivalent to a new elementary school <br />and roughly $20 million in previously unanticipated capital construction costs; <br />NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of <br />Commissioners support the general principle of reduced class size and the <br />construction of new school space to accommodate those smaller classes, but only to <br />the extent that the General Assembly annually appropriates adequate operating and <br />capital funds to fully fund its education initiatives with revenue that is clearly new and <br />unambiguous in its earmarking for the operating, capital, and debt service casts <br />associated with mandated class size reduction. <br />This the 18~h day of April 2006 <br />Barry Jacobs, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />