Orange County NC Website
4 <br />Bond Promects (see Attachment .Q <br />• Orange High School Geothermal HVAC project <br />• Reece Noland and McElrath, Inc. has been retained to design the project <br />• Test wells are in process to determine conductivity of soils <br />• Multi-year project <br />• Cedar Ridge High School Classroom Wing <br />• Corley Redfoot Architects, designed the original school building and has been retained to <br />also design this classroom addition. <br />• Project design is on-going. <br />• Occupancy anticipated for beginning of school year August 2020. <br />• Other bond projects related to infrastructure replacement are reflected on the attached schedule <br />in the year in which commencement is expected. <br />• Bond projects are aligned with planned bond sale cash flow requirements. <br />Student Resource Officers (SROs) <br />OCS has a long-standing relationship with the Orange County Sheriff's office to provide SROs in all of its <br />schools. The current agreement with Orange County to fund such services is attached (Attachment 3). <br />SROs in each school partner with the school administration to provide a safe campus. They maintain full <br />certification as a law enforcement officer while assigned as an SRO and may provide law enforcement <br />duties as appropriate and called for on the school campus. SROs :serve as positive role models for <br />parents and students and are called upon to assist in a variety of interactions with both groups. They are <br />an integral part of the school community fabric. <br />District OCS staff periodically holds sessions with staff and SROs to enhance this relationship and ensure <br />clear understanding of roles. An agenda of the July 25, 2017 session is attached for your information <br />(Attachment 4). <br />Mental Health Resources <br />As with any school system, OCS experiences challenges with supporting the mental health needs of its <br />students and school community. While there is much work to be done in this area, students are <br />currently supported through: <br />• Contract with LCSW: Orange County Schools contracts with a Licensed Clinical Social <br />Worker. The social worker's role in the district is as follows: provide therapeutic support to <br />the 3 Special Education classes for students with behavioral concerns, provide staff <br />development for social workers and school counselors and work with students/school teams <br />on strategies for managing behavior effectively <br />• School Based Mental Health: Within the next month, OCS will enter into an MOU with a <br />new vendor partner. This provider accepts clients on Medicaid as well as some private <br />services providers (BCBS is one of insurers accepted). Additionally, this new agency has <br />providers that can provide substance abuse counseling if the district wants to engage in that <br />service as well. <br />In addition, parents are provided a handbook with comprehensive service providers and service <br />descriptions as prepared by Mental Health of America of the Triangle for Orange, Person and Chatham <br />Counties. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: none <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): Receive as information. <br />