Agenda - 12-04-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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11 1 • Create a small work group, to include Orange County staff, CHCCS staff, Town of 2 Chapel Hill staff, and others to continue to brainstorm cost reduction and to provide 3 thoughts and guidance towards options moving forward 4 5 School Board member comments: 6 Rani Dasi said this is a hard conversation, and it feels as some of the ideas are abstract. 7 She said all of these suggestions affect other costs, and how the children are educated. She 8 said she does not feel that there is an appreciation of how much work has gone into this 9 process thus far. She said there are other options, none of which are ideal. She said delaying 10 will not lead to cost savings, but rather it is a kicking of the can down the road, the practice of 11 which has lead to all these pressing needs being here in the first place. She said she 12 understands that the County has limited resources, but the schools have increasing needs and 13 she is unsure of the answer. 14 Commissioner Price said she is interested in the third option of creating a small work 15 group, and asked if there would still be a need to have a decision by December. 16 Pam Baldwin said the December date is for the current bid, and it seems that this 17 discussion is not on the table. She said the third bullet is simply stating the need for discussion 18 about all of the projects moving forward, which is very important. She said the needs are real, 19 and there must be a plan in place. 20 Commissioner Price asked if it would be less agonizing to put the December deadline 21 aside, and have a work group meet and start planning. 22 Superintendent Baldwin said no matter what, CHCCS will leave tonight and work on how 23 to meet legislative demands within the County's means. She said the agony will continue, but 24 CHCCS would like to work in partnership with the County, as these issues will not go away. 25 Commissioner Price asked if moving forward with option three would set aside the 26 December date, and let the Board of County Commissioners meet in January to better assess 27 resources, all the while working in a small group. 28 Pam Baldwin said bullet three has the understanding of working towards the December 29 deadline, while meeting in a small group to figure out next steps. 30 Chair Dorosin asked if CHCCS has a preferred plan of attack: go with the Lincoln 31 Center as bid, finding the additional funds. 32 James Barrett said if CHCCS had a better answer, it would have provided it. He said 33 the plans to address capacity and school construction standards are what the schools are 34 working within. He said the BOCC wanted to expand capacity without building new schools, 35 and this is the approach CHCCS has taken. He said cost escalation is beyond anyone's 36 control, and CHCCS is asking for help. He said the current plans best meet all the agreements 37 that are in place between the CHCCS and the County. 38 Chair Dorosin said they cannot get everything they want, and they need to determine 39 the highest priority. He said it seems that capacity is the highest priority, and he suggested 40 building the pre-K center and waiting on the other parts of the Lincoln Center. He said if that is 41 not possible, then a new plan needs to be developed, whatever that may be. He asked if 42 CHCCS has a top priority. 43 James Barrett said capacity is foremost in their minds, as the deadline must be met; but 44 also the idea of splitting up the project is not good either. He said Phoenix Academy does great 45 work and should not be disrupted, but the administrative office space is needed too. 46 Rani Dasi said her preference would be the Lincoln Center project, with more time to re- 47 visit Chapel Hill High. She said she is not in favor of breaking apart the Lincoln project. 48 Margaret Samuels said she agreed with Rani Dasi and James Barrett. She said it is 49 often difficult to spend money on administrative space, but it is good to have these offices 50 located near to pre-K and Phoenix Academy. She said the administration is quite diverse, and