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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: March 20, 2018 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-c <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) – Receipt and <br />Transmittal of 2018 Annual Technical Advisory Committee Report <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />1. SAPFO Partners Transmittal Letter <br />2. Draft 2018 SAPFOTAC Annual Report and <br />Larger Scale Projection Worksheets <br />Ashley Moncado, Planner II, 919-245-2589 <br />Craig Benedict, Director, 919-245-2575 <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To receive the 2018 Annual Report of the SAPFO Technical Advisory Committee <br />(SAPFOTAC) and transmit it to the SAPFO partners for comments before certification in May. <br /> <br />NOTE: The School Capacity Capital Investment Plan (CIP) Needs Analysis projects no new <br />school capacity needs in the next 10 years for elementary, middle and high school levels for <br />both Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). <br /> <br />ADDITIONAL NOTE: The State of North Carolina passed legislation in 2017 resulting in a <br />decrease in class size averages from 1:21 to 1:20 for kindergarten to third grade for the 2017- <br />2018 school year. As a result, both school districts experienced a decrease in capacity at the <br />elementary school level this school year. <br /> <br />This legislation also proposed an additional decrease in class size averages from 1:20 to 1:17 <br />for kindergarten to third grade for the 2018-19 school year. Due to significant statewide <br />ramifications as a result of the reduced class size averages, the North Carolina General <br />Assembly unveiled House Bill 90 which allows for a phasing-in process to address the decrease <br />in class size averages over the next four years. Based on House Bill 90, average class sizes for <br />kindergarten to third grade will be phased-in as provided below: <br />2019 – 2020 1:19 <br />2020 – 2021 1:18 <br />2021 – 2022 1:17 <br />Over time the phasing-in of the 1:17 class size averages will result in a decrease in capacity of <br />approximately 660 students for CHCCS. Due to a waiver from the state, CHCCS will have an <br />additional year to plan for impacts resulting from changes in class size. OCS has begun the <br />process of adjusting average class sizes this school year in order to prepare for future <br />reductions. The SAPFO Technical Advisory Committee will continue to monitor this issue and <br />determine the need for the reconvening of the Schools Joint Action Committee (SJAC), which is <br />comprised of elected officials, in the future. The SJAC is rarely used, but can suggest how to <br />implement legislation as it relates to SAPFO. The Board of Commissioners should at some <br />point consider whether or not to move forward on this implementation, and this issue is <br />proposed as a topic for an upcoming County/Schools Collaboration Meeting. <br />1