Agenda - 4-a - Discussion with Orange County's Legislative Delegation

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expansion of local option sales taxes and a statewide bond referendum did not pass but is eligible for short session. PE-2: Seek legislation to repeal the statutory authority under N.C. Gen. Stat. 115C-431(c) that allows local school boards to file suit against a county board of commissioners over county appropriations for education. • S531/H305 amended the statute that establishes the dispute resolution process for boards of county commissioners and boards of education. S531 passed the Senate with bipartisan support but was not heard in the House and is eligible for short session. A provision prohibiting school board lawsuits also appeared in the Senate version of the budget, but did not make it through the budget conference process. The NCGA’s Program Evaluation Division completed a study on this issue, but the findings are not yet public. PE-3: Support legislation to provide for an overall increase of funding based on average daily memberships outside of the current formula system. • New approaches to school funding formulas were not introduced in legislation or in the final state budget. The budget does set out a task force to study the current school funding allotment and distribution methods and explore possible improvements. PE-4: Support legislation providing flexibility to align K-12 and community college calendar • One statewide bill, H375, granting local boards of education the ability to align school start dates with that of a community college serving the county, was passed by the House but saw no action in the Senate. Legislation establishing a pilot program authorizing school calendar flexibility for 20 school districts, H389, also was passed by the House and included in the House budget. The Senate took no action on H389 and the final budget did not include the language. Both H375 and H389 remain eligible for consideration in 2018. Additionally, dozens of local bills granting local calendar flexibility were introduced during the 2017 session, but none saw action by the General Assembly. Tax and Finance Approved Goals TF-1: Support efforts to preserve and expand the existing local revenue base of counties, and oppose efforts to divert fees or taxes currently allocated to the counties to the state. Oppose efforts to erode existing county revenue streams and authorize local option revenue sources already given to any other jurisdiction. • H437, S166 and H333 were all aimed at expanding local revenue flexibility. H333 passed the House, but the Senate was unwilling to consider any of the bills. All are eligible for short session 29