Minutes 05-01-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Commissioner Jacobs said the report on the consolidated housing program has a number for people who are age 62 and older, which is almost identical to the number of students being funded in the two school systems. Commissioner Jacobs said a SWOT analysis was completed, which recommended that the County aim for 70% property tax dependence and this budget meets this recommendation. Commissioner Burroughs said she appreciated the work and the presentation; and she particularly appreciated the concept of the deferred maintenance for the schools over time. Commissioner Burroughs referred to the charter schools, and said, at some juncture, too many students will leave for charter schools, and it would be wise for the school districts, especially OCS, to show where/when children are leaving for charter schools. She said if the losses are scattered throughout the district, then the current plan is still valid, but if this trend continues, more information may be helpful. Chair Dorosin said he is not advocating for changing the policy, but rather he wants more information in order to tell the story to the residents of Orange County of the full range of support the County provides to the school districts. He said he thinks the number of children leaving the public schools for the charter schools is already at a critical point. Commissioner Burroughs said she would like to see the data on the charter students. Chair Dorosin said the County has close to 10% of students attending charter schools, and the school districts are held harmless. He said if this policy were to change, it would have a negative impact on the school districts. Chair Dorosin referred to Commissioner Jacobs’ point about the property tax, and said it would it would be useful to break down the 70% property tax to see how much is residential and how much is commercial. Commissioner Jacobs said the charter schools have their own growth plan, and the County needs to be more proactive in projecting where this trend is going. He said the County may not have any control over the charter schools, but it does have control over whether or not to keep holding harmless the charter school students. Chair Dorosin said the state law was changed last year, and now charters can grow up to 20% without additional oversight. Commissioner Marcoplos said Commissioner Burroughs’ request for more information gets to the point that all of the lights do not have to be kept on if 30% of the students have left a district. Commissioner Jacobs said this may work in tandem with the mandated class size reduction. Commissioner Price said there are incentives provided to businesses to build in Orange County, and as these incentives time out, the County starts to see tax revenue. She asked if the revenues will be projected in the budget at any point. Bonnie Hammersley said it will show in the 5-year projection, and this is the last year of the incentive for Morinaga. She said there will be a little bit more money in article 46, as it is currently being used to pay the incentive. Commissioner Price asked if this is shown now. Paul Laughton said it shows now in the article 46 sales tax fund. Commissioner Price said there is a trend with students leaving, but the County needs to find out why the students are leaving, or else we will end up with one school district being wealthier than the other. She said it is important to think about how to get the schools back to a level where parents want their children to return. 5. Public Hearings a. Public Hearing on the Financing of Various Capital Investment Plan Projects