Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
7 <br /> <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if the demographic breakdown of the charter students that <br />attend charter schools in Orange County is known. <br />Todd Wirt said the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) data indicates that the two <br />largest charter schools in Orange County are 88% are white, and both are 5% free and reduced <br />lunch. <br />CHCCS said its data is similar. <br />Travis Myren resumed the PowerPoint presentation: <br /> <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro Charter Students by Grade Level – table - page 16 <br /> <br />Orange County Total Funded Students - table – page 17 <br />• School Facility Enrollment Decreased by 2.6% <br />• Charter Students Increased by Nearly 25% and Comprise 9.6% of Total Funded <br />Students <br />• Overall 0.8% Decrease in Funded Students <br />• Percentage of Total Enrollment Decreased by 0.63% <br />• Lower Proportion of Funds Allocated by Average Daily Membership <br />(ADM) <br /> <br />Orange County Funded Student History - table <br /> <br />Commissioner Rich asked Travis Myren if he could explain charter school funding. <br />Travis Myren said as part of the ADM calculation, the charter student is funded as if <br />he/she is in the school, and the funds follow the student to the charter school. He said if the <br />student was not included in the funding formula, then the school districts would have to take <br />that out of their current expense budget, and have a lower effective ADM for everybody else <br />who is left in the school facilities. <br />Commissioner Rich said there is confusion of how the money is funneled into the <br />charter schools. She said Orange County is paying for the students, and the school districts <br />are not being penalized for these students leaving. <br />Travis Myren said yes, the per pupil is funded by the County, so that the school districts <br />do not have to take it out of their current expense budget. <br />Commissioner Rich asked if the County is paying double for the charter school students. <br />Travis Myren said there is $4,165 given to the schools, which is then given to the charter <br />school; $8,330 is not given to the schools. <br />Commissioner Price clarified that the County reimburses the schools for the Charter <br />students. <br />Travis Myren said the County gives the schools $4,165 per student, and the school <br />districts pay that to the charter schools. <br />Commissioner Price asked if “hold harmless” could be defined. <br />Travis Myren said if the County did not pay the $4,165 per student, then the school <br />districts would have to take it out of their current expense budget, and, therefore, the money <br />available for all other students in the district would be less. He said there is no state <br />requirement that any County must provide school districts funds for charter students. He said <br />in every other district around the state, the superintendent must take money from the current <br />expense budget to pay for charter students. <br />Todd Wirt said Orange County gave OCS $3991 per student this past year, which <br />includes students in the seats at OCS, as well as those at charter schools. He said the $3991 <br />received per charter student is passed through OCS to the charter schools. He said all other <br />counties do not receive the $3991 for charter school students from their local government, but