Agenda - 04-20-2005-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 the March 31 agenda materials. Staff will answer those questions to the extent possible, as well as questions raised by the Board at the March 31 work session. There are other remaining questions from that list of apolicy-making nature far the Board to discuss in the future. The desired outcome of this portion of the work session is that the Board will achieve an adequate understanding of the various 60-40 capital funding policy implementation options and the financial implications of each to be prepared far the April 26, 2005 joint work session between the BOCC and the two Boards of Education. A substantial portion of that work session is also slated tentatively for review and discussion of the 60-40 capital funding policy so that the school boards can gain a similarly detailed understanding of the policy implications of the various options presented to the Commissioners. No BOCC decision regarding the 600 capital funding policy is expected at this April 20 work session. b. Major Budget Drivers far FY 2005-OG As part of the fiscal outlook presentation during the Board's annual planning retreat on January 22, 2005, the Budget Director included several slides that mentioned major budget drivers that would have a significant impact on the formulation of the County's FY 2005-06. This portion of the work session will provide an update to the Board regarding the most significant "building blocks" {e.g. debt service payment, employee pay and benefits, school funding, increased Medicaid costs, etc} and their estimated impacts on the 2005-06 budget. c. Funding Equity in School Operating Budgets During Fall 2003, the Board of Commissioners conducted a number of meetings, including work sessions and public hearings, regarding school funding equity and the possible impacts of a potential merger between the Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. CHCCS receives approximately $13 million more per year in local funding than OCS due to proceeds that CHCCS receives from its special district tax of 20 cents per $100 valuation. The Board decided in early 2004 that it wanted to pursue several research initiatives before making specific financial decisions about how to address school funding equity. These included: 1 }the Educational Excellence Work Group study, led by Dr. Madeleine Grumet and her team from the UNC School of Education; 2} the Collaboration Work Group, involving regular, facilitated meetings comprised of the governing board Chairs, Vice Chairs, County Manager, and Superintendents; and 3} an efficiency study of County and School operations, conducted by the firm of Robert Segal, CPA. As those studies are wrapping up, the Board will face decisions about what steps to take in light of the information gained as a result of the studies. For example, at the BOCC's April 14, 2005 work session, the Board discussed findings and recommendations from Dr. Grumet's team related to enhancements to OCS staffing that might lead to improvements in student support and overall performance. As the Board noted that evening, any efforts to narrow the gap in local per pupil funding available between the two school systems will mean a higher tax rate than the current one far property owners in the OCS district. The Manager will make a presentation that will provide a refresher on funding equity considerations that were discussed as part of the September 2003 staff report on possible merger, as well as the financial implications of hypothetical changes to the current funding