Agenda - 12-03-2018 8-a - Minutes

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5 1 Commissioner Rich asked if there was a method for finding, and communicating with, 2 mobile home park residents. 3 Shodeah Kelly said she has lived in a mobile home. She said the students solely relied 4 on survey data, acknowledging that there are gaps in the data and it refreshed data is needed 5 to see if any participants that did not get to be part of the survey would like to be a part of it. 6 She said they hoped that the survey would be real, and she personally tried to weave personal 7 experiences into this project, without being subjective. 8 Commissioner McKee asked if the sample size could be identified. 9 Female student said the survey was done in 2017 in mobile home parks in Orange 10 County and the towns. She said the students would recommend that the next survey use more 11 community partners to reach out to organizations that may work with these residents. 12 Commissioner McKee said the two local school districts are on par with each other, and 13 noted that people across the country move all the time, changing schools as they go. He asked 14 if there is a reason why the students consider changing school systems to be so oppressive. 15 He said buying land in Chapel Hill is radically different than buying land in Orange County. 16 Female student said the students understand the cost factor, but there is a widely held 17 belief that the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) is a better school system, with better 18 funding. She said there are other benefits to living in Chapel Hill such as public transportation 19 and community partners. 20 Female student said about 96 surveys were completed and returned. 21 Commissioner McKee said he understood the perception that the CHCCS is the primary 22 school system, but he went to Orange County Schools (OCS) and he challenges the perception 23 that CHCCS is a better system. 24 Female student said people do move for all types of reasons, and in this particular case, 25 it is more to do with the nature of how and why people are being moved. She said these 26 residents want to remain in Chapel Hill, but will not be able to, which makes it racially 27 inequitable. 28 Shodeah Kelly said she moved 9 different times, and moving each time requires forming 29 new friendships, and relationships, different curriculums that left gaps in her knowledge, and as 30 a minority she was not given an opportunity to advocate for herself. She said it leads to a 31 fragmented foundation on which to build educational pursuits. 32 Commissioner McKee said he agrees and understands the stress, but he wants to 33 prevent the quest for perfection from getting in the way of the possible. 34 Chair Dorosin said this is a critical issue for the community. He said this is Orange 35 County's gentrification, and low wealth residents are being displaced. He said finding other 36 options is critical. 37 Commissioner Price said she attended a seminar today that focused on housing and 38 real estate trends, and one of the recommendations was to purchase land/land trust to help 39 keep housing affordable. 40 Commissioner Jacobs suggested that Allison De Marco have someone from OCS come 41 and speak to her class. He said moving is not such an onerous thing, and the County could 42 help more people for less money. 43 Commissioner Burroughs thanked the students for coming tonight, and said it is not so 44 much that it is hard to move, but for folks who are already economically distressed it can be a 45 greater hardship. She said it is not so much about the schools, but about the people. 46 Lucas Risinger said that the residents advocated staying in their community, and it is 47 important to treat minorities the same way as a white community. 48 Female Student said she does not claim to know all of the costs of moving, but it is easy 49 to assume that costs would be larger because of the barriers these residents already face