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2 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 1. Budget, Capital Funding, and Class Size Mandate <br /> 3 <br /> 4 See Attachment 1 A (page 3), Attachment 1 C (page 22), and Attachment 1 D (page 26) for the <br /> 5 CHCCS information, and Attachment 1 B (page 21) for the OCS information related to these <br /> 6 issues. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 OCS <br /> 9 Superintendent Wirt said the OCS budget committee has been trying to meet and work <br /> 10 on the OCS budget earlier, and have created a one-page "early look" at the OCS continuation <br /> 11 budget. <br /> 12 Rhonda Raff, OCS Chief Financial Officer, reviewed attachment 1 b, the OCS <br /> 13 Continuation Budget and they are expecting a shortfall of $1,520,885 and thus would be <br /> 14 requesting a $211 increase in per pupil funding this year. <br /> 15 Will Atherton said OCS wants to put more diversity into the teaching population, such as <br /> 16 allowing Teacher Assistants (TAs) to get a teaching degree and become teachers locally, as <br /> 17 opposed to sourcing teachers from other districts/states. He said another initiative is looking at <br /> 18 an equity director and staff, to not only roll out policy, but to implement and get measurable data <br /> 19 and outcomes. <br /> 20 Sarah Smylie said, in order to balance last year's budget, OCS eliminated TAs working <br /> 21 as substitutes on teacher workdays, and OCS is considering reinstating TAs for at least the first <br /> 22 5 teacher workdays. <br /> 23 Commissioner Dorosin referred to charter schools, and said the student populations are <br /> 24 increasing. He said he recently attended a conference on these issues, and said numbers in <br /> 25 Orange County are a little over 10%. He asked if the school staff see trends and impacts of this <br /> 26 issue. <br /> 27 Superintendent Wirt said it impacts OCS system by declining enrollment, which means <br /> 28 fewer employees. He said over 60% of charter students in the OCS district have never stepped <br /> 29 a foot in the OCS schools, and when students start in an OCS school, the student tends to <br /> 30 remain. He said staff has to work on things that are not the typical core business of public <br /> 31 schools: marketing, branding, school tours, etc. He said OCS welcomes competition, but it is <br /> 32 not always equal competition, and the playing field is not level. He said charter schools already <br /> 33 have many things that the legislature will not afford to public schools: flexibility with school <br /> 34 calendar and licensure, class size, etc. He said OCS serves a diverse community, and this is <br /> 35 reflected in the students. He said the charter schools do not reflect the same diversity, but <br /> 36 when one compares test scores and letter grades, it is a challenging competitive environment. <br /> 37 He said the bottom line is for OCS to continue to produce a better product with better and <br /> 38 equitable outcomes. He said OCS is focused on the students it already has, and will work to <br /> 39 attract those that it does not. <br /> 40 Will Atherton said there is a lot of misinformation about the differences between OCS <br /> 41 and charter schools in regards to achievement and programs offered. He said OCS is looking <br /> 42 into how to better market all that OCS has to offer. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 CHCCS <br /> 45 Superintendent Baldwin said CHCCS has a new strategic plan, and had a great retreat <br /> 46 and conversation about structure. <br /> 47 Mary Ann Wolfe said the CHCCS mission is distinctly designed, and CHCCS is looking <br /> 48 at 4 areas: <br /> 49 • Student success, and looking at the whole child <br /> 50 • Employee experience, and honoring the expertise that is already in CHCCS <br />