Orange County NC Website
  <br />OCS 2017-2019 Budget Reductions  <br />This continuation requirement is approximately ​$(850 thousand short)​, based on the current per  <br />pupil funding of $4,165/student.  <br />State mandated salary and benefit increases continue to be the driving force in the requested  <br />budget increases. As seen in the data below, the employer portion of employee benefits have risen  <br />upwards of 30% in the past five years. State mandated salary increases are provided to all staff, no  <br />matter the funding stream. As a result, local budget requests continue to rise.  <br /> 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019 2019/2020*  <br />Teacher Pay Increases 2.1% 4.7% 3.3% 6.9%(​avg​) 5.0%  <br />Classified Staff Increases $750 1.5% $1,000 2.0% 2.0%  <br />Employer Retirement  <br />Contribution  <br />15.32% 16.12% 17.13% 18.86% 20.36%  <br />Employer Hospitalization  <br />Contribution  <br />$5,471 $5,704 $5,869 $6,104 $6,354  <br />*Budgeted  <br />EXPANSION   <br />Beginning October 2018, the Board’s Budget Committee met and worked with staff to discuss  <br />critical budget issues facing the district. As a result of these conversations, the following  <br />expansion items are requested for funding consideration in the FY 2020 local budget:  <br />$350,000 in support of our Equity Initiative   <br />o February 11, 2019 the Board approved Local Policy 1030 - Equity in Education. In  <br />support of this commitment and in collaboration with Chapel Hill Carrboro City  <br />Schools, as a result a series of professional development will be presented to cover  <br />equity, inclusion and cultural awareness throughout the district.  <br />o Furthermore, this initiative is intended to focus on diversity recruitment and hiring  <br />resulting in an increase in the number of male and minority candidates hired into  <br />teaching positions. A Human Capital Management position is requested to  <br />coordinate district recruitment efforts and outreach to university partners providing  <br />a strategic and intentional focus on leading a recruitment task force to address  <br />district hiring barriers and challenges facing teachers of color.  <br />$160,000 to reinstate 10 paid workdays for teacher assistant   <br />o In order to balance the 2018/2019 budget while protecting critical support positions,  <br />it was necessary to no longer allow Teacher Assistants the ability to work, or take  <br />  <br />  <br />8