Agenda - 05-19-20; 8-a - Minutes

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25 1 Commissioner McKee asked if the BOEs can pare down their figures. He said everyone 2 will need to make some hard decisions, as he cannot, in good conscience, ask the taxpayers of 3 the County to pay a sizeable tax increase. 4 Rani Dasi said usually the process is that the BOCC comes back with a recommended 5 budget, and the conversations continue from there. 6 Commissioner McKee said he wants to work in a partnership process to reach a number 7 that is reasonable, manageable and equitable. He said the current requests are not 8 manageable. He said the BOEs are elected officials, and he would not presume to direct them. 9 Rani Dasi said maybe guidance from Orange County would be helpful, because even if 10 the schools came back with their budgets cut it half; it may not be very helpful. She said there is 11 such a chasm between the needs and the available resources. 12 Chair Rich said the Manager's recommended budget will be presented May 51", and an 13 entirely new budget has been created due to Covid-19. She said the BOCC found out today 14 that Orange County tourism lost $2.8 million in March, and will lose twice that much in April. 15 She said over 19,000 are out of work in the service industries. She said the BOCC is meeting 16 with the Manager, and will receive her budget next week. She said Commissioner McKee is 17 asking the BOEs to work out how to scale back, and try their best to support children while 18 realizing the financial reality of the pandemic. She said this crisis is not a matter of months, but 19 will effect years to come. She said the BOCC cannot ask residents to pay a sizeable tax 20 increase. 21 Rani Dasi said she appreciates the financial reality, but the bare minimum CHCCS can 22 present is likely its continuation budget, so it may be helpful for the BOCC to provide some 23 further guidance. 24 Commissioner McKee said it will be clear what the Board is expecting after the May 5tn 25 meeting. He said this evening he and Chair Rich are just expressing their opinions. 26 Amy Fowler echoed Rani Dasi's comments, and said the BOE is prepared to make 27 adjustments, but it does not make sense to do so until the BOCC has issued its recommended 28 budget. 29 Chair Rich said it is important for the school districts to understand that the financial 30 deficits are real, and no one is clear how this crisis is going to end. She said no one is pointing 31 fingers, but rather working together to move the process forward. 32 33 CHCCS Budget Background 34 35 Student Data 36 We always begin our budget process by carefully considering our enrollment projections. State 37 enrollment projections ultimately determine both State and local funding levels. For this request, 38 the District is using an enrollment projection of 12,312 that was provided by the North Carolina 39 Department of Public Instruction. The estimated enrollment is expected to increase by five 40 students over the 2019-2020 levels. 41 42 Revenues 43 We estimate additional revenue growth of$225,000, consisting of$75,000 in fines and 44 forfeitures, as well as $25,000 in projected increase to interest revenue, and an anticipated 45 increase in our miscellaneous revenues of$125,000 46 47 Continuation Budget Requests 48 The Board of Education recommends the continuation budget to include anticipated State salary 49 increases for teachers and other public-school employees, costs related to matching employer 50 benefits, and operational costs. Due to the renovations at Chapel Hill High School, the square 51 footage will increase; therefore, operational costs for 2020-2021 will increase. Due to the current