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2 <br /> <br /> 1 <br />a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 2 <br /> 3 <br /> Sally Merryman, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Association of Educators, reviewed the following 4 <br />comments: 5 <br /> 6 <br />May 10, 2020 7 <br /> 8 <br />Board of County Commissioners 9 <br />300 W. Tryon St. 10 <br />Whitted Bldg. Rm 220 11 <br />Hillsborough, NC 27278 12 <br /> 13 <br />Dear Members of the Board of County Commissioners: 14 <br /> 15 <br />As you noted many times throughout last week’s presentations, the people feeding, counseling, 16 <br />and teaching this community in the midst of this crisis -- along with frontline and other equally 17 <br />essential workers -- are its educators. 18 <br /> 19 <br />The budget the CHCCS Board of Education presented to you is our district’s most pro-public 20 <br />education budget in at least a decade. It is one where resources are rightly focused on all 21 <br />personnel - classified and well as certified -- and doing right by them. It makes no mention 22 <br />of consultants or pilots promoted by anti-educator legislators. 23 <br /> 24 <br />To be clear, we are supporting a budget that does what is morally right by providing living 25 <br />wages and hiring more educators and TAs to teach our children. It also provides resources to 26 <br />allow educators to remain safe in their homes and get paid when bad weather hits or school 27 <br />closings once again necessitate educators being teachers and parents at the same time. 28 <br />These past two months could not have happened without paid family leave. 29 <br /> 30 <br />It was disappointing to hear you speak so eloquently about living wages in the abstract during 31 <br />Q&A and then tell our most vulnerable education professionals that the BOCC may not fund 32 <br />what it states its values are. Yes, revenues are uncertain, and resources are tighter than 33 <br />planned, yet what is really missing is courage. 34 <br /> 35 <br />Last year, while you did increase school funding, the increase didn’t even cover CHCCS's 36 <br />continuation budget ask. And what CHCCS asked for then -- educator benefits -- it continues to 37 <br />request now. Yet somehow you have already found funding to provide your own county 38 <br />employees some of these very same benefits. While we don’t begrudge the county employees 39 <br />these benefits, the employees of the local schools also deserve them too. 40 <br /> 41 <br />More disconcerting, though, is even after a local election where it was clear the electorate 42 <br />wants commissioners who they believe will fund our schools, some BOCC members appear 43 <br />unwilling to reconsider their own mindsets to find ways to increase that funding and trust that 44 <br />the public will thank and back you for those efforts. Clearly more conversation is needed, and 45 <br />we are looking forward to having it. 46 <br /> 47 <br />In the coming days and weeks, we will introduce you to educators, parents, students -- many of 48 <br />whom are Orange County taxpayers and voters. They will make it perfectly clear: there is 49 <br />nothing inconsistent with saying we want our schools to be funded even if it means raising 50