Agenda - 06-16-20; 8-a - Minutes

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