Agenda - 06-15-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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13 1 it turns out it was over budgeted, the budget is adjusted the next year accordingly. He said he 2 does not know how to do it, but it is worth putting it on an agenda for further study. He said he 3 would like to see if there is some way to be more accurate and consistent. He said ideally the 4 budget matches the actual, and he is surprised by the high numbers and going consistently over 5 budget, at least the last several years. He said this is not about withholding what the schools 6 need, but rather trying to match the actual need to the budget. He said the SROs are one 7 example. He said SROs were budgeted for, but not used this school year, and that money 8 should have come back to the County. He said the BOCC is facing a tight budget this year, and 9 an increasing demand for transparency. He said this is important, and between the two school 10 systems it is near$3 million, which is 1.5 cents of the sales tax increase being looked at for this 11 year that he would like to cut back. 12 Commissioner Bedford asked if funds for SROs were expended or not. 13 Travis Myren said no. 14 Commissioner Bedford said the State does check in and does take back the money 15 when it is not spent, and the County offers a bit more flexibility. She said she agrees with 16 Commissioner Dorosin that the budget should be adjusted to the actuals. She said she would 17 not say that there is no accountability, because the schools are audited every year and come 18 out clean. She said it is more about communication and understanding between the schools, 19 and the Commissioners, than accountability. She said per pupils are not straightforward, as 20 students do not come in go in neat and easy packaged numbers. She said when there is a little 21 leeway and the school can keep the extra teacher, and the smaller class sizes, it is better for 22 the students. She said she is proud that Orange County pays the highest per pupil rate in North 23 Carolina, but North Carolina is below national average and there is much more to be done for 24 students. She said the bulk of school funding is spent on personnel, but there are other 25 expenses such as curriculum, manipulatives, technology, board certified teachers, etc. She 26 said she agrees the Commissioners can monitor the funds, and it is important to talk about the 27 large fund balance, which should be spent down, but this is not the year to closely consider 28 student numbers. She said the pandemic created so many unusual variables, and many 29 parents needed their children in school, and had to make changes to private schools, charter 30 schools, etc. She said there is no way to know if DPI is going to be accurate this year. She 31 said Commissioner McKee is worried about the projection being too high, but she is worried 32 about them being too low. She said the BOCC should be flexible in this upcoming year. She 33 said the fund balance needs to be spent, and that is where she would find the fault. 34 Chair Price said it is not about spending the money, but rather how it is being spent, 35 especially when the money budgeted is over the actual, and the next year there is a request for 36 more money. 37 Commissioner Fowler said she does not want to ding the schools for this, because this 38 is what all schools do across the state. She said schools have to contract with a teacher for the 39 year, and cannot break the contract mid year. She said the numbers do need to get closer to 40 the budget reflecting the needs. She said CHCCS put project advance and professional 41 development in the budget this year, but thinks they could also use a percentage of what they 42 know to be lapse salary as part of the revenue, so they can really afford project advance and 43 professional development going forward. 44 Commissioner Hamilton said the issue about setting the budget and figuring out the 45 actual is an issue, even for the County. She said in this case it relies on the way DPI is setting 46 the numbers. She said she thinks this is a wider problem than just in the schools. 47 Commissioner Dorosin said he wanted to clarify he was referring to the County's 48 accountability for how it is giving and spending the money, and keeping track of how the money 49 is spent. He said he was dinging everyone because over budgeting by millions of dollars is a 50 flaw in the process that needs to be thought about. He said the Sheriff's department rolled the 51 SROs into other positions, and he asked if there was actually any savings. He said if the money