Agenda - 09-02-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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25 1 How can Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) afford to 2 increase the pay of its lowest paid employees? It would require the county to raise the budget 3 for schools. I urge you to strongly consider increasing the funds allocated for public schools in 4 Orange County to make this a reality. This increase will only strengthen the citizens and 5 businesses of our community. Thank you for your time and consideration. 6 7 Hope Hynes Love said she is an educator with CHCCS, and is here this evening to 8 express gratitude for the many ways local government has supported educators during this past 9 year, allowing schools to provide uninterrupted educational services for Orange County 10 Students. She said she is looking towards in-person instruction resuming, and urged the Board 11 to look at past history and once again shoulder the burden of covering the gap caused by the 12 State's per pupil spending. She asked the Board to restore the County's education allotment to 13 50% of the general fund, the same as 2018-2019 level. She said this change, along the third 14 wave of federal support, would make up for the nearly $1,000 decrease in per pupil spending 15 created by the General Assembly's pattern of reductions in school funding. She said the 16 County's help will strengthen the districts' resolve to lobby state representatives to increase 17 funding for all counties in the state, so that local boards and taxpayers are not faced, year after 18 year, with figuring out how to pay for the kinds of schools all students in North Carolina should 19 have access to. She thanked the Board and community for working together, and said she is 20 honored to be educating the next generation of leaders. 21 22 Sally Merryman read the following statement: 23 Good evening, my name is Sally Merryman. I am a 24-year veteran teacher in Chapel 24 Hill and the current president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Association of Educators. I am also a 25 homeowner in rural Orange County, and my husband and I are both informed voters. 26 I'm here tonight to urge you to increase the per pupil spending for both school systems 27 in Orange County and to raise the local district tax for Chapel Hill-Carrboro. 28 CHCCS has already used the earlier disbursements from the American Rescue Plan 29 Act. And now it's time for you, our elected county officials, to allocate the latest ARPA 30 installment of$28 million. Funding our schools is your biggest responsibility, yet you are 31 currently allocating less than 50% of the county budget to our public schools. We thank 32 Commissioner Hamilton for her proposed budget amendment to allocate $3 million to the 2 33 school districts. We fully support this amendment and still urge you to increase the county's 34 overall funding of public schools by at least 1% to return to previous funding levels. 35 If the county fails to allocate more money to our schools, CHCCS will be forced to make 36 potentially disastrous cuts in other areas in order to implement a fully virtual academy for the 37 2021-2022 school year for students who need to remain remote, additional counselors, mental 38 health professionals, and other mental health resources, and wage increases for classified staff 39 to bring everyone to a living wage. 40 Regarding wage increases for classified staff, the commission has directed county- 41 funded entities to provide a living wage to all employees. CHCCS is making commendable 42 progress in this area, yet the county hasn't provided additional funding to support them. It's 43 time that you do. 44 Finally, we have Project ADVANCE. Two of you on the commission, Dr. Fowler and Ms. 45 Bedford, have intimate knowledge of it from their longtime work on the CHCCS school board. 46 Years ago, our Association repeatedly expressed concerns about how it would be funded once 47 the grant from the state ran out. The staff who engaged in hours of professional development 48 on their own time over the course of several years are entitled to the compensation for that work 49 for the duration of their career in the district. Because this compensation is part of their salary, 50 as stated by the district in printed and online materials, it MUST be part of the continuation 51 budget. The local district tax has not been raised in years. Raise it this coming year so CHCCS