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School Capital Needs Work Group Report 3 <br /> Executive Summary <br /> In the fall of2021, in response to a petition from Commissioner Jean Hamilton, the <br /> Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) created the Capital Needs <br /> Work Group (the workgroup). The workgroup included elected officials and staff <br /> from the county and both school districts(Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel <br /> Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) and was charged with focusing on school facilities. <br /> Orange County operates 32 school campuses and seven school administrative offices. <br /> Over half of the school buildings in both districts are over 50 years old and all are in <br /> need of updating and repair. Many of the newer schools are more than 20 years old <br /> and need maintenance and repair. Today more than 2,500 teachers and staff, and <br /> nearly 20,000 students work and learn in these school buildings every day. <br /> Orange County funds both school districts. The county's local contribution to per pupil <br /> funding ranks Orange County's schools first(CHCCS) and third(OCS) in the state for <br /> operating funding. On the other hand,school facilities, like in so many other districts, <br /> are chronically underfunded. By state law, Orange County is solely responsible for <br /> funding school capital(construction, repair and maintenance). The county's two <br /> school districts are responsible for developing facilities plans that are submitted to the <br /> county for funding. School capital is included in the county's 10 year capital planning <br /> process, where schools compete with county projects for scarce capital funds and <br /> access to debt financing. <br /> The workgroup reviewed current Orange County capital financing policies,planning <br /> and design practices and identified issues and obstacles to building and maintaining <br /> high quality schools. Current and projected funding sources are not adequate to <br /> address the backlog of unfunded school capital needs that are estimated at over$500 <br /> million. <br /> A significant issue is funding availability. The workgroup is aware that the current <br /> county funding model funds based on available funds and debt capacity rather than <br /> actual school needs. This restricts the county's ability to adequately fund school <br /> construction.Additionally, Orange County often does not qualify for state funded <br /> capital and grants that are available to other districts across the state. This is because <br /> Orange County is considered a high wealth county based on the formula that includes <br /> the median household income of its residents. Given the scale of school facility needs, <br /> we recommend that BOCC and county staff immediately begin to explore alternative <br /> funding sources to generate additional resources to support this work. <br /> The workgroup main recommendation is to engage an independent outside <br /> consultant that specializes in school facilities issues to assess the current situation and <br /> provide recommendations that will help Orange County and both school districts <br /> improve their approach to planning, priority management, design and construction <br /> and funding of school facilities. These improvements would be integrated into a 10- <br /> year plan to address school facility needs that both school districts have begun. In <br /> addition, the workgroup recommends that Orange County update SAPFO to more <br /> accurately reflect how school buildings are used. <br /> 1 <br />