12.7.22 PB Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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47 B. SCHOOL ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE (SAPFO) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 1. Adopted Level of Service (LOS) ■ Level of service means the number (level) of students that can be accommodated (serviced) at a certain school system grade group [i.e., Elementary Level (K-5), Middle Level (6-8), High School Level (9-12)]. ■ The adopted levels of services were originally developed based on information provided from the school districts, regarding existing school facilities and their functional ability to handle overcapacity situations, and discussions among the Schools and Land Use Council. The Schools and Land Use Council included members from School Boards, the BOCC, and Orange County staff. Level of service is illustrated as a percentage of a hybrid formula agreed to by the school districts and BOCC and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) rated capacity of schools of a certain level added together. ■ One of the reasons level of service standards above 100% were chosen as benchmarks is that membership may rise near the 100% mark and yet not create a long-term need. For example, if a couple of years have larger than normal grade level class sizes the need for more capacity may exist for only a limited time. ■ The service levels were adopted in the two Memorandums of Understanding in 2003 between Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) and Orange County, Hillsborough, and Orange County Schools (OCS) after three years of negotiation. ■ The level of service is the standard that is monitored and evaluated in school level projections to identify the CIP needs for future school construction. If the level of service is met during the CAPS `test' in a given year, then housing approvals must be delayed or deferred until the new school is scheduled to be built. In over thirteen years of implementation, the CIP phase has identified in advance the need for a school and additional capacity. As a result, the CAPS `test' related to proposed development has not created a construction delay. ■ Level of service is calculated at the grade group level since membership may vary between schools in a grade group from under capacity to overcapacity. To be fiscally prudent, it is not necessary to build another school district-wide if rebalancing can be done by redistricting. • The level of service standard can be revised if all original parties are able to agree on new service levels. A level of standard revised upward is usually easier than the opposite because a reduction could potentially create a home building moratorium or create an immediate financial burden on the County. 2. Residential Development in the City of Mebane ■ The City of Mebane lies partially within Orange County and students within the Orange County portion of Mebane attend Orange County schools. However, the City of Mebane is not a party to the SAPFO agreement and therefore does not require that CAPS (Certificate of Adequate Public Schools) be issued prior to development approvals. The first part of SAPFO, Certificate of Adequate Public Schools (CAPS), is the testing and gauging of the student generation rate (SGR) from development projects against available capacity within a school. ■ Though the City of Mebane does not request CAPS from OCS as part of their process, students from new residential development are accounted for and included in the second part of SAPFO (i.e. CIP needs phase; where actual new enrollment from new development and existing housing is counted) where the