Agenda - 02-12-2004-6 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

rWINITEM tax rate in a manner which accommodated the unmet needs of the Chapel Hill schools, but they wouldn't get the whole $2.5 million. I think Moses said and I have said this is that it's not this huge windfall for the Chapel Hill schools, what it is is a lot of money for the Orange County schools. Remember, that's a huge tax increase for the Orange County schools, which is one reason I'd like to have a vote. If we did that in July 1, 2003, it would be 20.8 cents. The reason this doesn't cost Chapel Hill a lot of extra money is because you've decreased the district tax in Chapel Hill as you've increased the tax in Orange County. But I would add the caveat that you make sure you meet Chapel Hill's unmet needs as you adjust these two taxes. I don't know how to explain it more clearly, but Chapel Hill would, through this mechanism, it's not a mechanism to give Chapel Hill more money, it's a mechanism to correct the funding disparity so that Orange County school system would get more money soon. Chair Jacobs: First, I will not support having this on the ballot in May. I would consider having it on the ballot in November. I don't think we're going to have a primary in May, and as I've said before, and I think I just heard Commissioner Halkiotis say, there's more information that I need before I'm going to go to the voters, including myself, and say, "Raise taxes on yourself." I want to know that the $44.7 million in operating funds are being spent in an efficient and effective manner.. I think that's only reasonable, And I think that we have outlined here some other ways to proceed that will give us information. We've had a lot of members of the public come to us and say, "I have these questions.. I have these concerns." And with all due respect, your original proposal was to merge the schools and then work out the details. I still think that's what this is. This is, "Let's act without necessarily knowing all the details." Maybe I'm just more conservative or more cautious. But I think it's important to be able to have the school systems have these conversations about collaboration, have a group of independent educational experts look at what we have, and have an independent expert look at how money is being spent before we go to voters and say, "These are your two options." I tend to support the idea of these two options going to the voters, and as I had said previously, I think the countywide supplemental tax should go to the voters. Whether these are the two options, the only two options we should take to voters, perhaps they are.. With the uncertainty about a primary and with the lack of information, I would not support this even though whatever we do may be ultimately divisive among some people, the more information we provide people, I have faith that people in the community are willing to listen, willing to evaluate, willing to digest, and then reach a conclusion if you treat them with the respect that we like to be treated. The way I would like to be treated as a taxpayer is to get this information before somebody asks me to make a decision. So that's my reaction. Qualified endorsement, but I still think that we have a process that I would like to see us pursue. Commissioner Brown: I'm going to just totally agree with you. I think everyone has brought up here pieces of everything we need to do. It's kind of the time that we need to do them.. However, Moses, I don't disagree with your stand on merger at all, but I really need to put out for our citizens some vision of what a merged system would look like. That kind of falls into what Barry was saying. That to me is something that everyone needs to see. They need to have a basis for supporting it. And without the data and the information both on the tax issue and on trying to look at the collaboration and trying to develop creative information on what a new system could look like, I just can't move ahead until we have that. And that to me is just the bottom line of it. I just don't want to run over the voters. They need to 3u