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1 <br />School Capital Needs Work Group Report <br />Executive Summary <br />In the fall of 2021, 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 work group). The work group 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 t o 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 work group 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 work group 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 work group 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 work group recommends that Orange County update SAPFO to more <br />accurately reflect how school buildings are used. <br />Exhibit ADocuSign Envelope ID: F3ECCCC4-11C5-4B8B-A148-28FAABFF6334