Orange County NC Website
5 <br />lacking natural light, <br />having air quality challenges, including mold <br />not having flexible spaces, e.g. for break-out rooms <br />having small classrooms <br />not meeting modern safety standards including having <br />modular classrooms and open classrooms <br />having heating and cooling system failures, <br />o Our aging school buildings are energy inefficient and expensive to <br />maintain. <br />Facility Maintenance <br />o OCS and CHCCS are challenged to recruit and retain facilities staff due <br />to the high demand for those occupations and the relatively low <br />salaries that are offered by the school systems. The pandemic has <br />made these challenges worse. <br />o Material costs and delays have increased due to the pandemic. <br />o Cost and timing efficiencies may be possible by coordinating the <br />capital and maintenance expenditures of OCS and CHCCS. <br />o Major capital projects like new construction and major renovations <br />require time commitments that school facility staff may not have and <br />so these projects may benefit from contracted construction <br />professionals that can be part of the capital budget. <br />o There are no standards or funding for ongoing school maintenance. <br />Policy/Funding <br />o Capital school funding is impacted by BOCC guidelines that limit total <br />(county and schools) debt capacity to about 15 percent of general <br />revenues <br />o The target to maintain total school funding (capital debt service, <br />PAYGO, and operations) at 48.1% of the county’s general revenue <br />constrains school capital spending given other school needs. <br />o Policies have not been developed for how much money needs to be <br />allocated for on-going maintenance needs. Looking at other industries <br />would be helpful to inform policy for school facilities. <br />o There is no county-wide plan to land bank for future school needs. <br />o State funding sources have not kept up with the school capital needs. <br />Historically, from the late 1940s, North Carolina voters approved state <br />obligation bonds on average every 10 years to help counties with <br />school construction projects. They have not done so since 1996. <br />RECOMMENDATIONS <br />Hire a consultant to evaluate the county’s approach to school capital <br />planning, design, contracting, and financing including: <br />o Examine the planning, design/build, and maintenance process for <br />both school districts and identify areas for improvement. <br />o Work with school districts to evaluate every school campus and <br />administrative building and highlight those that should be urgently <br />replaced or renovated <br />o Evaluate the county’s school capital funding approach <br />o Identify ways to plan and fund ongoing school maintenance. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: F3ECCCC4-11C5-4B8B-A148-28FAABFF6334