Minutes-03-09-2023-Joint Meeting with School Boards

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24 Slide #45 P. IPL Questions & Dialogue 1 Commissioner Fowler asked if CHCCS has similar statistics on capital allocations from funding provided by BOCC. Riza Jenkins said they receive a monthly update and have a list of projects they're working on. She said they can provide that information and there is a plan for the next ten years. Commissioner Richards said Orange County just got a new curriculum. She asked if the school districts talk to each other about what they learned from their processes and if they are taking advantage of the opportunity to leverage learning across the two districts. Dr. Rodney Trice said any curriculum changes they make come from the state's five-year curriculum adoption cycle. He said what the audit will show is the degree to which assignments given to students align with state standards. He said that as students text, they waant to make sure teachers are teaching the actual standards. He said the audit looks at materials provided to students. He said he's had a number of conversations with Dr. Green and they see opportunities to collaborate on implementing those standards. Commissioner Richards said her point is that curriculum is an issue across both districts and said she encourages that to happen across the county. She said they can learn from each other. She said they all have the same goals. She said it's one pot of money, so if the county is spending the funds, the schools could reach across the lines to see how the resources can be leveraged. Rani Dasi said there are certainly places where it is happening and there are places where they could do a better job. Vice-Chair McKee asked if CHCCS has the same difference of understanding as OCS regarding capital funds. Al Ciarochi said their staff met with county staff and they are on the same page. Chair Bedford said Article 46 had almost $2 million more for the current year. She said that staff could dicsuss this more. She said they set aside$2 million for other school capital needs. She said she doesn't know if that will repeat for the current year, but people are paying taxes at a high rate, so the budget is solid. She asked if school systems are still operating under the Common Core standards, or if those are changed. Dr. Rodney Trice said NC Department of Public Instruction has a standard and some of it comes from the Common Core. Rani Dasi said curriculum does continue to be impacted by changes in state policy. Sarah Smylie said that the science curriculum is open to public feedback. Rani Dasi thanked Chair Bedford for highlighting those two funding streams. She said one of the things they are interested in is having access to data that might be predictive data to help improve outcomes. Commissioner Portie-Ascott said about 28% of African American students are proficient. She asked if that number has stayed consistent over time.