Minutes 04-25-2024 - Joint Meeting with School Boards

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15 Slide #16 �^ Orange County Schools NORTH CARPLINA o vanes covrvr♦scNxolE x00E iq nYbomuq.mmCamina]]]]]9i 9.1]]ei]e ww w.vx nw cEcovxT YFIRST cox Chair Bedford asked how field trips are funded now. Rhonda Rath said they are funded by parents or school fundraisers. She said the $200,000 mentioned is to supplement funds for students who cannot afford to go on field trips. Chair Bedford asked if there are some kids having to stay back from trips, or if there are just fewer field trips. Dr. Jones said for some schools there are fewer trips. She said that part of the issue is fuel costs because if the field trip is free for the children, they still have to pay for the fuel and the bus driver. She said if there are schools that do not have a healthy PTSO budget, it does limit what they can do. Chair Purcell said the OCS Board of Education is looking at the equity of field trips across the district and noted that some schools have trips, and some do not have any. Dr. Jones said they would also like to make sure field trips connect to curriculum and that will be reviewed in the summer. Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she toured an EC classroom at A.L. Stanback. She asked how the district will prioritize retaining those staff members, given the additional impact of turnover on those students. Dr. Jones said that is part of the work with the teachers of the year and includes the classified staff. She said they are looking at training and development for their teacher assistants. She said they are reviewing the EC budget, and they are meeting to review the budget to make sure they are prioritizing funds where they are needed most, which is in the classrooms. She said the district staff are pushing into classrooms now when support is needed. Commissioner Hamilton asked about the change in the formula for state funding and the impact it will have. She asked what would happen if more students enroll after day 40. Rhonda Rath said there is a formula to provide funds on a per pupil basis if there are additional enrollments. She said the state pulls enrollment data from the school and allots funds to the districts. She said the funds sometimes lag 3-4 months. Commissioner Hamilton asked what that means for fund balance and cash flow. Rhonda Rath said that is one of the reasons it is important to have a fund balance to front the cash flow. Chair Bedford said previously the state would do a projection but would take away funds. Rhonda Rath said they would not see a decrease if student membership decreased until the next year. Chair Bedford said the Orange County Chief Financial Officer has the ability to advance funds if the schools need it but that mostly works with Chapel-Hill Carrboro in their special district funds. She said that people wait until the end of December to pay property taxes. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if they might use fund balance for STEM teachers.