Agenda - 01-21-2025 ; 6-d - Orange County’s Proposed 2025 Priority Legislative Issues

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4 Affordable Housing — Support legislation and additional funding to increase affordable and accessible housing, including permanent supportive housing for individuals with disabilities. Foster Care — Seek legislation providing additional resources and state leadership for foster care, along with funding for dedicated physical spaces and necessary staffing to serve foster children held in county custody. PUBLIC EDUCATION Priority School Issues — Support legislation to address the following issues related to schools: • Provide local school systems with calendar flexibility; • Provide full funding for State allotments including Average Daily Membership (ADM) growth and infrastructure/capital, and support legislation to provide for an overall increase in funding based on ADM outside of the current formula system; • Provide a periodic accounting process for State per pupil funds so that funds and pro-rated funds follow students to their respective schools, as opposed to the current process that only considers State funding allocations based on students' attendance location on a single day during the school year; • Increase salary compensation for teachers and staff at all years of service; • Impose class size reductions commensurate with State funding for staffing; • Provide increased funding for school safety initiatives; • Provide full funding for public Pre-K education which benefits both students and the general public through improved life-long health/mental health, achievement; and other benefits; and • Reduce funding and limit eligibility for/availability of private school vouchers (especially reversing the availability of funding for non-low income families), as vouchers constrain available funding for public education statewide, encourage students to leave public education, and limit services and educational opportunities for all remaining public school students. School Capital Funding — Support a State bond referendum to address school capital needs to provide needed capital funding to support school infrastructure, renovations, and new construction; and support legislation to: • Allocate State surplus funds for statewide school capital needs; and • Ensure methods used to distribute school capital funding consider the needs of all counties. Full Funding of the Leandro Remedial Action Plan — Support equity and racial justice by fully funding the Leandro Remedial Action Plan, which details additional comprehensive, targeted education funding over the next eight years, predominantly to low-wealth and minority communities, in order for the State to come into compliance with its constitutional obligation to provide every student a sound basic education.