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9 <br /> 1 3. Public Comments <br /> 2 <br /> 3 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to <br /> 4 open the public hearing on the budget and capital investment plan. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 7 <br /> 8 PUBLIC COMMENTS: <br /> 9 Brian Link asked the Board to allocate additional funds to schools. He said federal and <br /> 10 state officials have not done what they should do for schools and urged the Board to fill the gap. <br /> 11 He said they are $2 million short on continuation. He said he is thankful for the bond and for what <br /> 12 the commissioners have done. He said when others do not step up, the Board can. He said there <br /> 13 is a dialogue that the Board will be the backstop and they encouraged the school district to spend <br /> 14 down their fund balance. He said they have done that and spent $15 million worth and now they <br /> 15 need the backstop. He said he wants to make sure they understand the outcome. He said that <br /> 16 this continuation is a reduction of 100 FTE positions. He said that there has been a comment <br /> 17 about going back to business. He said that they are not business. He said they are not a charter <br /> 18 school system. He said that there is a lot of talk about equity, and he wants to clearly point out <br /> 19 that they are a majority, minority school system. He asked the Commissioners to fund the schools <br /> 20 for his children. <br /> 21 Ella Horrigan said she will be going to high school next year and chose French and Latin <br /> 22 as two of her electives. She said next year her Latin teacher at Culbreth will have to leave because <br /> 23 the Latin program has been cut. She said she is not the only teacher that will be losing her job. <br /> 24 She emphasized the importance of learning another language and said she is sorry that future <br /> 25 students will not get to take Latin. She asked the Board to increase the budget for the schools, so <br /> 26 they can keep these types of programs. <br /> 27 Clair Werry said she is an eighth grader at Culbreth Middle School. She said the Board <br /> 28 has funded the continuation budget in the past, but the school board has had to make cuts <br /> 29 anyway, including to the Latin program. She said Ms. Meyer, her Latin teacher, is one of the best <br /> 30 teachers her students have ever had, but she will be moving to teach at a private school. She <br /> 31 said many of her friends are also moving to private schools. She asked the Board to fund the <br /> 32 schools. <br /> 33 Jack Wallace said he is an eighth grader at Smith Middle School. He said the CHCCS <br /> 34 expansion budget is not just about wants—it includes needs. He said one of the items in the <br /> 35 expansion budget is to increase support for teaching assistants. He shared a story about the <br /> 36 impact a teaching assistant had on him and other students in elementary school. <br /> 37 Julia Gordon said she is an eighth grader at Culbreth Middle School. She said because of <br /> 38 the budget cuts at CHCCS, her Latin teacher has been let go for next year. She highlighted the <br /> 39 importance of the Latin program. She asked the Board to increase the budget for schools so that <br /> 40 no additional cuts are made. <br /> 41 Elizabeth Young said she volunteers with the HOME Repair fund and the list is two years <br /> 42 long. She said HOME repair funds are important and that keeping a home in good condition costs <br /> 43 1/10t" of the cost of building new affordable housing. She said this revaluation benefits investors <br /> 44 at the expense of historically Black neighborhoods. She said that newer and larger homes in these <br /> 45 same communities are undervalued, while older homes are systematically overvalued. She said <br /> 46 that she supports the increase in the AHA. She said that the revaluation does not make the system <br /> 47 fairer. She said that she is speaking on behalf of the Orange County Property Tax Justice <br /> 48 Coalition, organizers from historic Black neighborhoods, and is supported by the Jackson Center, <br /> 49 RENA, Justice United, and Habitat for Humanity. <br /> 50 Andrea Tanner said she is the president of the PTA Council for CHCCS. She said she is <br /> 51 here on behalf of 18 PTAs in the district to ask the Board to fully fund the continuation budget and <br />