|
inconsistency is moved through tonight, that it has the correct list of conditions. We are able to 111
<br />propose conditions based on state statute. This is part of the non-residential conditional district 112
<br />process. That's the conditional portion of it, and they are addressing needs that come from the 113
<br />project, so we can see it both here, and reflected in your packet. And then I'm going to turn it over 114
<br />to the applicant to go through their portion. 115
<br /> 116
<br />Karen Cumberbatch: Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, friends. My name is Karen Cumberbatch, and I am a 117
<br />head of school at Carolina Friend School. Thank you for hearing our request for rezoning, and I 118
<br />am hoping to share just a little bit about who we are, how we have approached our orientation to 119
<br />being located where we are, as part of your understanding of what we plan to do. So, Carolina 120
<br />Friends School recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. Peter and Martha Klopfer, our founders 121
<br />are pictured here, and Peter is here with us today. He and his family have been a part of the 122
<br />Orange County community for longer than those 60 years, and so it is with their guidance, their 123
<br />support, and their orientation towards respect for the land, good stewardship of the land that the 124
<br />school was founded, and that we have been participating as a school in Orange County for the 125
<br />last 60 years. For those of you that might not be aware, Carolina Friends School was one of the 126
<br />first intentionally racially integrated schools in the south and began in '64 with one Kindergarten 127
<br />class at Durham Friends meeting, and then grew grade by grade over what was formally Couch 128
<br />Road, and then became known as Friends School Road. You can see some of those early 129
<br />pictures there. One of the key things that has been true for the entire duration of our existence is 130
<br />an orientation towards sustainability, and being good stewards, so what you are seeing here is 131
<br />that some of the ways that we have sought to do that, and some of our current initiatives, for those 132
<br />of you that have known the school for some time, you will know that we have been known as a 133
<br />Quaker school in the woods. That has been really important to us, protecting the land its 134
<br />resources, maintaining the natural forested areas, and working the limit of environmental impact. 135
<br />Those have been priority since our origin, and as we've grown, we've consistently tried to maintain 136
<br />that focus, and so what you see here are some of the things that exist now. On campus, we 137
<br />regularly compost. We look really to how we can lower our impact through efficiency of LED 138
<br />bulbs, and maybe the most significant places our geothermal whenever we have been able, we 139
<br />have incorporated geothermal into our school buildings as well as solar panels. These are things 140
<br />that are just ingrained really in the school, and this comes as a part of our Quaker identity. Our 141
<br />mission says that we are inspired by Quaker values, we teach our children that it's possible to 142
<br />change the world, and so the enhancements that we are envisioning for the future, and over the 143
<br />coming years are meant to help us continue to do that and expand that for even greater impact for 144
<br />students and families who are a part of our community. The bolded elements that you see there 145
<br />are two core parts of our mission and philosophy statements, belief in the spirituality of life, and for 146
<br />us, that implies an effort to instill a sense of awe and reverence for nature. Responsible 147
<br />stewardship of all our resources, intentional teaching of a humble interaction with, rather than an 148
<br />arrogant attitude toward living things. These are part of our core values, and the idea of a belief in 149
<br />the value of simplicity, that includes for us an awareness of the oftentimes, lying between the 150
<br />necessary, and the frivolous, acknowledgment that our capabilities and possessions are gifts to be 151
<br />shared with others, a commitment to create a community learning structure that is sensible and 152
<br />devoid of structural trivia. We really tried to be mindful that whatever we are doing is in a way that 153
<br />is meant to really embrace these concepts, and so that is also part of this thinking as we are 154
<br />looking at the rezoning and additional growth of the campus. We have grown gradually over the 155
<br />years, and these are some pictures over the course of time for those of you that might have 156
<br />known us over time. In 1970, when the campus had approximately 210 students, by 2010 we had 157
<br />grown to 440 students, I know that doesn't seem gradual, but please remember that was over a 158
<br />40-year period, and here since 2017 to the present, we've been approximately 460 to 475 159
<br />students on the campus, and we're seeking to grow that a bit over time, over these next few years. 160
<br />So, let me see if I can switch to the video. 161
<br /> 162
<br />Karen Cumberbatch played a prepared video for the Board. 163
<br /> 164
<br />8
|