Agenda - 09-26-2005-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Inter- district Academic Programs Superintendents met last spring and developed a plan for identifying opportunities to share students. Staff conducted a survey in both districts to measure interest in inter - district academic programs and initially found it to be high. Next, they looked at courses with available space and contacted students who had expressed an interest in those courses to see if they were still interested; many indicated that they were not. During the registration process, guidance counselors from one district contacted the remaining students from the other district to register them for the classes. At that point, all of the students declined. There were a number of reasons for this outcome. Most of the students indicated that while they liked the idea of being able to take courses in the other district, when it came time to commit to doing so, they realized there were logistical problems with transportation, jobs, athletics, and other after - school activities. Social issues were also a factor: in order to take a class in the other district, students would have to commit to being at the other school for at least half a day, and in the case of IB, they would have to enroll at Cedar Ridge. 4 New Paradigm for School Resource Officers Currently, there are multiple arrangements among the two school districts, Orange County, and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrbom to fund SROs. OCS contributes $180,000 toward its officers, with Sheriff Pendergrass supporting the district in a significant way. OCS is concerned about how long he will be able to continue his support. The Town of Carrboro pays for officers; Chapel Hill does not. Staff from both districts met with law enforcement representatives and the county manager and staff to review the possibility of the county assuming responsibility for providing SROs for the schools. They discussed the possibility of a special tax to fund resources of common interest, such as SROs, or to have the Board of County Commissioners press for either the Towns or the State to fully fund SROs. No resolution has been reached. 5 After School Programming • Both districts have assessed programs to determine costs. • The collaborative four -year grant for the middle school after - school programs, which are free to students, has ended. • Both districts are presently designating funds from local allotments to meet after - school programming needs. • This is the final year for the collaborative grant for the MiCASA Program. • Site directors hold collaborative planning meetings. • Representatives from both school districts have monthly planning and financial meetings. • Districts collaborate to have one countywide coordinator for the middle school after - school programs and the MiCASA Program.