Minutes 05-12-2026-Budget Public Hearing

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12 Spring Dawson-McLure, speaking as a parent of children in Orange County Schools, expressed solidarity with teachers and staff. She noted that her eighth-grade daughter had overheard teachers discussing the need for second jobs. She described being born in Orange County in a family of teachers and farmers and framed the funding shortfall as a direct consequence of deliberate state-level disinvestment in public education. She briefly noted that a federal budget proposal would result in a $3.2 million loss in federal funding for the county's two school districts and stated: "Now is not the time to pull back funds from our schools." She described a non-partisan statewide initiative called Public School Strong, organized by Heal Together, uniting parents, caregivers, and community supporters to advocate for fully funded public schools. She urged the Board to fully fund the continuation budget. Rachel Heller also spoke in support of fully funding the OCS continuation budget. She said that the county states that its goal is to direct 48.1% of general fund revenue to schools, yet the proposed budget allocates only 46.65%. She emphasized that the current shortfall of $712,000 would directly harm retention of teachers, bus drivers, and classified staff in a competitive regional market. She said the two school districts also proposed expansion budgets, which, if funded, would bring them closer to what the students need and deserve. She said the school districts and county are in this position and seemingly always in need of more money because of the North Carolina General Assembly, which for 15 years has refused to invest in kids' futures and intentionally shortchanged public education to the point where North Carolina ranks virtually last in the country in actual per pupil funding and funding effort. She said the General Assembly has sent nearly $600 million of state tax money to private schools just this year, mainly benefiting wealthy families, and $3 million in private school vouchers have gone to private schools in Orange County alone this year. She called on the Board to advocate with the state legislature to end the voucher program and at least fully fund the continuation budget requests. Lynn Nilssen addressed why the proposed 3.75-cent property tax increase is necessary and defensible. She argued that for higher-income households, the increase is manageable relative to what would be lost if essential services were underfunded. She acknowledged the county's provision of property tax relief for low-income homeowners. She attributed increasing pressure on local budgets to state-level decisions, particularly the phase-out of the personal and corporate income tax, which she described as resulting in an $18 billion annual loss in state revenue, disproportionately benefiting wealthy individuals and large corporations. She called on the Board to use its platform to speak publicly about how regressive state tax policy is harming local governments, stating: "Silence only normalizes these policies and shifts more responsibility onto local taxpayers." Judy McCord spoke in support of the Department on Aging and the Seymour Center. She noted that she contributes more than 100 volunteer hours per month to the Seymour Center and relies on its programs for community connection following pandemic isolation. She identified specific concerns with the proposed budget, including a proposed 25% increase in class fees, the elimination of the permanent evening facility manager position (a three-quarter-time position necessary for evening programming), and the elimination of the shared social worker position. She expressed concern that reduced staffing would undermine the work of volunteers and ultimately result in diminished programming. She asked the Board to maintain at least current staffing levels for the Department on Aging. Elizabeth DuBose said she stands in solidarity with everyone who has spoken so far. She said she has been a county resident since 1965. She said many of the issues the county is facing today did not originate in Orange County. She described growing up with the library and emphasized that it serves every constituency referenced this evening, including those concerned about education, seniors, and the underprivileged. She described a career in public health at UNC and characterized herself as privileged yet underpaid. She questioned why the library budget would be reduced to the point of near elimination of county funding over two years, expressed concern that closing libraries would serve the agenda of those who oppose public knowledge, and called for creative solutions such as pooling library staff, supporters, and advocates. She did not advocate for eliminating funding to the Orange County