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Dana Thompson reiterated that so'much depends on student projections for the Orange County <br /> Schools. Before approving this document,the Orange County Schools wants to see.some sort of analysis <br /> of the different methods because some of them are very volatile. <br /> Craig Benedict said that in the next few months,the staff is going to plot out all of the models and <br /> show how there is divergence between one year and the next with the same model. He said that <br /> projections were not used for the CAPS,but for the CIP to tell when new schools are needed. <br /> Dana Thompson made reference to start-up cost for new schools and said that last year Orange <br /> County Schools opened Pathways Elementary and this year they will be opening Cedar Ridge High <br /> School. They are still using their fund balance to pick up building costs of Pathways. They are also <br /> looking at opening a new middle school in two years. The one-time start-up costs have been a challenge. <br /> They are asking for some kind of designated deliberate place where start-up costs are figured. They <br /> would like some discussion where,in a two-district county,the County Commissioners cannot be <br /> sensitive to the particular needs of a single district when they start a school. There are some fairness <br /> issues. They are looking for some kind of wording or document for one-time start-up costs. <br /> Chair Gordon said that the construction budget does include capital start-up costs. She clarified <br /> that Dana Thompson was talking about the operational start-up costs. The operating expenses are paid for <br /> per capita,or with the per pupil allocation. <br /> Dana Thompson made reference to the membership date of November 15th and said that Orange <br /> County Schools would like this to be reconsidered. Their thinking has been to take the highest average <br /> daily membership of the two months. This works better than November 15th for the Orange County <br /> Schools. <br /> Chair Gordon said that this was one of the topics discussed by the attorney/staff work group. The <br /> group recommended that the date be the same for both school systems. She said that it could be changed <br /> in future years if it did not work out. This date is in the MOU and it would have to be unraveled if the <br /> date were changed. <br /> Dana Thompson questioned who decided on the November 15th date. She is not sure if Orange <br /> County Schools was properly represented in the work group. Gordon said it was her understanding that <br /> the Orange County School.Board's attorney was the representative for the group. <br /> Jim Ward said that we do not know how good any of the numbers or projections are. This is why <br /> they wanted an average. He felt that it was more important to get the ball rolling and that the numbers <br /> could be changed if they did not work. There will never be certainty of the best date for both school <br /> systems. <br /> Dana Thompson asked about the process of changing the date in the future. Craig Benedict said <br /> there would be a school representative on the Planner/School Rep/Technical Advisory Committee and it <br /> would be requested that way. The adjustment could be made quickly. <br /> Chair Gordon said that there would be a summary in a letter to the jurisdictions of where we are <br /> right now. The School Facilities Task Force is meeting through the summer and there would be some <br /> new projections. The goal will be to start collecting the numbers and get the process going by November <br /> 15th. <br /> 4 <br />