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Education Funding in Orange County <br />Figure 16. <br />M ode16: Education Funding Increases at County <br />D epartment H istorical Trend <br />$ 1 00,000,000 <br />$8 0,000,000. <br />$60,000,000 <br />$40,000,000 <br />$20,000,000 <br />$0 <br />.-, ~~ c <br />8 8 8 8 <br />N N N N N N N N N N N <br />Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Special District Tax <br />Staff recommends that the Boazd of County Commissioners continue to address increases or decreases in <br />the special district tax each yeaz. Over the past few years, Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools .have used <br />the district tax mainly to address start up costs for new facilities or new programs. When submitting their <br />annual budget request, the Board of Education should make a sepazate proposal for use of the district tax <br />proceeds. <br />While this is a suitable use of the special district tax, the Orange County Schools does not have a district <br />tax upon which they can rely. One alternative would be as follows: <br />• For the start-up yeaz, the Boazd of County Commissioners <br />could chose to increase its General Fund commitment to <br />schools and reduce Chapel Hill-Carrboro's special district <br />tax. While Orange County could use the increase to pay far <br />one-time. start-up costs, Chapel Hill-Carrboro could supplant <br />lost district tax revenue with the increased General Fund <br />appropriation. <br />Conclusion <br />As the Boazd considers future education funding. concepts, it is reasonable to look at models that closely <br />align themselves with historical trends. Of the models presented in this report, .model four appears to be <br />the formula that keeps public education funding at the high level with which Orange County prides itself. <br />The Board may be aware of other formulas that could be considered <br />Page 9 of 9 <br />