Tuesday night, June 11th, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted down an amendment to the county manager recommended budget leaving the CHCCS school district short of funding to cover inflation expenses for the 2019-2020 school year.
Our public schools called on the County Commission to pass a budget resolution of $5.5M that would have provided funds to cover inflation, teacher maternity leave benefits, student summer programs, and unfunded class size mandates from the NC General Assembly.
It’s truly disappointing that a Commission majority did not support a strong schools budget. As a result of this funding shortfall, the school district will have to cut positions or programs.
Commissioner Jamezetta Bedford proposed an amendment to add funding to cover inflationary costs for Orange County Schools and partially fund them for CHCCS, but no other board member supported the amendment. There was little discussion during this meeting about the hardship this decision will cause for both our school systems and communities. While the schools could have done a better job communicating their needs, commissioners never asked what would happen if the budget requested was not approved.
The decision not to adequately fund the CHCCS school funding request hit School Board Member Rani Dasi hard. “The decision not to fund inflation costs leaves the district without resources to support our important work. Schools are increasingly tasked with providing support for students in areas such as mental and physical health needs, that have historically been provided for by government agencies. This shift is happening at the same time our state legislature has cut funding for public education. At the same time we are tasked with closing the “opportunity gap” and ensuring district support for all our students.”
Lessons learned:
- Communications. It’s truly extraordinary that Commissioners do not realize important programs are at risk without adequate funding. School systems can do a more effective job communicating school needs to the funding agency, the County Commission.
- Transparency. The Orange County Commission needs to be open and transparent with information. Commissioner Jamezetta Bedford requested budget amendments be made available but her Commission colleagues refused to make them public until the NAACP’s request was honored. Denying this information would have prevented any public comment on the individual budget amendments proposed by various commissioners.
- Redo Priorities. A Commission majority found money to fund their own salary increases in a tight budget year while over 30 million of local county funds has been wasted on a failed rail project. The “climate tax” proposed by Commissioner Marcoplos to fund weatherization would realize even greater cost and energy dividends if directed to our aging school facilities. We’ve seen no plan for a capital program to upgrade our schools other than the Chapel Hill High School recently approved bond referendum.
Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools are the second and third largest employers in the county and our communities generate a significant portion of the tax base that enables growth in other areas. Investing in schools is an investment in our economic development in Orange County, as well as in our kids. Investing in schools supports our property values and enables revenue to support other needs in our county. Let’s do better for our schools next time!