NC govwatch

← All meetings

Joint Meeting with School Boards

Orange County · Board of County Commissioners
Thursday, September 26, 2024

Regular meeting Schools and educationBudget and appropriationsBonds and debtPublic facilitiesTax rate and revaluation

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Orange County commissioners met jointly with the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school boards to hear how each district is closing a budget shortfall and to review a schools facilities bond. Neither school board brought a decision for commissioners to vote on; the session was reports and questions.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Commissioners spent close to two hours on financial and academic updates from both districts and a briefing on the schools bond. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools described a three-tier plan to cut spending after drawing down its fund balance for several years running; Commissioner Earl McKee pressed both districts on why staffing did not shrink sooner as enrollment fell, and said he is wary of a mid-year budget request. Orange County Schools reported smaller reductions and answered questions on teacher licensure and student achievement.

No item drew a vote apart from adjournment. Staff and school officials left several questions to answer in writing rather than at the table: Black student proficiency broken out by year and student group, how each district compares to neighboring counties, attendance at Phoenix Academy, and the number of vacant CTE positions.

How the votes went

Commissioners took one recorded vote all evening: to adjourn at 9:07 p.m., on a motion by Commissioner Amy Fowler seconded by Commissioner Jean Hamilton. It passed unanimously. No other business on this joint agenda came to a vote.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (7)

Presentation · 5Procedural · 2
  1. Call to order and welcome
    Procedural Schools and education
    Chair Jamezetta Bedford called the joint meeting to order and welcomed elected officials and staff from both school districts; Commissioner Amy Fowler arrived a few minutes later.
  2. Financial update: Orange County Schools
    Presentation Budget and appropriationsSchools and education
    Orange County Schools reported total enrollment down 5% since 2020, with white enrollment down 14% and Hispanic enrollment up 6%, and cut departmental budgets by about $7,000 each within a $44.9 million county-approved budget. Staff said the cuts let the district rely less on expiring federal COVID relief funds.
  3. Financial update: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
    Presentation Budget and appropriationsSchools and educationTax rate and revaluation
    Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools presented a three-tier savings plan projected to save about $2.5 million each in tiers 1 and 2 and near $5 million in tier 3, after several years of drawing down its fund balance. Its finance officer said the district expects to break even this year, plans to adopt a continuing budget resolution October 15, and is weighing a 0.4% increase to its special tax district worth about $3.6 million.
  4. Bond and facilities update
    Presentation Bonds and debtPublic facilitiesSchools and education
    County Manager Travis Myren presented the county's new bond education website for a schools facilities bond; staff said they and the bond education committee can present facts but not advocate for the bond with public funds. Commissioners noted endorsements from the Orange County Democratic Party and the Northern Orange NAACP, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro board chair George Griffin said North Carolina ranks 49th of 50 states in per-pupil spending.
  5. School academic update: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
    Presentation Schools and education
    Chief Equity and Engagement Officer Rodney Trice presented achievement and demographic data. Commissioners asked for more detail on Black student proficiency trends and how the district compares to peer counties, and asked whether schools would host community conversations on student cellphone use; Superintendent Nyah Hamlett said the district updated its phone policy this year and would take part.
  6. School academic update: Orange County Schools
    Presentation Schools and education
    Chief Equity and Student Achievement Officer Sheldon Lanier said Orange County Schools has had no schools rated 'F' for two straight years and leads the region in student growth rates, with Black student proficiency up 2.2% over the prior year. Chief Human Resources Officer Jeffrey Koweek said the certified-teacher vacancy rate improved, though 53% of teachers hold alternative or provisional licenses.
  7. Adjournment
    Procedural
    Commissioner Fowler moved to adjourn at 9:07 p.m., seconded by Commissioner Hamilton, and the motion carried unanimously.
    Adjourned unanimously

Other recent meetings of this board