By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
With education budgets being slashed by the state, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and school board officials are looking to residents of Orange County to help them regain some of the money lost.
At a joint meeting on Sept. 22, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, the Orange County Schools Board of Education and the commissioners sat down and discussed budgets, a proposed quarter-cent sales tax and how that money might be used.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro board members said they incurred a $5.75 million reduction in state funding this year, marking the third year in a row that state funding has been cut, and that they have been unable to provide any salary increases for staff.
If the quarter-cent sales tax – on the ballot this November – is approved by voters, the schools will receive 50 percent of the money; the other 50 percent will be allocated to economic-development initiatives.
Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that if the sales tax passes, the county is projected to gain $2.5 million annually, meaning the two school systems would get $1.25 million to split among themselves.
The money the schools would get from the tax would go toward making facility improvements at older schools and for improvements to technology.
“There are lots of old schools, and we are stressing that this sales-tax money can help extend the life of these schools, because we are going to have to use them,†Commissioner Earl McKee said.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro board Chair Jamezetta Bedford said that her board would like to use funds for HVAC systems in older schools, walk-in freezers and refrigerators and mobile computer carts for every classroom.
“Sixteen years ago, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools were at the forefront of technology, and now we have teachers who don’t have laptops. Even new schools have to refresh and extend the life of technology,†Bedford said.
Orange County school board Chair Donna Coffey said that her board would like to use the money to make a “significant investment in technology, especially as textbook money is being cut,†upgrade science facilities and invest money in environmentally sustainable projects.
While neither the school boards nor the Orange County Board of Commissioners can officially advocate for the sales tax, they are attempting to better educate the public about the proposal.
The county will provide schools with printed materials to stuff in students’ backpacks so that parents will be aware the tax is on the ballot and be educated about what it means.