Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Elementary 11 funds approved

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Staff

By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners gave staff the go ahead on Tuesday night to continue with the next steps in the funding and development of elementary school 11 in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district.

On Nov. 3, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education approved providing $2.1 million of their fund balance to advance the construction of the proposed elementary school. Due to overcrowding in the district’s elementary schools, the school board wanted to push up the construction of elementary 11 from 2013 to 2012 so that its doors could be opened in August 2013.

County finance director Clarence Grier said that plans to build the school had been delayed due to budget constraints, but because of low interest rates and a reduction of the county’s debt services payments by $2.6 million for next year, he feels the county is now in a good position to fund the project.

“They were at increased enrollment at the beginning of this year and next year they will increase over SAPFO [Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance] limits,” Grier said, adding that the board’s decision would have no financial impact for this fiscal year.

SAPFO requires that in order for new residential developments to be approved, adequate school space must be available.

Todd LoFrese, CHCCS assistant superintendent for support services, said that the accelerated plan for the construction of elementary 11 was important because of overcrowding, saying that the district has already had to do some spot redistricting to help alleviate this issue, and that they will likely do so again next year.

“There is no question that the time has arrived to move forward with this,” Commissioner Earl McKee said.

Commissioner Barry Jacobs expressed his gratitude to the school board for the work they have done with elementary 11 and said that he appreciated their commitment to returning schools to the communities they will serve.

“I want to thank and congratulate the school board for following through on this return of schools to communities inside the municipalities rather than on the edges of municipalities so they can become integrated into the communities,” Jacobs said. The school is planned for a site in the Northside neighborhood in downtown Chapel Hill.

With approval from the board, the county hopes to acquire the funding needed by late March or April of 2012, and plans to reimburse the school board in full by July.

In other action, the commissioners heard a presentation regarding the Triangle Regional Transit Program from Patrick McDonough, senior transportation planner for Triangle Transit.

McDonough reviewed the light-rail system Triangle Transit hopes to see across Orange and Durham counties beginning in 2025. He discussed where stations might be located, what areas would be served and projected ridership numbers.

The commissioners will be discussing the light-rail system, which is part of the locally preferred alternative plan, in more detail at their Dec. 8 work session.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme