Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 26, 2005, edition 1 / Page 7
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(The Saihj War Hrrl Public gets crack at budget BY LIZ STANLEY STAFF WRITER County schools leaders have a laundry list of budgetary needs for next fiscal year, although most of those priorities would only work to maintain the status quo. Community members had their chance to influence the ongoing assessment of those needs Monday night. At a public hearing, about 20 people came before the Board of Education to voice their support for and concerns about the requests. After many drafts, the figures now total about $3.2 million, a figure Superintendent Shirley Carraway described as a “big” amount Of that amount, $2 million is needed just to continue existing programs. After reviewing the budget situ ation, Carraway opened the micro phone to the public for feedback. Many, including board Chairwoman Libbie Hough, praised the boards efforts, particularly the push to improve band programs at both district high schools. If approved, both Orange and Cedar Ridge high schools will Low-income portion of development gets OK BY TED STRONG ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR Not everyone was thrilled with the details, but the low-income component of a set of proposed developments made its way through the Chapel Hill Town Council on Monday night. Crosland Inc. a developer, need ed the Town Council to approve a change to its special-use permit in order to expand Dobbins Hill, an affordable housing development. The council voted 8-1 in its favor, with council member Dorothy Verkerk as the dissenting vote. The expansion is an outgrowth of a the Wilson Assemblage, a development Crosland proposed next door. When the council criticized the Wilson Assemblage’s lack of affordable housing in November, Crosland proposed the 32-unit addition to Dobbins Hill. The developer planned to make the expansion affordable through state tax credits. But the tax-credit program has a very tight deadline, which led the council to fast-track Healthy iMex! ( v TOT Always Fresh, Juicy, Big & Healthy Vtfl Cosmic Cantina: Party Fuel ■ ih'Te, MENU SAMPLING: C : 'y h various menu items. $2 old school veggie burrito. 2 veggie burrito deluxe. 4 chicken burrito 5 quesadilla.... ...3 chicken quesadilla 4 ...and more plus... @all mexican beers $2 rk. J mi CHAPEL HILL: 960-3955 DURHAM; 286-1675 right across the sireei from the varsity theatre at on <),|, sireet and perry street 12b franklin: street [at the end of the halll [across from hriieyqersl , MEW YORK (TH : east villnqe. Vd ave at I "sth near nya GUARANTEED OPEN UNTIL 4am receive $25,000 for their band programs. “Extracurricular are a hook that keep students in schools,” Carraway said. Anne Stewart, a parent of an Orange High student, said 85 per cent of the school’s instruments are 20 years old. “It is cheaper to buy new ones than keep on repairing the ones we have,” she said. Concerns were also raised about how the district might ease the dif ficulties students face when enter ing middle and high school. Data show that students’ profi ciency in both reading and math drops noticeably when they enter middle school. Carraway said she thinks a lack of support in students’ formative years causes the decline. “It is disconcerting when stu dents regress at the middle grades,” she said. Budget requests for two new subject-area specialists might help alleviate inconsistency in curricula. Orange High teacher Vanessa Sabbagh said the district also needs funding for additional staff, espe cially to aid students in Advanced the issue in January. “This is very time sensitive,” said Roger Waldon, the town planning department’s director. Dean Edwards, Crosland’s vice president for affordable housing, said the town accommodated the devel oper’s timing constraints nicely. “They’ve done a great job in get ting us... on a fast track in getting this done,” he said. Orange Community Land Trust Executive Director Robert Dowling said that one of the deal’s biggest pluses for affordable housing in the area is that his organization will be given the option to buy the proper ties at a vastly reduced price when the tax-credit program expires. A separate IRS program permits the trust to purchase the buildings for their remaining debt, something Dowling expects to be a bargain. “$3.2 million to build them today, and yet we’ll be able to buy them for $700,000 15 years from now,” he said. But the deal also had it’s down sides. While the council passed rules protecting neighborhoods News Placement courses. After the hearing, the board continued budget discussions at its regular meeting. Board members raised concern with teacher retention —a prob lem they hope to solve by increas ing supplements for longtime educators. “It is imperative to keep these teachers,” board member Liz Brown said. “It would be heartbreaking to lose them.” She suggested that every teach er with four or more years in the district receive a 1 percent pay increase. But Carraway said the concern for supplements is unnecessary. “Teachers leave for all kinds of reasons, but I have never heard of one leaving because of a supple ment,” she said. Carraway said staff will estimate the costs of supplement increases before the board’s Monday meet ing, when final budget requests will be approved to send over to the county. Contact the City Desk at citydesk@unc.edu. from crowding development and slowed residential traffic earlier in the night, the Dobbins Hill propos al would have the opposite effect by crowding buildings together and opening cul-de-sacs to traffic, Verkerk said. “There’s a real stark contrast there,” she said. “This one really makes me angry because it wasn’t thoughtful,” she added. While council member Ed Harrison did vote in favor of the proposal, he noted some drawbacks to the plan. “A lot of places in North Carolina would have had to have had a rezon ing,” Harrison said about the entire ty of the Wilson Assemblage and Dobbins Hill. “In sum, we have maxed out this corner, and whoever comes next is in for a tough time,” he added. Dowling admitted that the solu tion wasn’t perfect but said the density mirrors a growing local trend. In the end, he and Edwards emphasized the benefits they say the affordable housing will bring. School budget talks still focus on equity BY BRIANNA BISHOP STAFF WRITER In a county with two distinct school districts, budget discussions are never easily handled. And as those countywide discus sions near completion this year, school leaders are supplying their constituents with the best informa tion they can to ensure that their concerns get equal air time. In the midst of what is being called a difficult budget year, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials held a meeting Monday to let people know what’s in store for the budget at the state and county levels. City schools spokeswoman Kim Hoke presented information about contacting members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners and representatives in the General Assembly to the more than 30 attendees gathered in the media cen ter of East Chapel Hill High School. The group, comprising mostly “32 units,” Edwards said. “You know, in the scheme of things I guess it’s not a large number of units, but 32 families will be able to come in and find an affordable rental unit.” Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. Carofftw ls6e frftfnmfafSpring Show Hh ffprifZT, 2M5 7-OOpnr (n the Greaftfaff Tickets - $5 in the pit or at the door Features Carolina Vibe jazz, lyrical, tap ...plus several performers Ultimate in college living r SHADOWOOI) • The ultimate location just \ 1.5 miles from UNC tYyT 'y.-.vJrAiK’.afiifesHfeSiSinz* r 9 . I *Ts* • The ultimate amenities: Ml irtfiAj , - FREE gym membership - Sparkling pool _ - 2 tennis courts • The ultmate convenience: ff 988 * 11 " 1 - On 5 buslines & - Plenty of on-site parking IM . 1 I • The ultimate apartment jf available with 42” I plasma TV. B -■ A''A. : V aJ . 1 888 266 3431 shadowood@aimco.com 110 Piney Mountain Road Chapel Hill, NC 27514 : & ‘ m m members of school organizations, also discussed ways to circulate bud get information to parents. “Informally, I think a lot of ideas have been shared to get information out,” Hoke said after the meeting. Creating a listserv for members of school groups and sending out an informational message through Connect-ED, the district’s telephone system, were some of the ideas brainstormed at the meeting. Due to a request for a more than S2OO increase in per-pupil funding and possible state funding reduc tions, the district has to draft pos sible spending reductions, which have piqued the interest of many parents and school staff. Potential areas of impact include middle school after-school programs and teacher assistants. Even while suggesting spending cuts, city schools' requests still will have to compete for approval at the county level, where the needs of the Orange County school dis trict will be equally valued. County budget preparations are being further complicated by the now glaring funding disparities between both districts. Equity has been a buzz word surrounding school funding talks since Commissioner Moses Carey Jr. raised the idea of merging both districts in 2003. Inequalities primarily stem from city schools’ special tax, which gen SELL BOOKS NOW!! Best Prices! FREE stuff during finals week! Tarheel Book Store 119 E. Franklin St. (next to Varsity Theatre) www, tarheel.com • (919)960-6021 Not affiliated w/ UNC TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005 erates about sl3 million each year. Commissioners have estimated that they need about $2.3 million to tackle the disparity. One proposal for streamlining school funding is three-tiered. The highest priority would devote funding to mandates such as teacher pay and benefit increases. One notch down would be the allocation of funds to remedy the impact of state budget cuts. District officials estimate that $575,000 in discretionary bud get cuts and a potential 4 percent reduction in the state’s education budget, if allocated evenly across all districts, could result in a loss of about $2 million for schools. The third tier would address equity. “What (commissioners have) talked about more is agreeing on some things they will fund directly,” city schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen said. Pedersen told the group Monday that commissioners also could decide to raise the countywide tax and lower city schools’ special tax as a way to mitigate disparities. Commissioners and members of both school boards will meet joint ly at 7 p.m. tonight at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill to discuss district funding. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 26, 2005, edition 1
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