On Sept. 23, the Orange County School Board met for a regularly scheduled meeting to receive school district updates almost a month into the 2024-2025 school year.
What’s New?
- Orange County Schools has spent almost half of the awarded contracts for projects from the 10 Year Capital Plan, an improvement plan intended to address OCS’s capital needs.
- Projects that are intended to be funded by the 2024 General Obligation Bond are in two categories: capital renewal (improvements to existing items) and capital improvements (new items). Capital renewal projects are slated to cost $75 million and capital improvements are expected to cost $166 million over the next ten years, totaling $241 million of capital spending that will be voted on by citizens in November.
- Some improvements already in the works include new roofing at Hillsborough Elementary School, tennis courts and tracks at Orange County high schools, a new adaptive playground and HVAC repairs, according to OCS Chief Operations Officer Fredrick Davis.
- “Something that I do not think we have anywhere, which would be really helpful, is sort of the back end of the Capital Improvement Plan, which is the running list of the completed projects and when they were completed,” Board Member Sarah Smylie said.
- Davis also gave a presentation on the 2024 General Obligation Bond, which will cover renovation and replacement costs for elementary and middle schools. The bond will provide $49.5 million in elementary school replacement, $66 million to replace Orange Middle School and $27 million for additional renovations.
- “The bond that is on the ballot is over a ten-year context, and so we must make sure that we plan accordingly, based on how the county would like for us to cash flow the $300 million bond for the next ten years,” Davis said.
- The cost breakdown of the bond funding includes 10 percent for planning and design, 80 percent for construction and 10 percent for other equipment, furniture, fixtures and closeout expenses.
- The county will not receive the funding until 2027.
- This year, OCS implemented a new office, The Office of Employee Ombuds, which was approved in July. This office is intended to provide staff a place to voice concerns in a safe space and is run by ombuds and board specialist, Franklin McCune.
- McCune said that so far, he has visited schools, listened to feedback from staff, created a frequently asked questions online page, created a page for staff on the employee handbook website and joined the International Ombuds Association.
- “I'm not here to bypass initial conversations with your supervisors, but when you're in a moment where you feel like ‘I don't know where I need to go next,’ that's what I'm here for and my goal is to help guide you on that process of what your next steps can be,” he said in response to a question about when staff should seek his services.
- Lastly, the board received an update on Infinite Campus, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s online information portal for students, parents and teachers. Previously, the state used PowerSchool and is transitioning between the two platforms. Staff began training to use the new system in February.
- Information and Instructional Technology Director Ryan Miller said that some of the main challenges of switching platforms have been being able to display multiple languages on the website for each family, preparing high school master schedules and transferring data from PowerSchool.
- The switch to Infinite Campus will save OCS just under $10,000.
- Policy 3210 – which provides parents an opportunity to voice input on instruction materials – was removed from theconsent agenda and will be further discussed in the next board policy meeting on Friday, Oct. 4 at 9 a.m.
- This policy allows parents to either meet with the principals of schools or have access to review educational materials and to challenge the resource. Materials do not include tests or assessments.
What’s next?
- The school board will meet with the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday at 7 p.m.
