Officials, schools talk collaboration

The Orange County Board of Commissioners and members of the two local school boards put their heads together Monday night, continuing discussions on ways to bridge the financial gap between city and county schools.

County leaders, along with representatives from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County school systems, continued work on a plan, initially proposed by the commissioners, that would hire the Robert Segal accounting firm to conduct a study on the issue.

Under the plan, Segal's firm will perform a thorough examination of the school's financial records and suggest areas in which the systems can collaborate to save money in areas such as buying books and making copies in bulk.

Segal said he believes the firm can be successful in its efforts.

"There are opportunities out there to make money," he said.

The study would be the last of three initiatives meant to address funding inequity.

The other two involve the work of joint committees dealing with educational excellence and school collaboration.

Members of both school boards expressed satisfaction with the collaboration process thus far, but said patience with the process is a necessary virtue.

"(The collaborations) have been moving steadily forward," said Neil Pedersen, superintendent for city schools.

He added that the work is preferable when compared with the alternative some have suggested: merging the city and county school systems.

"It's still a fairly slow process, but I think that there are good intentions on both sides," he said. "I think these are steps the community in general prefers over merger, and I think the commissioners would like to see if these steps produce fruit before reconsidering (merger)."

Libbie Hough, chairwoman of the county school board, expressed similar sentiments.

"Collaboration talks are going as well as can be expected," she said. "It's moving ahead -- slowly, but it's moving ahead."

The commissioners warned board members that while their caution in the collaborative process is paramount, their time is limited.

"I think that the main thing is that (the school boards) make measurable forward progress," Commissioner Alice Gordon said, adding that the systems have a finite amount of time to finish work.

"By the time we come back for our meeting in the spring, have something really good to show us."

Inequality was at the root of the discussions that raised the idea of merging the two school systems, initially proposed by Commissioner Moses Carey in January 2003.

Critics say that a merger could solve certain economic issues but that a host of problems could arise, such as redrawing district lines and busing students.

Carey said that although he is in support of collaboration, he still believes merger is the only solution. But, he said, "I recognize that you have to make progress in small steps."

Commissioner Steve Halkiotis said that merger or no merger, collaboration needs to move forward.

"It's like kissing an elephant," Halkiotis said. "It's going to take some time, but it's got to start somewhere. Let's quit talking about it, and let's do it, so that I can see it in my limited lifespan."

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