Area schools move towards cooperation

Local school districts have made significant progress toward more cooperation in recent months, members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners said Saturday.

At its annual planning retreat, the commissioners said they were pleased with the success the School Collaboration Work Group has seen in recent months.

“I think it shows the two school systems working in an extremely collaborative way,” said Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis.

The work group, in which representatives from the city and county school systems address issues of mutual interest and report to the commissioners, is seen by many as an alternative to a merger of the school districts — offering cooperation without assimilation.

Those living in the city school district now pay a property tax of about 20 cents per $100 in assessed value to fund Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools. The county lacks such a tax, and the disparity in funds has driven much of the talk about merger.

Commissioners agreed Saturday that equity between the school systems was necessary.

“I think it is very important to try to do this,” said Commissioner Alice Gordon.

But several board members pointed out that in order to achieve equity, the parties involved must first define the word.

Commissioners Vice Chairman Barry Jacobs said finances do not tell the entire story.

“The central issue is equity, not money,” he said.

Part of the problem is that issues of equity also involve instructional and material resources. The commissioners will be receiving reports on both matters in the coming months.

Instructional resources are being evaluated in the Educational Excellence Study, which is being conducted for the county by Professor Madeleine Grumet of the UNC School of Education.

“I think that one of the most interesting things in the process is to see what resources are available in both systems,” Halkiotis said.

Grumet told the commissioners that her report will take another two weeks to complete, but offered a few general comments.

The commissioners commented that it was better to wait two weeks for a clear report than to receive muddled information by rushing the process.

Grumet said her group’s report would not provide conclusions, but would rather allow for concrete comparisons on specific topics.

“We’re not going to provide a document that says whether we think the districts should merge or not,” she said.

Material comparisons of the school systems and the county will be made by Robert S. Segal of High Point, the accountant hired to search all three bodies for potential savings.

Segal already has begun examining the school systems and has identified some potential savings, but troubles with the logistics of his contract have prevented him from starting his work on the county.

The work group will take a close look at the study down the road, but for now, Commissioners Chairman Moses Carey Jr. praised the group’s spirit of cooperation.

“That’s what our mamas told us to do: ‘You got to give a little to get a little.’”

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