Citizens sound off on budget priorities

Mary Mason sat quietly in the front row as her peers spoke about the proposed budget for the county — but when they spoke about keeping schools funded, she clapped as loud as she could.

Mason, a reading specialist at Pathways Elementary, was one of many residents at an Orange County Board of Commissioners hearing to voice concerns about potential budget cuts to departments.

“I came to support two things:  the commissioners to approve the proposed budget and economic development,” Mason said. “We can’t continue to tax our homeowners for money.”

Finance Services Director for Orange County Clarence Grier presented the board and audience with the county manager’s proposed budget. The recommended General Fund Budget is set for $174.9 million, an $8.9 million decrease from this year’s amended budget.

“The county needs economic stability if we are going to be sustainable,” County Manager Frank Clifton said. “We don’t want to build people’s expectations up if we can’t provide.”

Tanya King, a county substitute teacher, told the board it can’t keep asking teachers to do more with less.

“We have A.D.D., gifted and special students all in one class,” King said. “You are asking our teachers to handle all of that.”

She said teacher assistants are vital to classrooms in order to minimize the level of student disruption.

Jessica Lee, a dentist representative for the Orange County Health Department, told the commissioners her department can’t take anymore cuts.

She said Orange County is only up to date on a third of its health inspections because of short staff as an example.

“Are you willing to put the county’s health at risk?” Lee questioned. “It’s enough.”

Susan Wingate, vice-president of the Orange County Special Education Parent-Teacher Association, said each classroom of her daughter’s school has a wish list with items such as tissue and snacks on it — but her wish list is a little more complicated.

“My community’s wish list is that the budget takes care of our schools,” Wingate said.

Commissioner Bernadette Pellissier said all of the citizens made good cases at the hearing.

“When someone says, ‘please protect my services,’ you can’t do that because they’re all interrelated,” Pellissier said. “Our problem is finding a way to balance all of the services.”

Michelle Laws, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Chapel Hill/Carrboro Branch, said the children are depending on the adults to make wise decisions to keep them from harm.

“When we faced difficult, economic hardships, the adults never said we couldn’t eat,” Laws said. “They gave us their plates so that we could eat.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.