Friend Tom, I respectfully submit that the survey on taxes was not a true survey but a “suggestive questionnaire.” Several of the questions are leading the respondents toward a specific viewpoint or ideology. I filled it out, but any conclusions you come to based upon it are not worth a hill of
beans.

gary phillips

97 box turtle road

pittsboro, north carolina

Reading the list of cuts the BOE will have to make this year is tough.  Please remember it’s tougher for them. We have all had to make changes to our lifestyles and do without, some more than others and that is not different with CCS. Jobs will be lost and that’s a hard choice these board members will make.

If you email them, be kind.  I know there are some things on this list that will be missed but there are others that won’t.  Sometimes there is a little too much “help”.  We’ve done w/o some of these things in the past and we can do w/o them again, hopefully just temporarily.

If and when we lose assistants, parents can and will step up to make copies, volunteer for lunch duty and help out in the classroom.  It’s happened before and the school community rallied.  Testing coordinators can also be replaced with some volunteers, we all did it for years before we had these positions.  The same goes for media assistants.  Students and volunteers can help shelve books and do other duties to help the Media center.

Of course that doesn’t make it easier on those who will lose their jobs, and hopefully the community can come together, like here on the Chatlist, and help these folks find employment.

CCS is the counties largest employer and they have to make cuts.  Our community needs to rally and support both the BOE in their decisions and those they will effect.

And thanks MIA, for always keeping the public informed about CCS.  Waiting for the next election to put you on the BOE!!!

My experience with the General Store over the years has been almost exclusively with fund raising functions for local charities and non-profits in Pittsboro.  They have brought thousands to these services over the years. This service to the community alone places the General Store above all others in my book.

Wes Newell

The school system needs to find $2,624,604 in budget cuts/savings for the 2010-11 school year. The board tentatively selected the scenario below, but may tweak it some at the meeting next week.

Scenario C
Central Office Administrators – 1         80,445
High School Band Directors – 3 months of employment (1 each school)     15,530
Curriculum Coaches -9 – 11 to 10 months        47,419
Instructional Services Division Facilitators -11 – 12 to 11 months        66,027
Career Technical Education positions paid from State Regular ADM – 3    154,781
Middle School Spanish – 4.5 positions        230,351
Academically Intellectually Gifted – 1 position        55,574
Overtime Reduction 25%    50,000
Testing Coordinators – 3 positions        109,634
Teacher Assistants – 20         571,780
Media Assistants – 7        212,222
Clerical/Custodians reduction – 39 months of employment        138,423
Central Office Clerical – 1         45,650
Employee Dental    316,577
New Teacher Signing Bonus     25,974
School Instructional Allotments (Supplies & Materials)     265,378
School-based Rewards     14,291
Instructional Field Trips     38,360
Local Staff Development     108,094
Supplies and Materials – Central Office     78,094
Grand Total     2,624,604

(sorry I couldn’t make this look like a nice table)

Other cuts (considered but not made)
Local Supplements
HIgh School Athletic Directors – 3 months of employment (1 each school)
Curriculum Coaches – 5
Instructional Services Facilitators – 4
Instructional Technology Facilitators – 3
Career Technical Education positions paid from State Regular ADM – 5
Teacher Assistants – 13
Teacher Assistants – 10
Teacher Assistants – reduction in days of employment

More info
http://www.chatham.k12.nc.us/board/meetings/2009-2010/03_01_10_boemtg/Agenda%20Item-2010-2011%20Budget%20Presentation.pdf
Table with 5 scenarios is on page 7

Slides
http://www.chatham.k12.nc.us/board/meetings/2009-2010/03_01_10_boemtg/budget_presentation/Budget%20Presentation%202010_second_compressed.pdf

For those of you with comments on the budget, it’s just as easy to email the board as it is to respond here on the chatlist. Here are the school board members email addresses:
Deb McManus (chair) uncdeb@earthlink.net
Kathie Russell (vice-chair) krussell@chatham.k12.nc.us
Flint O’Brien flint@flintobrien.com
David Hamm dhamm@chatham.k12.nc.us
Gary Leonard gleonard@chatham.k12.nc.us

Please be involved.

Mia Munn

The Chatham County Arts Council Gallery (a.k.a. ChathamArts Gallery) is very grateful to those Chatham Chatlist readers who voted us as the “Best Place to See Local Art”. To be recognized for this honor among so many possible contenders including honorable mention award-winners NC Arts Incubator, Pittsboro General Store Cafe, Carolina Brewery, and
the Raleigh Street Gallery is an honor and a privilege.

Kudos are due to the dedication and hard work of dozens of ChathamArts Gallery volunteers and the extraordinarily talented pool of artists whose work is on display at the gallery located at 115 Hillsboro St, Pittsboro. If you haven’t been in, please stop by and see the beauty and unique visions of local and regional painters, photographers, textile artists, sculptors, jewelry makers, potters, and more! There’s an original, one-of-a-kind piece for every budget and it’s all locally made!  Wed.–Sat. 11–5, Sun.1–4, First Sundays 12-4 • 919-542-4144.

Also be sure to visit the ChathamArts Satellite Galleries at Mina
Beana in Siler City, the Legal Aid offices in Pittsboro, and Coldwell
Banker in Chapel Hill.

Thanks again.

—–
Lesley Landis, President

President, Chatham County Arts Council
http://chathamarts.org

In light of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church will join churches across America to create Gift of the Heart hygiene kits.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, an emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., is working with Church World Service to provide these needed essentials. Kits are kept on hand to enable quick movement of the supplies in the wake of a national or international crisis.  Current supplies have been depleted. The national group creates baby, cleaning and school supplies kits as well.

Each hygiene kit will contain a hand towel, washcloth, bar of soap, toothbrush, nail clipper, comb and six bandages. The church will collect funds to purchase these items, and it is estimated that $10 will create one kit.  Kits will be assembled on March 21 at 11:30 a.m. following morning worship at North Chatham School.

The goal is to create 100 hygiene kits.  If you are interested in making a donation or helping to assemble the hygiene kits, please contact Mary Pringle at outreach@citppc.org. Donations are tax-deductible and can be mailed directly to the church office: Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church 212 E. Rosemary Street Suite 101 Chapel Hill, NC 27514.  Checks
should be made out to Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church with hygiene kits in the memo line. Any donations received after the kits have been assembled will be sent directly to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance fund.

Chapel in the Pines meets every Sunday morning for worship at 10:30 a.m. in the multipurpose room at North Chatham School on 3380 Lystra Road. Child care is provided. Sunday school classes for adults, youth, and children begin at 9:15 a.m.

The Chatham County Public Health Department is offering a free four week smoking cessation class starting in March.

The dates are: Tuesday nights, 6-7:30 pm, March 16th to April 6th at Mina Beana’s Café in downtown Siler City

On January 2nd, restaurants and bars went smoke free in North Carolina. If you want to be smoke free, come and get the support you need to successfully quit!

For more information or to register, please call  Kelly Evans at 919-545-8519 or email kelly.evans@chathamnc.org.

Marissa Jelks, MPH
Communications Specialist
Chatham County Public Health Department
PO Box 130/ 109 Camp Street
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(919) 545-8517 (phone)
(919) 542-5521 (fax)

At least one reason the gulls come is to feed on the Threadfin Shad. These little fish can’t survive cold water, and can be seen just below the surface, obviously in trouble, or already dead. The gulls don’t have to work very hard to have a feast. The water temperature has been very low for quite a while this winter, and business must be good. A look at Wikepedia will fill you in on these fish.

John Shillito MD

Request to participate in a survey of Chatham County taxpayers:

Since 2005, Chatham County spending has increased by 63 %, from $ 49 million to $ 80 Million.  This survey asks what you think is proper and right about
this trend.  It also asks how you rate services among the departments.

The survey is a query to determine the opinions of Chatham citizens on the quality of government and the relevance of this trend in these economic times.  Many lost fifty percent of their portfolio strength in 2008-9, lost jobs, suffered foreclosures, lost home value below recent appraisal levels, and can not borrow or refinance with current banking practices.

The 2009 revaluation appraisals are limited by state law under general statute 105.  There is no flexibility built into the regulation governing tax department practices for determining real estate market value.

County spending determines the amount of paid by each taxpayer.  The tax rate and home value have little, real impact on the tax bill.  In the 1970’s, our tax rate was the highest allowed by state law and our values were very low.  In the last fifteen years, the values have increased close to full market value, and our rate has dropped.  However, the tax bills have increased steadily.

Let us know how you feel about the spending trend and county government.
Take ten minutes to fill out the survey.  You must live in or own property in Chatham County, N.C. to participate.  This effort is non-partisan.

Thank you for your interest and time.

The URL for the survey is:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L9YRKDK

Tom Glendinning

My pleasure, Steve.

A survey is (supposed to be) a scientific instrument – a tool to
collect non-biased, statistically sound data.  For the results to mean
anything, the administrator of the survey needs to ensure that the
population of respondents is representative of the population of
interest (in the case, presumably the populous of Chatham County) and
that the instrument itself (the questions) does not introduce bias.
It doesn’t appear that any attempt has been made to properly
administer this particular survey.  The results, therefore, will be
completely worthless – i.e., junk science.

Please understand that I am not offering any political judgment in my
concerns regarding this survey.  I just object to the use of a
meaningless survey in this manner.  It is ill informed at best,
disingenuous (i.e., political spin) at worst.  A petition would be
more appropriate, direct, and meaningful in my opinion.

I’d still like to know what entity – if any – is sponsoring the survey
and what it would be used for.