Board approves budget; education spending increases by $187 per student
The Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted its 2019-20 budget Tuesday night. The budget sets the countywide property tax rate at 86.79 cents, an increase of 1.75 cents from the current fiscal year. It marks only the third countywide property tax increase in the past 11 years for county residents.
Revenue from the property tax increase will pay additional costs related to debt service and county operations and to create a fund for projects that will address the issue of climate change.
The adopted General Fund budget of $237,121,822 was approved by the board on a vote of 6-1.
The commissioners appropriated $113,480,859 to the two school districts, including $17.8 million in school-related debt service, $3 million in deferred maintenance funding and $3.6 million to provide School Resource Officers in every middle and high school and School Nurses in every elementary, middle and high school. Total funding for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County Schools increased by 4.0 percent from the current year.
During budget deliberations, the Board of Commissioners added $250,000 to the county contribution to public school funding, increasing the per pupil contribution to $4,352.25 per student, which is one of the highest in the state and an increase of $187.25 per pupil from 2018-19.
“The budget achieves the Board of Commissioners’ primary goals by investing in public education, affordable housing and our employees, who deliver critical services to our residents every day,” said Orange County Chair Penny Rich.
- Click here for more information.
- Click here for budget FAQs.