The $25,000 taxpayer-funded comparison of Orange County’s two school systems (Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Orange County) was released last week. Now Orange County Commissioners will reportedly use it to decide whether the two systems should merge in order to “equalize” funding for students. Folks in the city district pay a special tax that generates $12 million a year for their students. Many — including me — believe this is just another step — and a giant one — toward merger and the resulting tax increase for county residents that will come with it. In the interest of full disclosure, I live in the county and will be affected. As the Locke Foundation has reported, there is little evidence that school merger creates efficiencies or increased learning. This is about money, as evidenced by this quote from Orange County Commissioner Steve Halkiotis in a March 11 News & Observer story about the report on the two systems.
“We’ll move on…but whatever we do will take M-O-N-E-Y,” Halkiotis said.
