More and more people will begin heading to the polls starting Thursday for the 2024 general election, thanks to early voting getting underway and Election Day being less than three weeks away. While most voters’ attention will be toward the top of the ballot for the presidential and statewide elections, local government officials are urging Orange County voters to flip over their ballots and read all the way down to vote on bond referendums.
Orange County, in partnership with its two school districts, and the Town of Chapel Hill each seek voters’ opinions on whether to borrow money to help pay for major infrastructure projects. The goals of the ballot measures are relatively straightforward — but the text on the ballots themselves explaining what’s being voted on is less so.
Here are some key details for Orange County voters to keep in mind when examining and participating in this fall’s bond referendum.
What Do The Bonds Mean?
Orange County’s bond referendum is seeking $300 million to help build several new schools in both the Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools districts. The order is for general obligation bonds, which will allow the county government to issue chunks of debt across ten years to finance the different projects alongside $100 million it is budget for school improvements. CHCCS would receive $174.7 million of the potential $300 million, while Orange County Schools would get $125.3 million – with the proportions determined by the districts’ average daily membership.
The effort comes after Orange County had a third-party consultant complete an audit of the two districts’ campuses. The November 2023 report shared that facilities would reach $498.5 million in building deficiencies within five years — and because that level of funding is far beyond what the county can provide on its own, elected officials and county staff are turning to bonds orders to help out.
Kristin Prelipp, the public information officer for Orange County, described to 97.9 The Hill the history of the districts constructing clusters of schools across different eras. Those built 60 and 70 years ago now all have their own variety of infrastructure needs and — with changing standards set by the state Department of Public Instruction — shortcomings of modern space requirements.
“We need to make sure there are spaces that are educationally adequate,” said Prelipp. “This is not about having fancy schools — it’s about educational adequacy and, also, safety.”
While Orange County’s bond referendum is contained to one measure, Chapel Hill’s is split across five separate measures on the ballot. This year, Chapel Hill is seeking to borrow $15 million for affordable housing efforts, $15 million for public facilities projects, $7.5 million for streets and sidewalk improvements, $4.5 million for parks and recreation facilities, and $2 million for open space and greenway efforts.
Chapel Hill’s orders are general obligation bonds as well, which Business Management Director Amy Oland says are a cost-effective method to take out debt as the town pledges its “full faith and credit of the town, which basically means our taxing authority” to repay that money over a specific length of time.
What Are The Specific Projects?
For Chapel Hill, three of the five bond referendums go toward predetermined projects. The Public Building bond is for its aging Fire Station 3 (54 years old) and Fire Station 4 (42 years old), and would help provide funding for the town to build completely new buildings. The Parks and Recreation Facilities bond is meant for replacing the artificial turf at Homestead Park’s athletic fields, with any extra money going toward projects like a splash pad, expanding or enhancing pickleball courts, and replacing the town’s climbing wall. The Open Space and Greenways bond, meanwhile, would be dedicated to extending the Bolin Creek Greenway from Umstead Park to Estes Drive Extension.
The town’s affordable housing bond is not specific to one project, but more for Chapel Hill to have funding for projects that align with its Affordable Housing Plan and Investment Strategy. Similarly, the Streets and Sidewalks bond has a variety of projects it could help; among those discussed are the Fordham Sidepath project, sidewalks along Ephesus Church Road, and more sidewalks near schools and transit stops.
The Orange County school bond is meant for three projects within each of the local school districts. CHCCS’ leaders voted to potentially replace three elementary schools with new buildings: Frank Porter Graham Elementary, Carrboro Elementary and Estes Hills Elementary. The Orange County district would potentially add a new brand elementary school, replace Orange Middle School, and use the remaining money (an estimated $27 million) for an additional, undetermined major project.
Do They Affect Taxes?
Orange County’s bond would affect residents’ taxes if passed, as is listed in the language on the ballot. That significant amount of debt would lead to an increase of $34.10 for every $100,000 of assessed value starting in 2025, according to Prelipp.
Chapel Hill’s bond referendum, however, does not propose any changes to taxes. Oland says that is because the town has built up enough debt capacity to pay back the $44 million with interest while not upping residents’ existing rates — adding it is possible because of the tax structure in recent years that dedicated money to the town’s debt service.
What Happens If Voters Choose Not to Pass The Bonds?
Bond referendums are an opportunity for voters to tell their local governments whether to use their spending authority and debt capacities to take on major projects. If voters do not feel like now is the time for Orange County or Chapel Hill to take on such debt, then the local governments have each pledged to examine other routes to funding the schools and community infrastructure updates.
But, Prelipp said, some of that burden could still fall onto the taxpayers — and alternatives are not as cost-effective as the proposed general obligation bonds.
“It’s not as efficient of a way for borrowing money,” she said.
Where Are the Bonds On The Ballot?
All Orange County voters will have the school bond referendum as part of their ballot, on the second page and underneath the statewide constitutional amendment. Only voters will Chapel Hill addresses will have the town’s five bond items on theirs. Similarly, they will be under the constitutional amendment on the back side of the ballot — followed by the school bond referendum.
Where Can I Learn More?
Orange County, Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools established their own website for the 2024 school bond: OrangeCountySchoolBond.com. Meanwhile, the Town of Chapel Hill dedicated a page on its website to the 2024 bonds it is proposing.
Early voting in the local and statewide elections for the 2024 general cycle runs through Saturday, Nov. 2 in North Carolina. Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5. To find more stories about Orange County’s 2024 elections, visit Chapelboro’s Local Elections page.
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