Ruby Sinreich's blog

In a move that could have surprised only those residents who live under rocks, The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board voted last night against discussing a merger with the county schools. According to the Chapel Hill Herald:

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro city school board approved a resolution Thursday night that supports collaboration with the Orange County Schools instead of merger.

The resolution -- which passed unanimously -- also calls for a special district tax in the county schools, similar to the one currently paid by city school district residents. It also asks that the county school board meet with the city school board to discuss ways in which they can collaborate, and how the process should be supported financially.

Board members barely discussed the resolution, which city schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen presented at a meeting earlier this month. Instead, they talked about three proposals that the Orange County Commissioners brought forth last week.

Well some folks are starting to get pretty worked up over the story of Cam trading property with the University. So let's discuss. I know emotions are high around this issue, please keep it civil!

The Chapel Hill News reports today that Town Council Member-Elect Cam Hill made a deal with the University to trade his house on Cameron Avenue for a nicer one on Rosemary Street. I think there are two issues here (correct me if I'm wrong). (1) Is Cam being hypocritical for criticizing the University and it's associates, and then cutting a deal with them? And (2) should this deal have been disclosed before the election?

Many folks, including Eric Muller at IsThatLegal.org, have taken issue with the fact that this deal was kept quiet for six weeks leading up to the election. However, I'm not convinced that this constitutes a "conflict of interest." (And yes Eric, there is a recall provision, ask Joe Herzenberg about it.)

The N&O reports that UNC is considering getting much more involved with commercial properties downtown. It sounds promising, but it raises some serious concerns. And I'm still a litle suspicious about the Mayor's hand-picked "steering committee" that has superceded the long-standing Downtown Commission.

As Chapel Hill officials focus on revitalizing downtown, UNC-Chapel Hill administrators are floating an idea that could give the university a large role in where shops, restaurants and businesses would go. ...In recent weeks, Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor of business and finance at UNC-CH, has been touting the concept of using a university foundation to invest in commercial real estate, with the notion of keeping the properties on the tax rolls and creating an opportunity to control how key buildings are used.