Charlotte Leaders, Peter Gorman, CMS Move Toward Lay-Offs, Maybe School Closings
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is moving ahead with plans to cut 880 jobs, and the board will need to decide in March whether to close schools to save money in 2010-11, Superintendent Peter Gorman said today.
At a news conference this morning, Gorman said he’s moving forward on all four levels of cuts he presented last week. Those included eliminating 658 teacher jobs; making unspecified cuts to Central Administration, transportation and building maintenance; and eliminating middle-school sports.
And he’s crunching numbers on more dire scenarios, such as closing underfilled schools, eliminating magnet busing and delaying the opening of two new high schools. In private talks with board members that have lasted two to 3 1/2 hours, Gorman has outlined which schools might face closing and how much that would save. Neither he nor board members have disclosed details.
Big-city school districts across the country are planning to lay off teachers and close schools, as the recession lingers for another year.
The board could still back away from some of the proposed cuts, but the district must move quickly to meet legal guidelines for some layoffs and to settle questions that affect staff and students.
On Tuesday, Gorman told the board he’ll delay his formal budget proposal from March 9 to April 12, similar to what he did last year when faced with major cuts. The board will vote on a budget May 11 and present it to county officials later that week.
Ultimately, the number of jobs cut depends on how much money the state and county provide – information that won’t be in hand until summer.
Gorman said today the board must decide about closings, delays and major busing changes during three special budget meetings in March. He and several board members say keeping Hough and Rocky River high schools empty for a year is the least popular option, but there’s been no vote to eliminate that plan from consideration.
Board members say they expect to see significant changes in the six regional administrative offices Gorman launched two years ago.
Some have voiced interest in finding other ways to pay for middle-school sports, such as adding admission fees for those events or tacking a surcharge onto high-school tickets.
CMS is competing with other agencies for scarce county money, and some members say they want to be more aggressive in asking for extra money to open the new high schools and deal with enrollment growth. But board chair Eric Davis says the talk of dire cuts isn’t posturing to pressure county commissioners.
“This is not a game we’re playing,” he said.
Video and written information about Charlotte-Mecklenburg budget planning are available on the district’s Web site. Gorman’s news conference will air on CMS-TV Cable 3 at 10 p.m. today and 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday.
Harvard Study Details Charlotte Schools' Effectiveness
Harvard University Researchers who have been studying a North Carolina school system to learn what makes teachers effective are reporting their findings.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the Harvard researchers unveil on Tuesday what they've found out about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teachers.
Superintendent Peter Gorman has said previously that researchers found advanced degrees and experience make little difference in student achievement. Much more important is National Board Certification, a voluntary credential that requires intensive work on classroom techniques.
The report also looks at whether certain education colleges produce more effective teachers, and which teachers are most likely to leave the county's public schools.
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Sources: Harvard Unv., WRAL, WCNC, McClatchy Newspapers, Charmeck.org, Youtube, Google Maps
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