Bev Perdue Exposed! Thank God She's Isn't Running For Re-election!

The Corruption within North Carolina's Democratic Party Spreads Wide & Goes Deep.

For Decades North Carolina's Racially-Divided Democratic Party Corrupted ALL Levels of State, County & City Government.

North Carolina's Democrat Leaders have consistently LIED, Stolen Money, Kept BLACK People POOR & Allowed the Klan to remain in Power within State Government Offices.

This includes North Carolina's Current Governor Bev Perdue & Former NC Gov Mike Easley.

Mike Easley a Former NC State Prosecutor was Convicted in 2010 On Felony Charges of Campaign Finance Corruption.

Bev Perdue was also Investigated for Campaign Finance Corruption but Agreed to Pay back the State, thus Avoiding Jail Time & a Criminal Conviction.

She probably Cooperated with the Feds to help Incriminate Mike Easley (her Former Boss & Friend) because she is Dirty like that.

Thank God Bev Perdue decided NOT to seek Re-election!

Bev Perdue (a West Virginia Native) Endorsed Pres. Obama in 2008 in exchange for helping her to become North Carolina's FIRST Female Governor.

Pres. Obama Won.
Bev Perdue Won.

It appeared to be a Win-Win arrangement right?

WRONG!

NOT for North Carolina's BLACK Residents!

Soon after her Election & Inauguration, Bev Perdue hired North Carolina's First BLACK Tax Revenue Chief: Kenneth Lay, a New York City Native.
Prior to Accepting Bev Perdue's Job Offer, Mr. Lay had an Excellent Business Reputation.
Bev Perdue Used Kenneth Lay to STEAL Hundreds of Millions in Tax Money from North Carolina's BLACK Residents & to Convict Hundreds of BLACK NC Residents for Tax Fraud then.....
She FIRED Kenneth Lay & Ruined his former Excellent Business Reputation without blinking an eye!
Pres. Obama gave Bev Perdue $8 Billion in Stimulus Money to help Save & Create Jobs for North Carolina Constituents.
What did she do with it?
Wasted it by giving it to Her Friends & on Stupid Projects such as Research for the Effects of Cocaine on Monkeys.
Bev Perdue also Forced NC Public School Superintendents to FIRE Thousands of Teachers, then she Refused to Give those Teachers Unemployment Benefits.
How?
She made the Superintendents LIE about the Fired Teachers' Job Performance, thus making them Ineligible to receive Unemployment Benefits.
However, many of those Teachers Fought back by Hiring Attorneys to Sue the State in order to receive their Unemployment Benefits.
During Pres. Obama's Negotiations with Congress to pass the Affordable Health Care Act, Bev Perdue intentionally allowed North Carolina's Health Care Insurance Monopoly: Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, to Increase their Member Premiums by more than 10%. Especially for its BLACK Members.
AFTER the Health Care Bill passed, Bev Perdue Cut Millions from Medicaid by Eliminating ALL Dental Care for Low Income Children & Glasses For Low Income Senior Citizens.
For Years Hundreds of BLACK Children were placed in North Carolina's Foster Care System and Left there until the Age of 21 just so the State could receive Millions from the Federal Gov't.
Many of those BLACK Children were Raped or Murdered by their Foster Parents.
The Majority of those BLACK Children were NEVER Adopted because State Officials did NOT allow them to be Adopted.
North Carolina Democrats were Responsible for the Illegal Sterilization of Thousands of BLACK Residents, however when it was time to offer those Victims Restitution, Mysteriously NC State Officials could ONLY find a few of those Victims or their Families.
BLACK Men living in North Carolina are often Wrongfully Convicted, Sentenced to Death Row & Imprisoned.
When & if those BLACK Men are ever released via DNA Evidence, Bev Perdue Refuses to give them One Penny for Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment & Lost time.
But when WHITE Men living in North Carolina are Wrongfully Convicted & Wrongfully Imprisoned, once they are Freed via DNA Evidence Bev Perdue gives them Millions of Dollars!
I could go on & on about Bev Perdue's Dirt & Obvious Racist behavior but it would take me All day to do so.
Yes, Democrats Terrorized North Carolina for 100 Years until the 2010 Elections when GOP Candidates regained Control of NC's Legislature, both Chambers.
Unless you are BLACK & reside in North Carolina, you don't know or realize that BLACKS in this State have NOT Progressed much since the 1960's due to Corruption & Blatant Racism.
In fact even in the 21st Century many of North Carolina's BLACK Leaders are STILL Afraid of Bev Perdue & other WHITE, Democratic Leaders!
BLACK people who speak out against Bev Perdue or other WHITE NC Democratic Leaders are Frequently Retaliated against in a Terrible way.
Just ask Kenneth Lay.
Now on the heels of Pres. Obama's Re-election, North Carolina's Democratic Party has been Rocked by yet another Scandal.
The NC Democratic Party Executive Director (Jay Parmley) & Chairman (David Parker) have Both been Accused of Homosexual Sexual Harassment & Retaliation.
Parmley has already Resigned.
Parker is Expected to Resign.
Bev Perdue knew about these Allegations but Chose to Ignore them UNTIL this Story was Publicized in the National News.
Just as she Chose to Ignore & Help her Buddy former U.S. Senator & former Presidential Candiate John Edwards.
The SAME John Edwards who Cheated on his Wife & used Campaign Funds to Provide for his Mistress.
Thank God Bev Perdue is NOT running for Re-election!
I've been Saying for 3 Years that Bev Perdue is Corrupt & that she is NOT a True Ally of Pres. Obama because he is BLACK.
Perhaps now Obama Administration Officials will believe me.
After Bev Perdue's term expires, God only knows how long it will take for North Carolina's BLACK residents to Fully Recover from more than 100 years of Corruption, Blatant KKK Racism, Modern Day Slavery & Forced Poverty at the hands of North Carolina's Democratic Party.





Bev Perdue Retirement Could Benefit Obama In 2012 Election

The key battleground state of North Carolina is still within President Barack Obama's grasp, despite Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue's surprise decision to drop her re-election campaign.

Obama has been running commercials in the state for months, and the Democrats have staked so much on repeating his 2008 success in North Carolina that their presidential nomination convention will be held in Charlotte.

"It's helpful news for Obama rather than problematic news," John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest University, said of Perdue's announcement Thursday. "You'd expect the Obama campaign would rather run with a strong gubernatorial candidate on the ballot, and by all accounts, Perdue was not a strong candidate."

Perdue, the first woman elected governor in North Carolina history, said she worried a fight with Republicans over public education would become too political if she tried for a second term. But Perdue entered the election year with political baggage, including a campaign finance investigation, sagging poll numbers and a tough rematch campaign against an opponent she narrowly beat in 2008, when Obama's coattails helped Democrats across the state.

"North Carolina's a swing state, they can't afford to lose it for the presidential race," said Michael Munger, a political science professor at Duke University who ran for governor as a Libertarian in 2008. "I would guess some senior Democratic people strongly suggested she spend more time with her grandchildren."

Four years ago, Obama shocked many national pundits by becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976, defeating Republican Sen. John McCain by just 14,177 votes out of more than 4.3 million ballots cast.

Perdue, then the state's lieutenant governor, benefited from Obama's highly organized effort to boost voter turnout, an effort the president will look to repeat regardless of whether the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is an incumbent.

"I don't think the president's 2012 chances are affected by this in any way," said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University. "The presidential race is the dog and the gubernatorial race is the tail, and the dog is going to be wagging the tail."

Obama's win here was the first in 32 years for a Democratic nominee for president. He praised Perdue for breaking down barriers during her political career.

"For over 25 years, she has fought for the people of the Tar Heel state – working to transform the state's public schools, improve the health care system, protect and attract jobs for members of the military and their families, and create the jobs of the future," Obama said in a statement.

Perdue, a former school teacher, said her decision was about protecting public education from spending cuts by the GOP-led legislature.

"The thing I care about most right now is making sure that our schools and schoolchildren do not continue to be the victims of shortsighted legislative actions and severe budget cuts inflicted by a legislative majority with the wrong priorities," Perdue said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of what Perdue, 65, planned to do in the future. Perdue campaign spokesman Marc Farinella said the governor declined to speak to reporters Thursday because she was spending time with her family after making "this very difficult decision."

"For now she wants her statement to speak for itself," he said.

Perdue's decision means it will be the first time a sitting North Carolina governor has failed to get elected to a second term since voters gave chief executives authority to succeed themselves in the 1970s.

"All the Democrats' waters rose with Obama in 2008," said Brian Nick, a Republican strategist working for likely GOP gubernatorial nominee Pat McCrory. "It would be a fallacy to think the governor's race is going to affect the presidential campaign in North Carolina."

Perdue has faced high unemployment, consistently weak approval numbers, a string of political defeats and the indictment of two close aides and a family friend in a campaign finance scandal that is continuing to unfold. She has also made some well-publicized gaffes, like a joking suggestion last year that congressional elections should be suspended for two years to ease partisan gridlock.

North Carolina is crucial to Obama's re-election strategy, with a win there relieving the need to carry more-traditional battleground states such as Florida and Ohio.

Perdue is listed as the co-chair of steering and host committee membership for the 2012 convention. DNC officials were quick to say Thursday that Perdue's withdrawal from the governor's race will have no effect on the September event.

The governor has not been closely involved in the convention planning and was not present at a DNC media conference in Charlotte last week announcing that President Obama would give his acceptance speech to Bank of America Stadium.

"They made the decision to site the convention in Charlotte knowing that Beverly Perdue was facing an uphill fight," said Steven Greene, a political science professor at N.C. State. "That was already factored into their decision."

Perdue may try to maintain a low profile through the end of her term early next year. After issuing a statement declaring her intention not to run, Perdue holed up in the governor's mansion with her aides.

Mark Johnson, the governor's deputy communications director, said the governor has no public events scheduled for the next week.

"Anything beyond next week is tentative," Johnson said.


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Sources: Fox News, McClatchy Newspapers, WRAL, Youtube, Google Maps

Bev Perdue Proposes GOP's Smaller Government Agenda: Her 2012 Campaign Strategy

Bev Perdue: Merge N.C. State Departments, Freeze Hiring


Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday she wants to consolidate several state agencies, eliminate support functions and freeze hiring to streamline state government and save money.

"I believe North Carolina has to be leaner and more nimble and more responsive to the citizens of this state," Perdue told area business leaders during a meeting at Pinehurst Resort. "It's not rocket science. It's just simple, fundamental, good business sense."

The state faces a $3.7 billion budget shortfall, starting July 1, according to the most recent estimation by fiscal experts at the legislature. That's nearly 20 percent of the $19 billion budget under which the state is currently operating.

Most of the gap is caused by the loss of federal stimulus dollars and the expiration of temporary taxes, along with high-priority spending items that lawmakers usually approve, such as funding increased school enrollment, state pension funds and the employee health insurance plan.

The shortfall could change if the economy improves or worsens.

The new Republican majority in the General Assembly has ruled out new taxes to close the budget gap, so more attention has been paid to possible consolidation or reorganization of state government as a budget solution.

Perdue said she wants to merge state agencies and privatize some of the duties now handled by state workers.

Under her plan, the departments of Juvenile Justice, Correction and Crime Control and Public Safety would merge into one Department of Public Safety; the Department of Commerce would absorb the Employment Security Commission; and the Department of Administration would be renamed the Department of Management and Administration and become the chief operations unit for state government, absorbing information technology, the Office of State Personnel and the controller’s office.

Purchasing functions can be consolidated and coordinated bidding and bulk purchasing would be farmed out to a private company, Perdue said. Also, up to 100 computer service units statewide could be closed, and a private company could help the state consolidate IT services in a central location, she said.

The governor declined to say Thursday how much money the moves could save or how many state jobs would be eliminated by farming out functions like human resources, purchasing and IT. The details would be included in her 2011-12 budget proposal, she said.

"I know I'm not giving all the details. The devil's in the details, and those details will be excruciatingly painful," she said. "There will be layoffs. I'm not proud of saying it. I'm very worried about it."

She also called for an immediate hiring freeze in all cabinet agencies and asked other members of the Council of State to do likewise in their departments.

Finally, Perdue said she would present to lawmakers a list of 150 state boards and commissions that could be eliminated. Lawmakers should review each and retain only those that are justifiably needed, she said, noting that more than half of the existing state boards and commissions receive state funding.

"If we're going to reinvent this thing called state government, we simply can't do things the old way," she said. "It's really time to stop talking the talk and do something to fundamentally change the structure of this great state."

The last state government reorganization occurred in 1996. The last significant attempt to consolidate government departments failed in 1995 when Republicans balked at Gov. Jim Hunt's proposal to eliminate the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

Leading Republican lawmakers, including incoming House Speaker Thom Tillis, said they met with Perdue Thursday morning to discuss her plan, and they support the idea of streamlining state government.


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Sources: WRAL, Google Maps

58,000 Teachers Laid Off! Governors Wasted $26B In Education Money!

States Lay Off 58,000 Teachers In September Despite $26 Billion Aid Package


217 State and local governments laid off nearly 58,000 teachers and other education workers in September, the government announced on Friday. The layoffs happened even though some have said the $26 billion bill passed by Congress in August was nothing but a sop for teacher unions.

Progressive economists said Friday that the layoffs would have been much worse without the aid, $10 billion of which was expressly allotted to prevent teacher layoffs.

"Back in the spring when they made their budgets, states assumed they were getting the aid in a lot of instances," said Ed Muir, a researcher with the American Federation of Teachers. "If you unpack the state budgets, more than half of that money was already assumed layered into state budgets. So that money saves jobs but you don't see it."

"States were already expecting that money," said Nick Johnson, an analyist with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Had they not expected it or had they expected it and not gotten it, the cuts undoubtedly would have been much deeper."

Some school districts faced less of a fiscal crunch than others, and some school districts hesitated to spend the money to rehire laid off teachers, as the New York Times reported.

"What the payroll numbers show is unambiguous: teachers were cut. A lot of them," said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the progressive Economic Policy Institute. "States should have gotten more fiscal relief to keep this from happening. The job loss was 58,000 jobs in state and local education in September. These are teachers and other education workers who would have been expected to come back after the summer -- or start new jobs -- with the new school year."


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Sources: Huffington Post, Google Maps

Bev Perdue Wastes $750,000 Stimulus Funds On Dance, Fires Teachers

Dancing Stimulus Project Has Critics


A Conservative think tank has targeted a research project at UNC-Charlotte, naming it one of the worst stimulus projects in North Carolina, but is it really such a waste of money?

The project is called “Dance Draw.”

UNCC dance students wear wireless computer mice on their chests and wrists to “draw” abstract geometric shapes on a computer screen.

Dance Draw won more than $750,000 in federal stimulus money.

Brian Balfour with the conservative Civitas Institute called it questionable.

“I think it’s an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,” he told NewsChannel 36.

“I have to say I resent that,” said UNCC Computer Scientist Celine Latulipe. “I don’t think of this as wasteful at all.”

Dance Draw drew fire because of the number of jobs it reportedly created, one and a half.

“That same amount of money could have funded sixteen school teacher jobs,” said Balfour.

But, Latulipe says they are funding education and more than one and a half jobs.

“We’re funding students, we’re funding artists, and we’re funding technologists,” she said. “We’re doing research that’s going to lead to new technologies and software.”

The money is spread over three years and Latulipe points out the university takes 44% overhead.

Dance Draw won funding not as dance, not an arts grant, but as computer science research through the National Science Foundation.

“We are learning things every time we do one of these performances and that is feeding back into software development,” said Latulipe.

It's easy to mock a government grant for dance students to put computer mice in their sports bras.

“[It’s] good for campus, good for students, good for the Charlotte community,” emphasizes Latulipe.

It's also worth noting that philosophically the Civitas Institute doesn't believe in government funding for any science.

“If that is the future of technology, if that's where we're headed, then I think that private investors would line up behind that rather than basically using government force to extract taxpayer dollars to subsidize such projects,” said Balfour.

The playwright Oscar Wilde wrote, “A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

It’s easy to calculate the price of dance draw, much harder to figure its value.


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Sources: Civitas Institute, WCNC, Google Maps

Obama Urges Congress To Pass 2nd Stimulus For Teachers, $50 Billion

Obama Pleads For $50 billion In State & Local Aid


President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year's huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy's free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. "We must take these emergency measures," he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.

The letter comes as rising concern about the national debt is undermining congressional support for additional spending to bolster the economy. Many economists say more spending could help bring down persistently high unemployment, but with Republicans making an issue of the record deficits run up during the recession, many Democratic lawmakers are eager to turn off the stimulus tap.

"I think there is spending fatigue," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said recently. "It's tough in both houses to get votes."

Democrats, particularly in the House, have voted for politically costly initiatives at Obama's insistence, most notably health-care and climate change legislation. But faced with an electorate widely viewed as angry and hostile to incumbents, many are increasingly reluctant to take politically unpopular positions.

The House last month stripped Obama's request for $24 billion in state aid from a bill that would extend emergency benefits for jobless workers. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to restore that funding but with debate in that chamber set to resume this week, he acknowledges that he has yet to assemble the votes for final passage. Obama's request for $23 billion to avert the layoffs of as many as 300,000 public school teachers has not won support in either chamber.

Mixed signals

Senior Democratic congressional aides said those initiatives have not gained traction in part because the White House has not made additional spending on the economy a clear priority.

In recent weeks, for instance, the White House has appeared more intent on cutting spending -- threatening to veto a defense bill over a jet engine project that the Pentagon views as unnecessary and urging every agency to come up with a list of low-priority programs for elimination. Obama has also proposed a three-year freeze in discretionary spending unrelated to national security, an idea endorsed by leaders of both parties at a meeting at the White House last week, according to Obama's letter.

With the letter, however, Obama makes a direct and unequivocal case for additional "targeted investments," including state aid and several less-expensive initiatives aimed at assisting small businesses. He specifically calls for passage of the measure that is before the Senate, which would extend unemployment benefits and offer states additional aid, increasing deficits by nearly $80 billion over the next decade.

Obama asks lawmakers to be patient on the deficit, noting that a special commission is at work on a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan.

"It is essential that we continue to explore additional measures to spur job creation and build momentum toward recovery, even as we establish a path to long-term fiscal discipline," Obama wrote. "At this critical moment, we cannot afford to slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold."

In an interview, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the letter is intended to settle the growing debate over the opposing priorities of job creation and deficit reduction and "where you put your thumb on the scale."

"While some people say you have to spend and some people say you have to cut, the president wants to talk about both cuts and investing," Emanuel said.

GOP alternative

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), called the letter full of "contradictions."

"He's calling on Congress to pass a [jobless] bill that will add about $80 billion to the deficit, but then calls for fiscal discipline; he says these measures need to be targeted and temporary, but then calls for extending programs passed in the stimulus more than a year ago," Stewart said in an e-mail.

Republicans have offered an alternative package that proposes to cover the cost of additional jobless benefits -- but not aid to state governments -- by cutting federal spending elsewhere. In contrast to the Democratic bill, the GOP measure would reduce deficits by nearly $55 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The politics of the Democratic bill before the Senate are further complicated because it has become a grab bag of must-pass provisions. In addition to state aid and more money for jobless benefits, it includes a plan to extend $32 billion in expired tax breaks for individuals and businesses and a separate provision, known as the "doc fix," that would postpone until 2012 a scheduled pay cut for doctors who see Medicare patients.

When it was first unveiled last month, the total cost of the package approached $200 billion, with only about $50 billion paid for through higher taxes on multinational corporations, hedge fund managers and certain small businesses. Conservative Democrats in the House balked, forcing House leaders to scale back the doc fix and strip out the state aid, as well as $6 billion in health insurance subsidies for jobless workers. In the letter, Obama asks Congress to reconsider that decision. The House narrowly approved the trimmed-down bill.

Now the Senate is struggling to assemble a 60-vote coalition for the measure. Reid moved last week to restore the state aid, but the CBO said the resulting measure would add nearly $80 billion to budget deficits over the next decade. Moderates objected, saying they could not support such a big increase in borrowing at a time when the total national debt has topped $13 trillion, nearly 90 percent of the gross domestic product.

On Saturday, as Obama called for urgent action, senior Senate aides said the scramble for votes would delay final action on the bill for at least another week.



Sources: Washington Post

Charlotte Schools' Administrators Firing Teachers In Front Of Students (Budget Cuts)

Teacher: CMS Gave Her Lay-off Notice In Front Of Class


A teacher at West Charlotte High School was upset Thursday after she said she received a layoff notice in front of her students.

Tabitha Miller, a Spanish instructor, told NewsChannel 36 she was handed a letter by principal Shelton Jeffries and asked to sign an a document acknowledging her dismissal at the end of the school year.

"I’m not bitter about losing my job," Miller said. "I’m just very upset about the way in which it was done."

Jeffries could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Cynthia Robbins Shah-Khan, said she had no information on how the layoffs were handled at West Charlotte and could not comment.

About 360 instructors in CMS were expected to receive layoff notices Thursday, Robbins Shah-Khan said.

Miller, who has taught in CMS for 3 years, said she mistakenly registered for the wrong class when completing her teaching certification by a June 30 deadline.

She said she anticipates completing the requirements for her license by July 2, but said district representatives were not able to grant a waiver.

"I don’t think they treat us like people who have feelings and families," Miller said.

The layoff notices come as the school district faces up to a $78 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year. As many as 1,000 employees could be trimmed from the payroll.

Students at West Charlotte High School told NewsChannel 36 they witnessed at least two teachers receive layoff notices in their classroom with students present.

Sophomore Xavier Wilkes said, while he did not witness the delivery of the notices, he was disturbed to learn how Miller and at least one other teacher were informed of their job status.

"I didn’t think it was very professional," said Wilkes. "I thought they could have pulled them to the side or told them after school. They could have done it in another way."







500 CMS Teachers Getting Lay-Off Warnings


About 500 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teachers will get preliminary layoff notices Wednesday, hours after the school board voted 6-3 to approve a 2010-11 budget that braces for big cuts.

The board voted to ask the county for a $15.5 million boost while planning for a cut of up to $20.7 million. With state cuts, the total could come to $78 million.

The board made only small changes to the $1 billion-plus budget that has been discussed for weeks. They voted 7-2 to eliminate CMS-TV, with about $350,000 going to save about seven teacher jobs.

To avoid forcing three popular magnet schools into later hours, the board instead decided to save $1.3 million by making students pick up the fees for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

Superintendent Peter Gorman and board members say the $332.8 million request, up from this year’s $317.4 million, is what the district needs to hold steady as costs and enrollment rise. They also realize the county doesn’t have that kind of money without making dire cuts to other vital services.

“The county commission’s going to send it back to us. We understand that,” board member Joe White said.

That’s why the plan includes five alternative scenarios eliminating up to $78 million in county and state money, with options that include laying off hundreds of employees. The board had earlier cleared Gorman to cut about 600 teachers, but Chief Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh said before Tuesday’s meeting that the numbers “look a little better than we anticipated.”

He said 170 teachers will lose their jobs because of low job ratings and/or lack of proper licenses. Another 20 in that category would have gotten layoff notices but have already resigned, he said.

Also getting preliminary notices are 240 teachers who are working on short-term contracts and 99 whose skills don’t match any available jobs. The 99 could still be placed if jobs open up. Layoffs are not final until a board vote, scheduled for June.

The number of teacher jobs eliminated by retirements has not been tallied, Hattabaugh said.

Cutting teachers will mean bigger classes, with high schools losing some of their specialized offerings that draw low enrollment.

Most members said Gorman did a good job of shaping a bleak budget to protect kids and classrooms as much as possible.

“I deeply regret the pain this has caused,” board Chair Eric Davis said, speaking to employees who will lose jobs. But he urged everyone to “commit ourselves anew to our students’ future.”

Board members Kaye McGarry, Richard McElrath and Joyce Waddell voted against the budget. They were on the losing end of votes to try to force Gorman to revamp his shakeup of administrative offices, with up to $3.6 million redirected to save teacher jobs.

McElrath and Waddell argued that grouping CMS’s highest-poverty schools under two “central” offices stigmatizes and segregates those schools. But other members said it’s student assignment, not administrative arrangements, that concentrate low-income and minority students in some schools.

McGarry said CMS remains “top-heavy.”

A much-protested plan to revoke neighborhood bus stops for 11 magnet schools survived Tuesday’s vote, leaving families worrying about losing students whose parents can’t get them to shuttle stops that may not be within walking distance of their homes.

“What will you do to protect access to these schools?” asked Odette Valder, a Northwest School of the Arts parent.

Three of those magnets – Smith Language Academy, Piedmont and Davidson IB middle schools – got a reprieve from proposed changes in their hours. Pushing their schedules later in the day would have let CMS tack their bus runs onto buses serving other schools, saving about $1 million.

Davis Military/Leadership Academy, a combined middle-high, will still move to a schedule that’s two hours later than this year’s, from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. That saves about $600,000 on bus costs.

The revised budget, introduced Tuesday, requires students to pay for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, a cost now covered by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The state will continue to pay the fees for students who qualify for low-income lunch aid, but CMS can cut almost $1.4 million from the 2010-11 budget by requiring other students to pay.

Each AP exam costs $86. An IB diploma exam costs $135 plus $92 per subject. Many students take exams in several subjects.

The latest revision also frees about $500,000, which can be used to save about 10 teacher jobs, Gorman said.

The N.C. legislature convenes Wednesday to start crafting a 2010-11 budget, and county commissioners will vote on theirs in June. CMS won’t know exactly how much it must cut until those decisions are made.


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Sources: WCNC, Google Maps

Bev Perdue Used Stimulus Money On Cocaine & Dead Bugs But Fired Teachers

The 10 Worst Federal Stimulus Projects in North Carolina: Hot Flashes, Dead Bugs, and Cocaine for Monkeys


Prior to signing his Federal “Stimulus” bill in early 2009, President Obama warned, “If we do not move swiftly to sign (the act) into law, an Economy that is already in crisis will be faced with catastrophe.”

Here in North Carolina, Governor Perdue similarly declared that we were “facing the consequences of the national economic crisis,” and that failure to pass the stimulus bill would “jeopardize the education of our children and the health care of our citizens.”

She further noted that the stimulus will help “Create Jobs, Stimulate the Economy, and provide relief to North Carolina's families.”

However one year later, the debate over the stimulus bill’s effectiveness rages on.

A close inspection of stimulus grants and contracts awarded to North Carolina reveals a rather questionable strategy for the disbursement of stimulus funds. Many projects seem completely unrelated to avoiding an economic “catastrophe,” but rather an ad hoc satisfaction of countless dubious wish lists.

The Civitas Institute poured through the Federal Recovery Act website charged with tracking stimulus spending, and created the following list – The 10 Worst Federal Stimulus Projects in North Carolina:


1.) Study of monkeys using cocaine: $71,623


Wake Forest University was granted money to “study the effects of self-administering cocaine on the glutamate system on monkeys.” Well, at least the monkeys will be stimulated.

2.) North Carolina Dance Theatre: $50,000

This grant is used to retain four professional dancers from the North Carolina Dance Theatre’s second company. Nice for them, but why are tax dollars financing what should be a privately-funded philanthropic organization?

3.) Reducing Hot Flashes through Yoga: $147,694


Funds granted to Wake Forest University to study “preliminary data on the efficacy of integral yoga for reducing menopausal hot flashes.” The President warned us that the stimulus plan was needed to avoid an economic “catastrophe.” How does this study help revive the economy?

4.) Collecting, Researching and Reporting on the Stimulus Act: $115,000; $150,000; $227,940
Total: $492,940


Nearly half a million taxpayer dollars will go toward funding more propaganda selling the “benefits” of the stimulus plan. The federal government created the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, while North Carolina established the Office of Economic Recovery & Investment for these very purposes. Apparently, that’s just not enough propaganda.


5.) Create Interactive Dance Performance Technology: $762,372

This grant to UNC-Charlotte will fund the development of computer technology to digitally record the dance moves of performers. The recorded movements can then be reviewed and manipulated by a computer program. Although creating virtual-reality type technology for dance movements may be interesting to those involved, how does this serve to “protect the education of our children”? At an average salary of roughly $47,000, this money could have saved 16 North Carolina teacher jobs.


6.) American Dance Festival, Inc: $50,000


A graphic designer and archivist will retain their jobs thanks to this grant. The American Dance Festival hosts dance classes, workshops and engages in other charitable activities to help support dancers. How will this help reverse a major international financial crisis, exactly?

7.) Construction of a New Town Hall in Bladenboro: $200,000; $100,000
Total: $300,000


Why are taxpayers from across the country forced to finance construction of a local government office? This is a classic case of earmark pork spending.

8.) North Carolina Folk Life Institute: $25,000


With the help of this grant, the Institute was able to retain its executive director. Will this help “provide relief to North Carolina’s families”?

9.) Preservation of an Dead Insect Collection at North Carolina State: $253,123


We were promised that the stimulus was going to “save jobs.” We were never told it would also help preserve dead bugs.

10.) Greensboro Symphony Orchestra: $50,000


These funds are used to retain the GSO’s director of marketing and education manager. More bailouts of what should be a privately-funded organization.





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 Charlotte-Mecklenburg 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.


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Sources: John W. Pope Civitas Institute, Recovery.gov, McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, Youtube, Google Maps

Charlotte Leaders & Dr. Gorman Cutting More Teacher Jobs (658)

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

Did NC Gov. Bev Perdue Use Stimulus Funds To Balance State Budget? Save Teacher Jobs!

Here is another example of where Governors were allowed by the Obama Administration to use Stimulus Funds to balance state budgets instead of saving/ creating jobs.

Last year due to previous reckless spending and waste by North Carolina Democrat Lawmakers, Governor Bev Perdue was faced with a $4B Budget Deficit.

Unlike Pres. Obama who was able to "blame" his predecessor George W. Bush for the mess he inherited, Bev Perdue didn't have that same luxury.

You see prior to being elected Governor (via the "2008 Obama Tsunami"), she was North Carolina's Lt. Gov. under former NC Gov. Mike Easley who by the way is currently under investigation for campaign fund violations.

Almost immediately upon signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, North Carolina received $8.2 Billion dollars in Stimulus Funds.

Pres. Obama's Admin. was supposed to ensure those funds were used as Federally allocated for purposes intended. Example: Saving Teacher Jobs, Creating Infrastructure Jobs, Green Jobs, Medicaid, etc.,

Well...

Instead of saving Teacher Jobs, NC Gov. Bev Perdue has consistently required District Superintendents to slash thousands of Teacher Jobs.

Now here we are in January 2010 while experiencing a Recession and terrible Winter, yet Gov. Bev Perdue is once again requiring District Superintendents to slash thousands more Teacher Jobs.

Which leads me to ask:

If Gov. Bev Perdue received $8.2B in Stimulus Funds in 2009, to help save Teacher Jobs, etc., why is she firing more Teachers in early 2010?

Its no secret many Democrat Governors used Stimulus Money to balance their hurting budgets last year.

Thus far this has been a Moot issue for the Obama Admin.

Was that Stimulus Money a Windfall "Thank You" gift from Pres. Obama to Governors who endorsed him on the Presidential Bid campaign trail?

Did Gov. Perdue use that money to balance North Carolina's State Budget?

Inquiring minds want to know because slashing more Teacher Jobs only hurts our Students.

If I'm wrong then its up to Gov. Bev Perdue to prove that Stimulus Money is being used to help save NC Teacher Jobs.

Check out the videos and articles below to understand where I'm coming from on this serious Teacher Lay-Off crisis.






Charlotte Schools Planning More Teacher Lay-Offs


Another round of Teacher Lay-offs looms as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools heads into a bleak budget year, a consultant told the school board Tuesday night.

Much remains unclear about the district's 2010-11 budget, but Superintendent Peter Gorman said he could summarize the prospects in three words: "It isn't pretty."

The board, which includes five new members, kicked off budget talks Tuesday. Jonathan Travers, a consultant working with CMS on ways to boost achievement while the budget shrinks, outlined two prospects: increasing class size and eliminating sparsely attended high school electives.

Both mean eliminating teachers, he told the board. He recommended that CMS start early working with principals to identify the least effective teachers, who would be cut when class sizes increase.

CMS has about 19,000 employees, including more than 9,000 teachers. State and county money make up most of its $1 billion-plus budget.

Governor Bev Perdue has asked state agencies to outline budget scenarios for a 3 percent increase and cuts of 3, 5 and 7 percent. Gorman and Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley said that means the odds are that CMS will face a cut. Seven percent would mean losing $45million, Shirley said.

She said the county is unlikely to be able to cover the additional $15 million to $20 million that CMS will need to pay for growth, new schools and rising costs of current services.

Travers, director of the nonprofit Education Resource Strategies, outlined three scenarios for small increases in class sizes. The most dramatic would cut 197 teachers and save almost $10 million. The smallest would cut 101 and save about $5 million. He said national research shows small changes in class sizes don't affect student performance.

His other recommendation involves eliminating advanced and specialized electives that draw very small classes. Vocational/career courses, arts and music, ROTC and advanced foreign language tend to have small enrollment and high per-pupil costs. Smaller high schools, such as Harding and Waddell, have higher concentrations of those "expensive" courses, Travers said.

Eliminating those classes would mean getting rid of some specialty teachers who would be unlikely to find other jobs in CMS, he said.

Last year, as the recession hit home, Gorman laid off hundreds of teachers and other employees. Many were rehired when the state approved a tax hike and federal stimulus money arrived. Travers acknowledged that another year of layoffs would be tough on morale.

Travers said some cost-cutting measures he has recommended to other districts - such as cutting teacher pay and benefits or shrinking central-office staff - don't make sense for CMS. CMS is already lean on central administration, compared with other districts he's studied, he said.

He noted that CMS will be figuring out a new approach to teacher pay, based on performance, as part of Gorman's five-year plan, and said CMS has little control over the cost of benefits.

The board will hold a special work session Jan. 25 to talk more about the budget. Gorman expects to present a plan in March.






Laid Off Teachers Facing Tough Job Hunt



Less than a year after Kelly Berg moved to Charlotte for a teaching position at Myers Park High School, she is out of a job and planning her next career move.

Berg, who holds a master's degree in history education, is one of several hundred Charlotte-Mecklenburg teachers that have been laid off as N.C. school districts cope with unprecedented budget cuts.

"It's not like you can just go to another employer," Berg told NewsChannel 36. "This is my employer and this employer is laying off."

The 1,300 employees axed from the CMS payroll have plenty of company in the region.

Gaston, Union, and Cabarrus county schools are also bracing for hundreds of potential layoffs.

Schools in Lincoln County are planning for the loss of 63 teaching positions, according to the district's website.

About 70 teaching assistant jobs may be eliminated in Iredell County, a spokesperson told NewsChannel 36.

Catawba County school officials meet Thursday to discuss potential layoffs.

"You have to have a paycheck, you have to have a job," said Dot Cromwell, an educator with 36 years of experience and past-president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators. "There's a lot of people in that situation."

Teachers were also required to give up 0.5% of their salary, a payment deducted from their most recent paycheck, after N.C. Governor Bev Perdue ordered all state workers to help close a $4 billion budget deficit.

"It's just sad that we're treated this way," Cromwell said.

Berg, a first-year CMS teacher with three years of previous teaching experience in New York City's public schools, said she is facing the possibility of not having an education job next school year.

She recently posted an ad on the website Craigslist, offering to do landscaping jobs or work as a farmhand, using her experience from a summer position at a farm in Waxhaw.

Schools which lose teachers are likely to see more crowded classrooms in the fall, Berg said.

"I hope that they're able to hire back teachers, because I think that the people who really suffer in this situation are the kids," she said.





$44 Billion in Stimulus Funds Available to Drive Education Reforms and Save Teaching Jobs


U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that $44 billion for states and schools is now available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts.

"Given our economic circumstances, it's critical that money go out quickly but it's even more important that it be spent wisely," said Duncan. "The first step toward real and lasting reform that will ensure our students' competitiveness begins with absolute transparency and accountability in how we invest our dollars, educate our children, evaluate our teachers, and measure our success. We must be much more open and honest about what works in the classroom and what doesn't."

Duncan made his announcement at Doswell Brooks Elementary School in Capitol Heights, Md. He was joined by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Maryland State School Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, Interim Superintendent of Prince George's County Public Schools, William Hite, Jr., County Executive Jack B. Johnson, Maryland State Teachers Association President Clara Floyd and Prince George's County Education Association President Donald Briscoe.

The Prince George's County School District is facing a $155 million budget gap for next year. School officials estimate the district will receive at least $142 million from the stimulus package over the next two years.

Governor O'Malley saluted the administration for the reform elements of the package saying, "President Obama and Secretary Duncan have put a bold education reform plan in place that will invest in our schools, our students and our teachers. But each State must play their part to show how these dollars will be spent, and to move forward on a path to progress in our schools."

Today's announcement includes the application and guidelines for $32.6 billion under the State Stabilization Fund, representing two-thirds of the total dollars in the Fund. This includes $26.6 billion to save jobs and improve K-12 and higher education and a separate $6 billion in a Government Services Fund to pay for education, public safety or other government services.

Funds in the first round will be released within two weeks of an application's approval. A second round of stabilization funds will be released later in the year. A third round of funding, the Race to the Top competitive grant program will reward states that have made the most progress on reforms.

The guidelines released today promote comprehensive education reform by receiving commitments from states that they will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools. Specifically, the law requires states to show:

* Improvements in teacher effectiveness and commitments that all schools have highly qualified teachers;
* Progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning;
* Improvements in achievement in low-performing schools, by providing intensive support and effective interventions in those schools.
* That they can gather information to improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career-readiness through enhanced data systems that track progress.

In a letter to Governors, Secretary Duncan outlines a set of proposed measurements that states would report on their progress toward the education reforms spelled out in the law. The Department will release these metrics for public comment in the Federal Register in April and then issue a final version.

The guidelines also require states to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted, and how funds are used. It further requires that the bulk of the federal dollars be spent on education.

Part 2 of the State Stabilization Fund Application, available later this year, will allow states to apply for the last third of the stabilization funds, which includes $13.1 billion for education and $2.9 billion designated for the Government Services Fund. Guidelines for Part 2 require states to submit the required data or provide an explanation of why the data is currently unavailable and a plan for collecting the data by 2011.

Finally, $5 billion in competitive grants, the "Race to the Top" fund, will be awarded to states that are most aggressively pursuing reforms. In order to ensure that Recovery Act funds are driving classroom improvements, states competing for Race to the Top funds will be judged on how well they are using the first round of stabilization and Title I funds to advance education reforms.

"Every dollar we spend must advance reforms and improve learning. We are putting real money on the line to challenge every state to push harder and do more for its children," Duncan said.

In addition to the stabilization funds, $11.4 billion is available immediately under the Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation and Independent Living programs. Title I programs serve schools with large concentrations of low-income students. IDEA funds serve students with disabilities. A second round of Title I and IDEA funds will be available later in the year.

To receive State Stabilization Funds, states must also meet maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirements of the law by showing that 2009 state education budgets at least meet 2006 state education budget levels. If they cannot meet the maintenance of effort requirements, states can receive a waiver if they can show that their education budgets are not being disproportionally reduced.

"Under the law passed by Congress, the top priority for these dollars is to do right by our schools and our kids. If states play games with these funds, the second round of stabilization funds could be in jeopardy and they could eliminate their state from competitive grant money. This money must be spent in the best interests of children," Duncan said.




Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Lags In Share Of Stimulus


North Carolina's stimulus checkbook shows that rural counties have benefited more than urban counties, on a per-person basis, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg's share lagging.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg has so far received $246 per person in Federal Stimulus dollars, compared with $328 per person statewide.

The one urban county to do exceptionally well is Cumberland County, home to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg. The Department of Defense has poured money into the Army base, pushing Cumberland's per-person total to $816.

Local officials are still chasing millions in Stimulus grants, but some are frustrated.

“This is a nationwide trend on how the money was divvied up – everyone is getting a little bit, and in the end there will be nothing to show for it,” said Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, a Republican. “We should have spent it in Eisenhower- and Roosevelt-type projects for the next generation.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's low per-capita share is due to a number of factors.

Many of the stimulus dollars are being distributed by existing state formulas, some of which favor rural over urban counties. Charlotte-Mecklenburg has received only $8.9 million in grants – out of $409 million – distributed by federal agencies.

Dempsey Benton, who oversees N.C. Stimulus Spending, said there are some pots of money that are difficult for Charlotte-Mecklenburg to access. The Department of the Interior, for instance, has so far spent $12.3 million in North Carolina – mostly in coastal counties, and none in Mecklenburg.

“The Department of the Interior is spending money in the mountains and in the coasts,” Benton said. “That's not going to help the Mecklenburgs and the Guilfords.”

The N.C. Office of Economic Recovery and Investment, created to handle stimulus money, last week released a county-by-county breakdown of stimulus allocations through June 30. It has allocated $3.2 billion through June, and the state estimates it's spent $1.3 billion.

The state expects to receive $8.2 billion in Stimulus Funds.

The stimulus, designed to jump-start the economy and improve the nation's infrastructure, includes money for construction projects such as roads and weatherizing buildings, and also assistance payments for food stamps and school systems.

As unemployment nationwide has hit 9.5 percent, a 26-year high, Republicans have criticized the stimulus as ineffective. One problem has been that money hasn't been spent as fast as the Obama administration hoped.

Benton said there has been a longer than expected lag time in federal agencies issuing rules as to how the money has been spent. But he said North Carolina is moving quickly to spend the money, and that it's above average among states in getting money on the street.

Mecklenburg has so far been allocated $219 million. The county has struggled accessing some of the biggest pots of money.

The Charlotte Area Transit System carries more than 33 percent of the transit passengers statewide, but a state formula gave it 21 percent – $20.8 million – of the transit money parceled out statewide. CATS plans to use the money to refurbish a bus maintenance garage on North Davidson Street.

Mecklenburg has been shortchanged in highway dollars, due to the state's equity formula, which the N.C. Department of Transportation secretary Gene Conti said penalizes urban areas.

Mecklenburg has so far received $37.3 million in stimulus money for roads and bridges, for projects such as widening N.C. 51 south of Pineville, improving a traffic signal system in Charlotte and widening N.C. 73 in Huntersville. The Department of Transportation's office overseeing the Charlotte area distributed the highway money and chose to spend some money in neighboring counties like Anson, Union, Cabarrus and Stanly.

By contract, the DOT office overseeing five counties in central N.C. chose to spend all of its stimulus highway dollars – $64 million – in Fayetteville. That will help build part of the city's outerbelt.

Mecklenburg has struggled accessing the third-largest pot of stimulus money – grants from federal agencies.

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport didn't get $2 million in funding for runway repairs from the FAA. No Charlotte federal buildings have received money to become environmentally friendly. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has bypassed Mecklenburg.

Cumberland, by contrast, is benefiting from $117.5 million in defense grants to Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. The money will be spent on more than 70 mostly small projects, such as paving roads, improving barracks and making buildings more energy efficient.

Cumberland's unemployment rate is 9.3 percent; Mecklenburg's is 11 percent.

The state has so far used $126 million in “education stabilization” funds to help universities and community colleges pay their bills. Mecklenburg has received $7.8 million for UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College. Orange County, home to UNC Chapel Hill, has received $20 million and Wake County, home of N.C. State, has received $15.8 million.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' share of stimulus dollars has more closely matched the county's population, but one state budget proposal would reduce state money to CMS by the same amount.

Charlotte assistant city manager Ron Kimble said the city is so far pleased with how much money it's received. But the city has a team to apply for competitive stimulus dollars.

The city is seeking nearly $26 million to hire 150 police officers, $8 million to buy 11 hybrid buses and $20 million to buy 200 foreclosed homes.

There is still the possibility the stimulus will produce the type of large, long-lasting project McCrory wants.

The N.C. DOT hopes to use stimulus money to improve rail service between Charlotte and Raleigh, increasing speeds up to 110 mph. The state is also applying for a special stimulus fund to replace the Interstate 85 Yadkin River bridge.




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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, U.S. Dept of Education, Whitehouse.gov, Recovery.gov. Youtube, Google Maps