VoteNoBonds.com

Greetings to All!

Can I have just about two minutes of your time in regards to a decision that WILL effect you as a Mecklenburg County resident?

From 1999-2004 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) student enrollment grew from 96,000 to 120,000 or an increase of a little more than 20%.

However, money spent on CMS students, gathered from all sources, has risen 60% in the same period (1999-2004), from $625 million to almost $1 billion. This includes money from the federal, state, and local government, and yes, including your property taxes.

So, in other words, the rate of spending has grown 3 times faster than the number of students has grown. But the Democratically controlled County Board and CMS say they need even more $$$ for education.

… Intrigued? Read on… Just one more minute…

In July of 2005, it was reported that less than half of CMS schools passed the No Child Left Behind testing standards. By comparison, 69% of Gaston and Lincoln county’s middle and elementary schools passed.
(http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/12175662.htm)

Of all 100 NC counties, NC had the highest spending per student, but middle of the road results. i.e. Where are your tax dollars going??

Your County Board, majority dominated by 6 Democrats insists, in part, that “its for education” to raise your property taxes nearly 11% in one year(2005), after a 2003 property reassessment that came just 5 years after a 1998 reassessment. The 1998 reassessment came two years earlier than the normal 7 year reassessment cycle.

Why? To increase your property tax values to gain more revenue. A double whammy - a reassessment and 11% one year spike in the county tax rate!

The Democrats don’t want to tell you the real truth for property tax increases: to pay for unneeded, if not wasteful services, cover mismanagement of resources, and to cover debt service because of waste and mismanagement.

And yet, in what the board claims is a tight budget year of 2005, they increased their own travel allowance almost 30% to do what with it? — Travel to Hawaii on your tax dollars (Democrat County Board Member Norm Mitchell) - Yes, that’s right!

Mr. Mitchell took the trip to a conference in Hawaii in the summer of 2005, that many local governments from many states such as Alabama and Georgia did not send representatives because they deemed it wasteful spending of public funds.

By the way, I thought traveling to an exotic place such as Hawaii is something we do on personal time and money, not on someone else’s dime?

Do you want to make a change?

Two things….

On Tuesday, November 8th…

VOTE NO for the School Bond Referendum…. A no vote demands smarter spending, which we have had little from Mecklenburg County officials. A “NO” vote stays off open season on taxpayers… Of course, most supporters of the bond, and probably the Charlotte Observer itself, will taint “NO” voters as anti-education, in reality the reverse will be true. Smarter spending will for one, keep our own local government accountable and fiscally healthier.

Ask yourself this question: Is a problem solved or improved, just by throwing dollar bills at it?? Money must be spent wisely.

Re-consider: Mecklenburg County has by far and away the highest spending per pupil in the state of all 100 counties in North Carolina, but only mediocre student performance. And now, Mecklenburg County wants even more money.

The next election for county board: vote conservative, vote for fiscal responsibility, vote for education - a priority that will be placed truly first, not behind a wall of mismanagement and waste.

Let us all join together to hold our politicians accountable for FIRST, spending money wisely, before we give them MORE money.

For more information on a better plan with lower cost alternatives than the bond, click http://www.johnlocke.org/ , “Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Costly Bonds.” The John Locke Foundation is North Carolina’s leading think-tank.

former Charlotte Hornet
NC State Class of ‘96
Charlotte native

P.S. Forward this to all of your friends who live in Mecklenburg County!

On Nov. 8, the voters of Mecklenburg County will be casting their votes for not only Mayor, City Council and School Board but also for one of the largest bond packages in our County’s history. The League of Women Voters will be sponsoring a debate on this bond package on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Government Center. The panelists will include representatives from the Citizens for Effective Government, The Vote Yes Committee, and the John Locke Foundation. There will be a moderated question and answer session followed by questions from the audience. If you have any questions, feel
free to contact Gray Newman with the League of Women Voters at 704-609-3160.”

Due to a mistake the press conference will not be Wednesday, October 5.
The press wasn’t notified.

I will forward another email as soon as we straighten this out.

Lewis Guignard

Capacity Contortions Yield Contradictions

By BRIAN GOTT - STAFF WRITER

Is Board of Education Vice Chairperson Kit Cramer a conniving con artist who twists and distorts facts to support a mammoth $427 million schools bonds package? Or is Cramer a shining knight out to expose myths and distortions that opponents of the schools bonds are passing off as facts to blur the truths about the pressing needs that face Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?

Voters will get a chance to make that decision for themselves between now and November’s bond referendum, but the battle to win the hearts and minds of those voters has already been launched, and Cramer is on the firing line’s frontline.

Bond opponents think Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and taxpayers, would be better served if money was used to build new schools where they are most needed to alleviate severe overcrowding, typically in the suburbs. They contend the proposed schools bonds contain millions of dollars to pay for renovations to schools that are woefully under-capacity and under-utilized. Bond proponents, like Cramer, say those renovations are critical and that the schools, typically in the inner city or mid-ring, aren’t as empty as critics contend.
…
For example, if a Marie G. Davis classroom was scheduled to have 20 students and the classroom only had 16, it was still listed at 80-percent capacity, even if it actually could have held 30 students. Bond opponents contend that Cramer and others use similar mathematical rationalizations to debunk the “myth” that several schools, which bond opponents contend are under-capacity and under-utilized, are, in reality, near or above capacity.

For example, Cramer and other so-called myth busters contend that Druid Hills Elementary has an 89-percent occupancy. On the other hand, bond opponents claim the school has a capacity of 800 students, but only an enrollment of 428, according to CMS’ 20-day, student enrollment numbers from the 2004-2005 school year. Those numbers would give the same school only a 54-percent occupancy.

Likewise, Cramer and others contend that Pinewood Elementary has a 115-percent occupancy, while Bishop, Puckett and others point to enrollment numbers that show the school has only 417 students versus a 800-student capacity – or only a 49-percent occupancy.

The dueling numbers go on and on: Where Cramer and others think a school like Thomasboro Elementary has a 92-percent occupancy; Puckett, Bishop and company point to enrollment numbers that show the school with only a 53-percent enrollment, or 420 students in a school built for 800.

Cramer contends Walter G. Byers has a 91-percent occupancy; her critics point to enrollment numbers that show only a 54-percent occupancy – or 430 students in a school built for 800.
….
Similarly, Marie G. Davis has 466 students with an average of 240.5 squarefeet per student, while Quail Hollow Middle’s 1,237 students have an average of less than half that at only 100.5 square feet each.

E.E. Waddell High has 1,190 students with a square foot average of 197.3 per student, while North Mecklenburg High, which has 2,799 students, has an average of only 86.2 square feet per student.

Thomasboro Elementary, which Cramer and company contend has a 92-percent occupancy, dedicates 245.6 square feet per pupil, compared to Huntersville Elementary in the crowded suburbs, where bond opponents say money should be used to build new schools to relieve overcrowding. Huntersville has only 90.3 square feet per pupil.

“As for Ms. Cramer’s myth-busting, we hope she will explain how Lincoln Heights Elementary, for example, is at 100-percent of capacity with 471 students in a spanking new building built for 800,” the Republicans’ statement read. “We suspect she would have to reveal that her utilization statistics for replaced urban core schools are built on changed ‘capacity.’”

They say that type of fuzzy math is just another example of why the public mistrusts CMS.

“Is it any wonder that there is a crisis of confidence in the stewardship of our tax dollars and public schools?” their schools bond statement read.
….
It’s not only a handful of Republicans on the school board and the board of commissioners, though, who are opposing the schools bonds, and Cramer’s arguments do not seem to be swaying some Democrat challengers running for the board of education

“We have Walter G. Byers in our district and I know it’s under-capacity,” said Sheila Ann Johnson, who is running against District 2 board member Vilma Leake in November.

According to Cramer’s occupancy claim, Byers is 91-percent occupied, even though it could hold up to 800 students and currently houses 430. According to the bond opposition, the elementary school has 210 square-feet per student – far higher than many other schools.

Those numbers leave candidates like Johnson puzzled.

“I am concerned about the numbers they (the pro-bonds committee) are using. Are they true numbers?” Johnson asked. “I am not supporting this bond package. CMS is very top heavy. We do have a lot of empty seats, and CMS has not demonstrated fiscal responsibility.”

Alexander said the bonds are excessive.

“We have all these under-utilized schools, good Lord,” Alexander said. “I don’t think the citizens of Mecklenburg County need to be fleeced any more under the guise of ‘This is for the children.’”

Rhino Times Article

Dear Editor,
Please consider this an open letter to the school board: I am so not into politics. I am just a regular mom who wanted to make a difference, not only for my kids; for all the kids. And, believe it or not, it’s the truth. The bonds on the November ballot are a key issue. I asked myself many times why I would want to subject myself to this hardship and sacrifice for my family to help and be a part of this board just for the interim position for District 6. The answer is: It was the opportunity to make a difference.

Thank you to (school board members) Kaye (McGarry) and Larry (Gauvreau) for casting votes for me. Let me remind the board of the article from the Aug. 11 Charlotte Observer, which said that it was unlikely the board would choose any of the three candidates running in November to keep the seat. Board Chairman Joe White said it would be unfair to give one the edge of incumbency. The public needs to trust that the board will do what it says it’s going to do, whether it is appointing an interim board member or spending bond money.

The residents of Charlotte-Mecklenburg are clearly frustrated, based on the last nine months of activities that have gone on. Catchy slogans alone won’t pass the bonds. With more than $400 million to be spent, who will take on the task of understanding where, how and when this November bond money is going to be used, and then let the public understand the importance of it? The facts need to be presented without any spin and the people will decide.

For me to vote for the bonds, I need to know the following information for each and every one of the CMS schools: year of construction, total cost of the school at construction time, square feet of the building, number of students capacity (using the same formula for every school), the number of students for the 2005-06 school year, which district the school is in, renovations completed, year of renovations, cost of the renovations, and, most importantly, where the money came from for the initial construction and the renovation work that was done (bond year or certificates of participation). The schools that would be receiving money from the November bonds should be highlighted. That would be a good start.

Ask the public what they need to know to make their decision based on the facts. Make the information public in a timely manner so the voters have all the facts before Election Day rolls around. Certainly, the voters deserve these facts that you should have been working with to determine how much bond money to ask for. Every taxpayer deserves information to make an educated decision. I would be happy to endorse the bonds when CMS can show me the facts that support it.

A concerned taxpayer and parent,
Teresa Hermanson

Rhino Times Letters Sept.

While having served on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commission for three years, I have gotten a better scope or understanding as to how government or tax revenues are spent, and the consequences of the spending.

While my colleague, Commissioner Rembert, and the Chamber of Charlotte will argue that the bonds are about building schools only, I contend that bonds are about how children are educated… Since the reorganization of the student assignment about four year ago, this community has been in an uproar surrounding education, especially where children are educated.

Because of how this community is divided, schools are affected. This process has caused new “state of the art” schools in the center city to become underutilized, while suburban schools are overcrowded. While Commissioner Rembert and the Chamber of Charlotte would state there aren’t any underutilized schools in CMS, I would beg to differ. There are at least 20 schools that fit in this category. While Commissioner Rembert and the Chamber would argue that center city children need smaller class space in an effort to adequately learn, I contend that CMS has put a cap on the intercity, state of the art schools, to allow what is before us today, and that is, overcrowded schools in the northern areas. As we all know, there has been a faction of people who are excited to segregate the CMS system. I am not. I think that if all children, were for the most part, together, not only will our children have the exposure of diversity, but each school will have the resources that this community require of CMS to educate all children.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP voted not to support the bonds, People United for Education are not supporting the bonds, the head of the teachers association is not supporting the bonds, members of the Black Political Caucus are not supporting the bonds, simply because, all children are not receiving an adequate, basic and sound education in CMS We in this community feel that if we are to support raising our taxes for the purpose of paying the bond debt, then, we should see the benefit of doing so, knowing that our children are receiving upscale resources in every school and every child would receive a sound and basic education.

Valerie C. Woodard

Summit Turns Into CMS Cheerleading Camp

By BRIAN GOTT - STAFF WRITER

What happens if you throw an Education Summit and nobody comes? That was almost the case last Friday, when nearly half of the board of commissioners, along with several school board members, never made it to a joint meeting between the two boards to discuss issues of school funding and board relations.
Turns out the folks who missed the event didn’t miss much. The so-called summit never reached its peak and quickly devolved into little more than an extra opportunity for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administrators to showcase their lobbying efforts for more and more funding, without addressing any substantive detail.

Excerpt…
School Board Vice Chairperson Kit Cramer said, “Because it’s a good example of an older school that’s also way overcrowded and in need of some help. We chose this location specifically so that people can see it.”

What people should be seeing is another prime example of CMS logic gone awry, Gauvreau said in an interview this week. Long Creek is but one example of a suburban school suffering the consequences of CMS failing time and again to build schools where they were needed the most, Gauvreau said

“It’s sad that all these politicians who have purposely misprioritized spending money and building schools in the suburbs now want to hold press conferences like this summit under the guise of education to improve their image,” Gauvreau said.

Excerpt…
Rembert also asked Chamberlain to assuage any concerns that schools in the past had only been built in the inner city and not in the suburbs.
Chamberlain responded that school construction and additions have been “fairly uniform” in the suburbs versus the inner city. Amazingly, he was able to say it with a straight face while sitting in Long Creek Elementary School, which was built in the early 1900s and is among only a handful of elementary schools serving overcrowded north Mecklenburg.
That pretty much summed up the tone and tenor of the Education Summit: style over substance in search of more cash.
http://charlotte.rhinotimes.com/sto…d=674#continued

More info on the Education Summit