VoteNoBonds.com

Helms said he believes her selection is “a done deal” but fears a community clamoring for change will be reluctant to embrace an inside candidate, especially if they believe the national search was a sham. Earlier in the process, Helms said, “I thought about calling Frances to say, `If you really want to help this community, you need to step aside.’ ”
…
Kaye McGarry, the only other board member to attend White’s announcement, denounced Haithcock’s selection to reporters. She said Grier and Gorman both rated significantly higher than Haithcock when the board did its early rankings behind closed doors, but the majority pushed to include her as a finalist.

Fellow Republicans Ken Gjertsen and Larry Gauvreau raised similar concerns this week but without giving names. George Dunlap, a Democrat, said the pair were misrepresenting a complex process.

Helms said Friday the school board “might have avoided that if they had just let the public see, let the press see. Now we have two competing versions.”

The missteps have hurt CMS’s chances of getting more county money and passing bonds this fall, Helms said. “I wouldn’t even put it on the ballot right now.”

Observer Article

In response to “Citizen panel plans fail; Haithcock is candidate” (March 15):
For shame! Frances Haithcock should send a note of apology to each member of Gov. Martin’s committee — nothing they can do will get CMS bonds passed if she is appointed superintendent.
Does Haithcock have skills so rare that it’s worth trading the trust of the voting public to have her as superintendent? The last thing this district needs is the status quo.
Tricia Brodbeck

Charlotte

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlot…n/14140580.htm

On The Soap Bov

by Lewis Guignard

March 02, 2006
Last fall, voters soundly defeated the latest bond proposal for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. In the wake of that defeat, the Board of County Commissioners, led by its self-avowed tax-and-spend chairman, Parks Helms, directed County Manager Harry Jones to form a committee whose main purpose was to convince 51 percent of residents to vote “yes” on a school bonds package this year.

As details of the organization of that committee became clear, I sent Jones an email explaining my concerns. After a few politically correct exchanges, including one from former Gov. Jim Martin, who chairs the so-called School Building Solutions Committee, Jones sent me the following on Dec. 28 in response to my decision not to serve on the committee, if asked:

“There is much we can learn from Mother Goose,” Jones’ letter read. “I am reminded of Humpty Dumpty who had a great fall and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not put Humpty together again. Rumor has it they failed because they could not reach consensus (the inability to reach general agreement). I believe Humpty can be put together again in this great community when we stop shouting at each other and start listening to one another. I hope that you can be one of those voices of reason.”

My response was that Humpty Dumpty was probably pushed by those who expressed concern about his plight. This is what is going on in Mecklenburg County today. The voters have been pushed by their leaders, elected and otherwise, to a point where they soundly reject a CMS bond package. This is a failure of leadership, yet those in positions to change this leadership continue to support the failed policies and leaders who have brought us to this point.

Examples abound. Eight years ago, for example, former County Commissioner Joel Carter proposed a capital pay-as-you-go plan to use a short-term tax increase to bring about a long-term reduction in taxes. If it had been adopted by the Board of Commissioners, which was controlled at the time by Helms, today our taxes could be lower, while having more operational money for programs than currently exist. Helms and other leaders ignored Carter’s plan because a political opponent had proposed it. Yet last year, Helms led the vote to increase taxes, beginning a version of the Carter Plan while avoiding any reference to Carter’s leadership. Unfortunately, in addition to trying to fix the capital side of the county’s funding problems, the Democrats’ tax increase also included millions of dollars for social programs designed to appease Democrat voters.

As a result, the county still faces a capital funding and revenue problem that requires voters to approve bonds that will lead to long-term tax increases.

About six years ago, I did a regression analysis of the relationship between school age, teacher longevity, teacher degrees, parental involvement, race, socio-economic status and math and reading results.

The analysis was based on CMS’s own numbers and the results were clear. There is a strong relationship between socio-economic status and test results, and a slightly weaker one between race and test results. I presented the findings to the Board of Commissioners. In turn, the findings were roundly ignored by the liberal leadership of the county, which continued, and continues to this day, the wasteful policies of school rebuilding and renovations that do nothing to improve educational results.

County Commissioner and former Board of Education member Jim Puckett, along with school board members Kaye McGarry and Larry Gauvreau, cite the need for building more schools in the suburbs, where there is tremendous growth and overcrowding. Those in control – specifically the Democrat majorities of the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners – have steadfastly refused to listen.

Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt and Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant co-chaired a task force focused on changing the way CMS is organized and administered with the intention of gaining public support for a new and improved CMS. Their report, although wide ranging, could not cover everything, but focused on major items. There are many good ideas in their recommendations. The acceptance of those task force recommendations, however, has been weak among those who would be expected to implement its changes – in effect, the Democrats and liberals who control the Board of Education and want to stay in power for their benefits.

The majority of the school board is opposed to Charter Schools, which are public schools whose purpose is to offer parents an opportunity to educate their children outside of CMS. CMS is required by law to fund these schools at a per pupil level equivalent to its own funding. To the detriment of charter school students, the school board voted with the support of CMS staff to under-fund the charter schools. This is an attack on children just because they do not attend CMS.

Puckett has talked about finding ways to enable low-income families to have their children attend schools outside CMS, if they wished: a voucher system of sorts. It is a proposal that would give parents direct control over where their children could attend school and the education they would receive. Yet because such a policy would wrest control, not to mention funding, from CMS and the county, his proposals have fallen on deaf ears.

These are only a few examples of why Humpty Dumpty fell down and broke when voters overwhelming rejected the school bonds last November. Many of you have your own and similar stories – the arena, light rail, business subsidies – of how “leadership” has either ignored those of us who offer legitimate ways to make this a better county, or called us naysayers.

Then, when things fall apart or results aren’t exactly right, the complaints start. But by continuing to support those who follow the policies of the past, which have been shown not to work, by refusing to listen to new ideas and accepting the fact that parents have a legitimate and proprietary interest in the wellbeing of their children; by raising taxes just because they can; in general, by ignoring the interests of the average people of the county, our leaders, self-appointed and otherwise, have caused Humpty Dumpty to fall down.

It’s important to remember that those in positions of leadership continue to support the people and ideas that have brought us to this point. Downtown and its cheerleaders only interest is 51 percent of the vote on the next bond.

Then those in opposition are told we must learn to listen to each other, to build consensus. I say that I have listened; it is those who have brought us to this point who have refused. Show me, that I might believe you know how to lead us out of where we find ourselves; because I don’t believe you can. Look to yourself to see why Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

It is not the fault of those who voted against a wrong-headed and excessive school bond; it is the result of those who convinced us, through their actions and policies, past and present, to vote “No.”

Are you proud of the results?

Lewis Guignard is president of Citizens For Effective Government

http://charlotte.rhinotimes.com/
Charlotte, North Carolina • Volume XV No. 9

by Brian Gott

February 23, 2006

It’s amazing how complicated and costly things get when government bureaucrats get involved.

Take, for example, the cumbersome, 35-member School Building Solutions Committee. The committee could wind up spending nearly $180,000 – about a third of it tax dollars – to tell, in large part, the community what it already knows: That Mecklenburg County needs new schools and, particularly, needs them desperately and quickly in the suburbs.

The committee, chaired by former Gov. Jim Martin, is charged with studying ways to build and pay for schools and crafting a bond package that will be able to convince at least 51 percent of the public to support it.

For its part, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday night unanimously approved a spending plan for the committee that includes $10,000 to promote public hearings for the committee, $25,000 for a community poll, $45,000 for televising weekly, four-hour committee meetings and hiring a consultant to work with the committee, and $28,000 for facilitation, among other things.

The estimated budget for the committee’s work is $177,500, but county officials say taxpayers will only pay around $75,000; the rest of the money will come from private businesses and a $25,000 grant for the community poll from Advantage Carolina that commissioners approved on Tuesday night.

The committee will start meeting March 10 and will present its recommendations to commissioners and the Board of Education by July 1. Mecklenburg County General Manager John McGillicuddy presented an overview of the so-called Martin Commission to commissioners Tuesday night.

“It is focused on the immediate needs that must be met in the next three years,” McGillicuddy said. “Whatever the next capital package is, it must be supported by the county.”

McGillicuddy also warned that the only way the public would have faith in the committee is if it is fully supported by all members of the Board of Education and commissioners.

“The design team strongly believes that the credibility of the SBS Committee, the process, the information considered, the quality of the recommendations and the coherence and level of consensus of the committee will have to be high for the recommendations to carry weight and garner support of elected leadership,” McGillicuddy said.

Of course, a lot of people said the same thing about the task force that was charged with reviewing CMS, and look how well things are going with the recommendations it made, what with half of the school board all but saying if task force members want to set school policy, they should run for public office.

In any event, “Elected officials must support the SBS Committee process from the beginning,” McGillicuddy said.

In other words, Republicans should keep their traps shut about wanting to pursue Certificates of Participation (COPs) construction funding to immediately begin to reduce school overcrowding in the suburbs.

Republicans who even question the SBS committee’s intent or the committee’s work will likely be lashed by Democrats, as was evidenced Tuesday night.

Commissioner Jim Puckett, a Republican, asked how the group would determine its definition of “consensus.”

“This group will decide how it’s going to conduct its business,” McGillicuddy answered curtly.

Puckett also said the company contracted with to facilitate the SBS Committee meetings should be a company that has not worked with the county or CMS before, because it could have biases one way or another. After a few follow up questions from Puckett, Commissioner Norman Mitchell, a Democrat, started to criticize Puckett’s attempts to make sure the committee would be all it’s supposed to be and not just another super-sized committee designed to provide cover for the status quo.

“We don’t want to leave any cracks or loopholes for you to squeeze through,” Mitchell barked at Puckett, only to be silenced in return by Commissioners Chairman Parks Helms, a Democrat.

Commissioner Bill James, a Republican, got a hand slapping of sorts for suggesting that a Republican spokesman be able to attend one committee meeting to tell the group why Republicans on the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education opposed the $427 million bond package that was defeated last fall. Those same Republicans wanted, instead, to build schools using COPs, which are a bond-like funding tool that don’t require voter approval but allow for more direct control than bonds of how the money is spent.

“I am doing my best not to let this become a political issue,” Helms told James, adding commissioners such as James should “stay out of the way.”

James also wanted to make sure the $25,000 community poll that is conducted doesn’t ask leading questions. The purpose of the poll is to determine the reasons why voters rejected the $427 million school bond. Even an insinuation that the poll would be anything but legitamate seemed to frustrate Helms.

“It will serve no interest to have a poll that is biased,” Helms said. “Even if it’s ‘no,’ we need to know it.”

According to a county report, Mecklenburg Planning and Evaluation Director Leslie Johnson will oversee the poll and data will be available in late March.

Rhino Times
Charlotte, North Carolina • Volume XV No. 9

Cash Crazy Committee
by Brian Gott
write the author
February 23, 2006
It’s amazing how complicated and costly things get when government bureaucrats get involved.

Take, for example, the cumbersome, 35-member School Building Solutions Committee. The committee could wind up spending nearly $180,000 – about a third of it tax dollars – to tell, in large part, the community what it already knows: That Mecklenburg County needs new schools and, particularly, needs them desperately and quickly in the suburbs.

The committee, chaired by former Gov. Jim Martin, is charged with studying ways to build and pay for schools and crafting a bond package that will be able to convince at least 51 percent of the public to support it.

For its part, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday night unanimously approved a spending plan for the committee that includes $10,000 to promote public hearings for the committee, $25,000 for a community poll, $45,000 for televising weekly, four-hour committee meetings and hiring a consultant to work with the committee, and $28,000 for facilitation, among other things.

The estimated budget for the committee’s work is $177,500, but county officials say taxpayers will only pay around $75,000; the rest of the money will come from private businesses and a $25,000 grant for the community poll from Advantage Carolina that commissioners approved on Tuesday night.

The committee will start meeting March 10 and will present its recommendations to commissioners and the Board of Education by July 1. Mecklenburg County General Manager John McGillicuddy presented an overview of the so-called Martin Commission to commissioners Tuesday night.

“It is focused on the immediate needs that must be met in the next three years,” McGillicuddy said. “Whatever the next capital package is, it must be supported by the county.”

McGillicuddy also warned that the only way the public would have faith in the committee is if it is fully supported by all members of the Board of Education and commissioners.

“The design team strongly believes that the credibility of the SBS Committee, the process, the information considered, the quality of the recommendations and the coherence and level of consensus of the committee will have to be high for the recommendations to carry weight and garner support of elected leadership,” McGillicuddy said.

Of course, a lot of people said the same thing about the task force that was charged with reviewing CMS, and look how well things are going with the recommendations it made, what with half of the school board all but saying if task force members want to set school policy, they should run for public office.

In any event, “Elected officials must support the SBS Committee process from the beginning,” McGillicuddy said.

In other words, Republicans should keep their traps shut about wanting to pursue Certificates of Participation (COPs) construction funding to immediately begin to reduce school overcrowding in the suburbs.

Republicans who even question the SBS committee’s intent or the committee’s work will likely be lashed by Democrats, as was evidenced Tuesday night.

Commissioner Jim Puckett, a Republican, asked how the group would determine its definition of “consensus.”

“This group will decide how it’s going to conduct its business,” McGillicuddy answered curtly.

Puckett also said the company contracted with to facilitate the SBS Committee meetings should be a company that has not worked with the county or CMS before, because it could have biases one way or another. After a few follow up questions from Puckett, Commissioner Norman Mitchell, a Democrat, started to criticize Puckett’s attempts to make sure the committee would be all it’s supposed to be and not just another super-sized committee designed to provide cover for the status quo.

“We don’t want to leave any cracks or loopholes for you to squeeze through,” Mitchell barked at Puckett, only to be silenced in return by Commissioners Chairman Parks Helms, a Democrat.

Commissioner Bill James, a Republican, got a hand slapping of sorts for suggesting that a Republican spokesman be able to attend one committee meeting to tell the group why Republicans on the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education opposed the $427 million bond package that was defeated last fall. Those same Republicans wanted, instead, to build schools using COPs, which are a bond-like funding tool that don’t require voter approval but allow for more direct control than bonds of how the money is spent.

“I am doing my best not to let this become a political issue,” Helms told James, adding commissioners such as James should “stay out of the way.”

James also wanted to make sure the $25,000 community poll that is conducted doesn’t ask leading questions. The purpose of the poll is to determine the reasons why voters rejected the $427 million school bond. Even an insinuation that the poll would be anything but legitamate seemed to frustrate Helms.

“It will serve no interest to have a poll that is biased,” Helms said. “Even if it’s ‘no,’ we need to know it.”

According to a county report, Mecklenburg Planning and Evaluation Director Leslie Johnson will oversee the poll and data will be available in late March.

Rhino Times Volume XV No. 9