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

Just received my mailing from voteyesbonds! They helpfully included a map that shows no new schools built up in the most Northern part of the county. It looks like the work is mostly center city. There are no new schools planned in the most northern part of the county. There is a huge amount of growth in that area…Has anyone noticed the growth in the area?

Look for your well-financed, shiny, three color foldout in the mail. It is clear on the map. Or check out their well-financed by the construction companies web site. The link to the map is at the bottom of the page.

A homeowner with $175,000 house will pay an extra $100/year. Wouldn’t it be nice if that amount of money would fix the schools? That seems cheap. That is just the tip of the iceberg though. Tax increases for Charlotte and Mecklenburg county must be included to that $100/year.

That combined with the fact that the favorites to win are incumbents in several districts make me think this is a referedum on the schools system. There is no real reform of this failing school system in sight. Without reform the tipping continues.

Tara Servatious’s archives are not available so I will use a source from Alabama. Article

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

Richard McElrath announced that the Black Political Caucus would hold a
discussion of bonds on the November ballot on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at
Little Rock AME Zion Church, 401 McDowell St. Assistant Supt. Susan Agruso
will attend.

bpccharlotte.com

The support for the Bonds is the Center City Partners & the Chamber of Commerce. Not community or parental support. Large construction company and architecture firm support. The people that benefit the most from the millions spent, sort of right into their pocket.

Check out the executive committee for pushing the bonds on the community. Contruction executives.

The general community doesn’t trust this pork package. Throw something in for everyone so that they have to vote yes. It’s still not working…

GRADING THE SCHOOLS

HOWARD MANNING JR.

Guest Commentator

POOR ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES HURTS CMS

Published Dec. 9, 2004

Edited excerpts from a Nov. 10 memo by Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. of Raleigh to lawyers representing plaintiffs and the state in the decade-old Leandro lawsuit over school funding adequacy:
…
The 2004 Public School Forum preliminary report shows that per pupil spending dollars from Mecklenburg County is $2,403 per pupil. At 23 students per classroom, the local funds per classroom would result in $55,269 in local money per classroom with 23 students. CMS ranks fourth in local spending per pupil.

I compared CMS with Wake County Schools high school performance record for 2003-2004. The 2004 Public School Forum preliminary report shows that the level of per pupil spending from Wake County local funds is at $1,849 per pupil. At 23 students per classroom, the local funds per class would result in $42,527 in local money per classroom with 23 students. Wake ranks 11th in local spending per pupil. Wake spends $12,742 less per classroom than Mecklenburg, yet its high school composite scores are head and shoulders above Mecklenburg.

Poor performance in multiple schools when an LEA has plenty of funds as compared to other LEAs that are performing well would, initially at least, tend to indicate a management problem in the LEA arising out of its allocation of the system’s human resources (principals, teachers and staff development) in those schools that are failing to achieve.

Read more…
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/12390850.htm

County Commissioner District 3 Valerie Woodard encourages people to speak up at a Board of County Commissioners public hearing on bonds, on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Government Center Meeting Chamber.