Twelve applicants each spoke two different times before the board of education on Tuesday, January 3rd in room CH-14 of the government center. Each applicant gave an initial three minute summary of why they should be chosen and then all had two minutes per question to answer five standard questions. The board chairperson alone prepared these questions, not the board as a whole. At 1:00 pm on Tuesday, January 3rd, the board was given a copy of the following questions.
Here are the questions: 1. What skills and experience will you bring to the school board to facilitate working as a team in a cooperative and collaborative manner committed to a unified vision of high expectations and student achievement? 2. What qualities are you looking for in the new superintendent? 3. Budget decisions have proven to be among the most important actions taken by the school board and are regarded as priorities in action. What would be your top five priorities in the CMS operating budget? 4. What are the top three issues facing our school district? How would your propose to tackle these issues? 5. What is the most important thing CMS should do to improve achievement and graduation rates? What are your ideas for ensuring the effectiveness of the teachers in the classroom?
Now that the new at-large board members have been sworn-in and have met with the board, the process of picking the new District 6 representative is moving along. This is the list of the twelve in speaking order:

1. Scott Babbidge
2. Aida P. Bertsch
3. E.Thomas Bowers
4. Larry Bumgarner
5. Angelica Castanada-Noorbakhsh
6. David Matthew Knoble
7. Richard F. Martin
8. Bolyn McClung
9. Gerald J. Pelletier
10. Wilhelmenia I. Rembert
11. Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley
12. Philip Voloponi

Both Aida Bertsch and Angelica Castanada-Noorbakhsh spoke of how the Latino community has grown but has no voice on the CMS board. According to Ms. Bertsch there are 24,000 hispanic students in CMS. Only one applicant, Larry Bumgarner chose to use a power point presentation as a part of his initial three minute summary. They rest of the applicants spoke to the board without technical assistance.
A few applicants were able to speak to the board without going over the allotted time. Gerald Pelletier jokingly said he felt he was playing a new game, called ‘beat the buzzer’.
Overall, many of the applicants stated some of the same ideas. Most stated that they are passionate about all CMS students receiving a quality education. A few of the applicants did not bother to vote in the last election. I believe that the District 6 person should reflect the conservative mood of the district. I am certain that if you chose not to vote then you can not serve on any local boards or committees.
Rhonda Lennon, District 1 representative, stated that she wants to know how each applicant will respond to the unique needs of District 6. Each applicant is to email the board board via Judy Whittington, before the end of the business day on Wednesday, January 4th. Ms. Whittington will then distribute these emails to the board members.
This meeting started at a few minutes after 1:00 pm and was over around 3:30 pm. The board will be meeting on Thursday, January 5th, at 4:00 pm to vote on the new applicant. This will be in room 267 of the government center. All are encouraged to attend.

District 6 will soon be getting a new representative on the Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board. In December, Tim Morgan was sworn-in as an at-large representative. This left the District 6 seat open. At 3:00 pm today was the deadline for CMS receiving applications for this board seat. Any applicant must be eligible to vote in District 6, live in District 6 and be over the age of 21 years. This person would be on the board as the District 6 representative for the remaining two years. After that time, there will be District 6 elections.
Here is the list of those who have applied so far:

1. Bolyn McClung – Pineville
2. E.Thomas Bowers – Charlotte
3. (Michael Orlando Jones – withdrawn Monday, January 2nd.)
4. Angelica Castanada-Noorbakhsh – Charlotte
5. Scott Babbidge – Matthews
6. Larry Bumgarner – Mint Hill
UPDATE!
7. Aida P. Bertsch – Mint Hill
8. David Matthew Knoble – Charlotte
9. Richard F. Martin – Mint Hill
10. Gerald J. Pelletier – Charlotte
11. Wilhelmenia I. Rembert – Charlotte
12. Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley – Pineville
13. Philip Voloponi – ?

The board will be meeting tomorrow(January 3rd) at the government center at 1:00 pm in room CH-14. Each of the 12 applicants will be given 3 minutes maximum to speak before the board. The board might decide to vote tomorrow on these applicants. If not, the board will meet at 4:00 pm Thursday of this week at the government center to hold the final vote. All are encouraged to attend the meetings on January 3rd and 5th.
This board will decide many important issues, including choosing a new superintendent in the coming months. Only time will tell how all of this will work.

The CMS Board of Education had the ceremony for three of its new members on December 13th in the chamber of the government center. Tim Morgan(Former District 6 Representative), Ericka Ellis-Stewart and Mary McCray were all sworn-in as at-large board of education members. This ceremony started a few minutes after 5:00 pm. Many friends and family members of those taking the at-large member oath were present. Delicious refreshments were served immediately following the ceremony.
The regular board meeting followed at a few minutes after 6:00 pm. The board voted on an agenda and the announced that it is taking applications for the vacant District 6 seat. The deadline for the applications is 3:00 pm on January 2nd , 2012. The goal is to have the new District 6 person seated with the board by the January 10th, 2012 meeting. This followed with the vote for chairperson and vice-chairperson. The vote was 8-0 for both Ericka Ellis-Stewart as chairperson and Mary McCray as vice-chairperson. The board did take a break for a few minutes while the board properly changed their seating arrangement based on board protocol.
The board then heard from the public. Bolyn McClung spoke and would like students to be allowed to have legal representation when coming before the board for disciplinary actions. Several others spoke out during the public speaking time. One mother, Jenny Woo, and one student, who spoke separately, both are upset by the number of students with weapons entering CMS Schools. Jenny Woo described her 10-year-old son, not present, being threatened by another student at school with a knife. Both speakers recommended stiffer penalties for students who bring weapons to school.
The board heard about the data and comments given in the online survey. 9,123 people, including some high school students, participated in the survey, concerning the search for a new superintendent. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte(UNCC), Central Piedmont Community College(CPCC), Queens College and Johnson C. Smith University all had representation on the advisory committee that handled this survey. Jeff Michael, from UNCC, gave this presentation. Mr. Michael hopes that the board will use the information from this survey as a whole as a rich resource of information.
Later the board heard from Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh, Scott McCully, Ann Clark and several other staff members on the outcomes of the school closings and mergers. The principals from Marie G. Davis, Druid Hills and Cochrane Middle were also presenters for this report. Harding High School has seen a dramatic increase in suspension rates since the closing of E.E. Waddell and Garinger High Schools last school year. Harding High School has seen a 37% increase in suspensions this school year and South Mecklenburg High School has seen a 7% increase over last year while West Mecklenburg High School has seen a 15% decrease in suspensions. The percent of teacher turnover at these 42 schools now stands at 1%, which is the same rate as teacher turnover in the rest of CMS. Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh stated that as a whole the 42 schools that saw changes are going in the right direction.
The principal from Marie G. Davis is happy with how the changes at this school have been good changes. Marie G. Davis is now a K-12 school on two campus’s. Both Druid Hills and Cochrane Middle are now Pre-K-8 and also maintain two distinctly different campus’s for the different age groups. All three principals are happy with the progress being made but do have high hopes to keep this momentum moving toward higher scholastic goals. Cochrane is in the process of assigning iPads for each student. The goal is to have all of the students books and information on the iPads in the next few weeks. At-large board member, Tim Morgan, would like to see more schools in CMS using technology like Cochrane. Morgan is very happy with how technology is being used at Cochrane. Morgan also noted that in the online survey, the high schoolers made a large number of comments about needing more technology in the classroom. Everyone saw a great video about the improvements being made at Cochrane Middle. Cochrane is working to be intentional in their relationships with their students while working to retain great teachers.
Several new proposals had their first reading. A few of the board of education members gave reports on schools and communities that they have recently visited.
The next board of education regular meeting will be January 10th at 6:00 pm in the chamber of the government center. The government center is located at: 600 East Fourth Street, Charlotte, North Carolina. All are encouraged to attend.

Tonight at 5:00 pm at the government center in Charlotte three new at-large board members will be sworn-in during a ceremony. These three are the newly elected at-large members who were chosen from the a group of eighteen who chose to campaign for this board. Tim Morgan*, Ericka Ellis-Stewart and Mary McCray will be sworn-in at 5:00 pm. (*Tim Morgan is the current District 6 board representative.)
At 6:00 pm tonight the board will hold their regular board meeting. This new board will pick the chairperson and vice-chairperson tonight during the 6:00 pm regular board meeting. Several critical items will soon come before this board. This board will be deciding the direction that CMS will follow. In January, the board will pick a new District 6 representative. In the coming months the board will hire a new superintendent. All of these items are critical to the education of the children in Mecklenburg County and Charlotte.
The public is invited to the ceremony at 5:00 pm and the regular board meeting at 6:00 pm. All of this will be televised live on cable Channel 3 and on CMS’s web site: http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/boe/Pages/BoardofEducationMeetingVideos.aspx

CMS Board Of Education Chairman Eric Davis had a meeting with the PTA and interested parents at Harding High School on Tuesday, November 15th, 2011. Harding’s crime stats have increased by 950% over last year. Violence has increased and the parents would like to see CMS make some changes.The PTA at Harding did not wish to make this meeting an open meeting. CMS stated on Thursday, November 17th, that this meeting should have been open. Also, on Thursday, November 2011 Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh held the weekly CMS press conference at Harding. Both Davis and Hattabaugh have emphasized that CMS will remove any problem students and prosecute those who are causing the problems at Harding. Tim Morgan, District 6 Representative, stated that part of the problem at Harding are the students who would rather not be in school at all. CMS has increased their security staff numbers and procedures at Harding. CMS has also installed new security cameras at the school. All hope that these measures will help to keep everyone at Harding High School more safe.

The CMS Board met on November 9th, 2011 in the chamber of the government center. The reception before the meeting was for outgoing and incoming at-large members. Those who are outgoing are: ‘Coach’ Joe White, Trent Merchant and Kaye McGarry. Incoming are: Tim Morgan, District 6 Representative (incumbent), Ericka Ellis-Stewart and Mary McCray. This meeting was held on a Wednesday due to the Tuesday, November 8th election schedule. This is the only regular November board meeting. The board decided unanimously(9-0) to postpone the First Ward Creative Arts Academy initiative. The board also decided by a vote of 8-1 to postpone the report on the school closings. The board decided that this report on the closings will be better served by all of the new board. Two new at-large and one incumbent, Tim Morgan, will be sworn in as at-large members at the next meeting on December 13th.
Dixon-Hughes Goodman, an accounting agency based in Winston-Salem, prepared a report on the annual comprehensive financial report for the year ending June 2011. April Bell, from Dixon-Hughes Goodman, was at the meeting to give this presentation. State, and General Special Revenue Funds are all down from 2010 and from 2009. Federal revenues are up slightly at $8,123 from 2010. Total governmental expenditures are down from 2009 and 2010. The general fund balance has also decreased from 2010.
One student spoke for the new policy to allow guide dogs and horses with some challenged students. Three parents spoke out against the new elementary bell schedules. Another student spoke out on the need for more physical education classes to be required for all four years of high school. Another parent asked when parents will feel more welcome to help in Title I schools. All together, there were six public speakers.
Sheila Shirley, CMS Chief Financial Officer, gave the financial report for September 30th, 2011. The board also heard a report from a city staff member and Mike Raible on the Midtown/Morehead/Cherry Area Plan. The CMS Board’s views will be presented to the city council on December 1st. The board gave mostly favorable reviews of this Area Plan to increase the safety and the beauty of this part of Charlotte.
For the first time in many years, there are no boundary recommendations from staff for CMS. This would be for the school year of 2012-2013. December 2nd is the lottery deadline. Tim Morgan, District 6 Representative, reminded all that students who will be entering kindergarten next fall will need to make sure they are in the first lottery.
The board also had the first reading of four new policies that should see a final vote on January 10th.
Several board members congratulated some of the newly elected at-large members. Some board members also wished everyone a blessed Thanksgiving.
The new at-large members will be sworn in at the next regular board meeting on December 13th, 2011. This meeting will be held at the government center in the chamber at 6 pm.

CMS just announced their community meeting schedule today. A CMS Staff member will be present along with a community leader to help lead the discussions. The meetings will be held the week of December 5th, 2011. Here are the details:

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH COMMUNITY MEETINGS
District: Date: Time: Place:

District 1: 12 – 8: 6:30 p.m.: North Mecklenburg High School(11201 Old Statesville Road)

District 2: 12 – 6: 6:30 p.m.: Albemarle Road Middle School(6900 Democracy Drive)

District 3: 12 – 8: 6:30 p.m.: Vance High School(7600 IBM Drive)

District 4: 12 – 5: 6:30 p.m.: Johnson C. Smith University(Biddle Hall)

District 5: 12 – 6: 6:30 p.m.: Myers Park High School(2400 Colony Road)

District 6: 12- 5: 6:30 p.m.: Butler High School(1810 Matthews-Mint Hill Road)

For more information about the super search visit:
http://www.nextsuperintendent.com

Yesterday, Tim Morgan became an at-large member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg School(CMS) Board! Mr. Morgan is happy to move to this new position and excited to win the approval of the voters! Stay tuned here for more details of the changes on the CMS Board. In December, the two new members and Mr. Morgan will be sworn in. Also at the December 13th meeting, applications for this District 6 seat will be accepted. In January, the process should be final in seating a new District 6 representative. More details of this process to place another person on the CMS board will follow.

The CMS Board of Education had a short but eventful meeting on October 25th at the government center. Several board members objected to most of the consent items and these items were voted on individually.
Both Smith and Spaugh, former schools, are ready to house CMS staff. Smith and Spaugh both sit empty and now can help with the overcrowding of staff offices in the district. Jeff Michael of University of North Carolina at Charlotte(UNCC) gave a presentation about the new online superintendent survey. Over 3,600 people have taken the survey as of 4:30 pm on the 25th. Michael said that UNCC is pleased with the number of people who have already responded. The online survey went live on Monday, October 24th. Michael thanked Chairman Eric Davis, Vice-Chairman Tom Tate and CMS Communications Staff Member LaTarzja Henry for all of their help in the process to get the super survey online. This new survey will run from October 24th through midnight on November 6th. CMS would like to see a large response to the survey.
Ann Clark, Kevin Paige and Yvette Smith along with the principals from Devonshire Elementary, Allenbrook Elementary and Martin Luther King Elementary gave a presentation on Title I schools. Suzanne Gimenez is the principal at Devonshire and Celeste Spears-Ellis is the principal at Allenbrook. Melissa Dunlap, the principal at Martin Luther King Elementary, talked about the percent of improvement. In the 2009-2010 school year, MLK Elementary had 52% of the students on grade level. This year, MLK Elementary has 74.4% of their students working on grade level. In the 2009-2010 year, 24.6% of the students were on grade level for reading. Now, they have 44.9% on grade level for reading. The ‘No Child Left Behind’(NCLB) Program is still scheduled to soon end. So far, NCLB it has not been saved.
District 6 Representative Tim Morgan, reminded all that CMS was once in district improvement status. CMS is the only large, suburban school district to come out of district improvement status. Morgan is concerned that the children be given assignments during the summer so that everything is not forgotten. Suzanne Gimenez from Devonshire works with ‘Read Charlotte’ to provide books for the children to read during summer break.
Principal Gimenez spoke of the 90/90/90/90 plan. Thus far, Devonshire has 90% Economically Disadvantaged Students, 90% minority students and 90% on grade level in math. CMS adds the last 90 for 90% on grade level in reading. Gimenez has a goal for Devonshire to soon reach 90/90/90/90 status.
At-Large Member, Trent Merchant, stated that students who have the free lunch program do not perform well in school. The goal is to break predictive links for these students. Both money and talent are change agents, stated Merchant. Merchant also said he is concerned about no teachers receiving a raise in four years. He also reminded all that there are no quick fixes for these same students. He is happy that Title I schools have the funds to hire talent to help better educate Title I students. Melissa Dunlap stated that at MLK, all the staff focus on the possibilities and not the negatives.
The next CMS Board Meeting is on a new day of the week, due to the November 8th election. The board meeting will be Wednesday, November 9th at 6 pm in the chamber of the government center.

When will the superintendent survey be ready? The October 11th CMS Regular Board Meeting was held in the chamber at the government center. Eight public speakers weighed in on a variety of topics. The largest number of speakers, six parents, spoke about the new elementary bell schedule. Four parents that spoke are unhappy with the new bell schedule and two of the parents are happy with the new schedule.
The superintendent(super) search has led to the hiring of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte(UNCC) and Carolina PR firm for projects. Both will be charging $10,000 each for their services. Initially, UNCC was looking for $18,000 to handle the online super search survey. At the end of the meeting, UNCC stated that they will be handling this for the lesser amount of $10,000. Carolina PR firm will be handling the six community meetings that will discuss the new super search.
Linda Shipley, from UNCC, gave a presentation of the online survey. This survey should be ready for the public by October 24th and all adults will have until November 6th to take the survey. High School students will also be able to take this survey. This is a ten-minute survey on the public’s opinion of the type of super needed. UNCC hopes to have the initial report on the survey ready in mid-November and the final report in the month of December. District 6 Representative Tim Morgan, would like to see a choice added to question #4. Morgan has spoken to several from CMS who are interested in being a super candidate. Because of these conversations, Morgan would like one of the choices added to be ‘experienced in CMS’.
Ann Clark and Kelly Gwaltney gave a presentation on the graduation cohort program. Gwaltney was the principal at Mallard Creek High School. The graduation rate at Mallard Creek is now 93%, up from 90.2% in the 2008-2009 year. The recent graduation numbers for seven of the CMS high schools are down, so this is an issue. The overall graduation rate for CMS for the 2010-2011 year is 73.6%. Also, the number of 9th graders retained is down at fourteen high schools in CMS.
The new program at Mallard Creek gives intentionality and personalization to the process of helping more students to graduate. Gwaltney described how at Mallard Creek the staff know the academic details on their students much better now than in the past. Staff have a ‘book’ on each student that contains the student’s schedule, grades, attendance and other pertinent details. This ‘book’ is one of the new tools used by the staff to encourage an increase in graduation. District 6 Representative Tim Morgan asked Gwaltney about replicating this program for elementary and middle school students. Gwaltney stated that replication for the younger children will be considered in the future.
District 6 Representative Tim Morgan talked about the potential saving of budget money and the privatization committee. The committee has already had three meetings. Recently, a trial of a new outsourced janitorial service was done. Bids have been received for the CMS janitorial contract. If this contract is outsourced, CMS could see a savings of between $2.7 million and $4.05 million. Morgan would like to see this money go to teachers in the form of a merit bonus. The committee hopes to have its recommendations finalized by March or April. The goal is to have this change in place for the draft of the 2012-2013 budget by May 15th, 2012.
The CMS Board of Education will meet again on October 25th, 2011 at 6 pm in room 267 of the government center at 600 East Fourth Street in Charlotte.