Morrison hears about transfers, raises

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Heath Morrison left Monday night's employee meeting with a list of new things to look into,  including the fairness of the teacher transfer process and questions about combined elementary/middle schools.

"My concern was that people weren't going to put issues on the table,"  Morrison said after the meeting,  which was closed to the public and press.  But he said about 150 employees showed up,  and many were eager to tell him how he needs to fix morale and trust.

Morrison,  who started July 1,  wasn't defending old practices or laying out new plans.  The latter will come sometime after his meetings with the public and employees end in mid-November.

That won him high marks with some who attended.  Lachone Winston,  a teacher at Bruns Academy,  said Morrison seemed intent on getting each speaker's point,  rather than giving an  "OK, but ..."  type response.  "He is a listener,"  she said.

Among the issues that came up,  according to Morrison and participants,  was whether the teacher transfer process works as it should and whether students in the growing number of K-8 schools are prepared for the transition to high school.  Morrison said he didn't have answers yet,  but  "trust me, tomorrow I'm going to be asking questions."

Of course,  raises came up as well  --  in particular,  the fact that some administrators got large market adjustment raises in addition to the 3 percent given to all employees.  Teachers were not eligible for the market bumps,  which are based on a 2007 study of jobs comparable to some CMS salaried and hourly posts.  "In our break-out session,  we were hot about that,"  Winston said.

After the session,  Morrison voiced frustration that the market hikes are creating resentment just as teachers finally get their first raise in three years.  But he declined to say whether interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh and his staff erred in pushing through those raises.

The market adjustments,  which cost a little over $4 million in county money,  were part of the raise plan Hattabaugh started pitching in January.  The board approved a specific plan in late June,  just before Morrison officially started work,  and approved a final budget last week.  Morrison said he was mainly aware of the 3 percent raises for everyone,  and started looking into specifics of the market hikes as public questions arose.

"In theory I agree with the market adjustment.  It's the right thing to do,"  he said.  But he said "the timing of it is not good,"  and the district was too slow to offer details and answer questions.

Some of the specifics are continuing to raise eyebrows.  Market raises went to principals who had already gotten significant raises when they were promoted,  in the five years after the study was done.  At least a couple of people in temporary jobs,  including one in a two-year Broad Foundation management training program,  got raises.  And perhaps most confounding,  state Rep. Tricia Cotham,  who isn't currently working for CMS,  is listed as getting a $6,883 annual raise.  Cotham was an assistant principal at East Mecklenburg High when she went on unpaid leave to serve in the state House.  CMS agreed to keep her on the payroll so she can return without penalty.  Her raise would kick in only after her return.

Meanwhile,  those who want to hear from Morrison or ask him questions will have plenty of chances Thursday.  He'll be on WFAE's Charlotte Talks that morning.  He's the speaker at a lunch sponsored by the Ballantyne and SouthPark branches of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce at the Ballantyne hotel;  it's open to nonmembers who register and pay $45 for lunch.  And at 6 p.m. he'll hold the first of his public town hall meetings,  at Rocky River High in Mint Hill.