Bells may be below the line

Parents from Crestdale Middle School are petitioning the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board to revisit the 2012-13 bell schedule announced last month.  Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh signed off on changing the start and dismissal times for 10 schools;  Crestdale's moved 30 minutes later,  to a 9-4 school day.  The move is designed to save more than $600,000 on busing costs.

Parents are upset that CMS made changes that affect their family life and students' after-school opportunities without giving them a chance to weigh in.  Those who have older kids in high school,  with a 7:15 a.m. start time,  say the change is especially stressful.

Katy Ridnouer,  one of the parents urging CMS to reconsider,  says she's heard nothing specific from board members.  I emailed board members on Wednesday,  asking them to let me know if they plan to propose revising the bell schedule.  I've gotten no replies.

It's possible that someone could ask Hattabaugh to try again.  The board is likely to discuss transportation costs as part of ongoing budget talks.  But this is a classic example of a dilemma that faces this school board and others:  The temptation to micromanage.

At their recent retreat,  CMS board members said they're committed to sticking to their role as policy-makers.  Setting school hours is "below the line"  for board intervention,  but it's also the kind of decision that affects people's lives and inspires pleas for help.

Boards that try to do the superintendent's job are generally studies in bad leadership, writes Gene Maeroff,  an education researcher and New Jersey school board member, in  "School Boards in America: A Flawed Exercise in Democracy."

"Democracy does not mean that the people's representatives  --  the school board  --  take over and operate the schools any more than it means that the board members of a symphony play the violins,"  he writes.

Seeing red on Tuesday

If you see a lot of red clothes in schools tomorrow, that's probably because it's "Wear Red for Public Ed" day. Local educators are putting the word out on Facebook.

The sponsor is a group called Save Our Schools Million Teacher March.

I can't tell much about this group from the Web site, but founder Chris Janotta is an education blogger and language arts teacher in suburban Chicago. Plans for a 2010 Million Teacher March apparently fell through, but there's a move afoot to try again this year, along with smaller, easier efforts to rally support for teachers who feel besieged by budget cuts and reform efforts.

I know -- this isn't the meatiest blog post to kick off the new year. Trust me, there will be plenty of news bubbling up this month, as the state legislature and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board delve into 2011 budgets. Plus Mecklenburg Ministries and the Levine Museum of the New South have big pushes coming to support and discuss public education in Charlotte.

Meanwhile, I hope everyone enjoyed a little holiday breather. When I wasn't covering airport news (during the holidays, everyone's a general assignment reporter), I used the slow time to read an advance copy of Wendy Kopp's "A Chance to Make History" (more about that to come).

Next up on my reading list: Gene Maeroff's "School Boards in America: A Flawed Exercise in Democracy." Not only did he do some of his research in Charlotte, he's a former education reporter who is now president of the school board in Edison, N.J. Now that's a journey I'm curious to learn about!