Walk in, walk out or neither?

The Nov. 4 date for a N.C. teacher walk-out and/or community walk-ins to support public education is near. So what's going to happen?

I'm not getting any sense that there will be a big wave of "blue flu"  (or whatever the educational equivalent might be),  let alone an actual walk-out.  As I've written before,  it's risky business for teachers to take such a step,  and a lot of them are as unwilling to deprive their kids of classroom time as they are eager to make a point about pay and working conditions.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools decided not to join Iredell-Statesville in holding a districtwide  "walk-in"  to show support for educators.  CMS will hold educator appreciation events later this month,  while letting individual schools decide whether to mark Nov. 4,  spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte said.

I've heard that parents at Elizabeth Lane Elementary in Matthews are planning a festive welcome and breakfast for their teachers on Monday,  and that Ranson Middle School,  the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators and Project LIFT are planning events at the north Charlotte school.  And I'm guessing plenty of people will go with a  "wear red for public ed"  show of support.

Update: Teachers at Northwest School of the Arts are planning a day of silence. "Teachers will still be at school and will perform their duties, but they will do it without a voice,"  says a post on a Northwest protest Facebook page.  "On Monday many teachers will be using worksheet packets to help students review. They hope to show the public that (1) their voices are not being heard, (2) classrooms will be silent when the teachers leave the profession, and (3) we must support our highly qualified teachers."  The teachers are also asking parents and other supporters to join them outside the school before and after school hours  "to show support and unity."

Another update:  My colleague Tim Funk just shared a statement from the offices of N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Sen. Neal Hunt calling on state Attorney General Roy Cooper to  "protect our children's safety" during this  "planned teachers strike."

The Berger/Hunt statement says that  "the North Carolina affiliate of the national teachers’ union has stated on record they  'affirm the desire, and right, of educators to use tactics like a walk-out or strike' – a clear violation of North Carolina law."  The link leads to the N.C. Association of Educators site,  but with an  "Oops ... Page Not Found"  message.  Meanwhile,  the only thing I can find on the NCAE site is the statement they posted several weeks ago saying the group does not endorse the walkout.

What else are the rest of you hearing?

Who controls cell towers at schools?

As parents at Elizabeth Lane Elementary learned that plans were afoot to put a cell tower at their school,  they heard that Matthews town officials feared a vote against the tower would just bring an override from Raleigh.

Officials from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Berkley Group,  who are working together on the cell-tower plan,  insist they've never talked about taking their case to state lawmakers.

Taylor

Both groups are telling the truth,  according to Matthews Mayor Jim Taylor.  He says town officials do worry that legislators will take away local control,  but not because CMS or Berkley threatened to go over their heads.  Instead,  he says,  town leaders saw how the legislature voted this summer to restrict municipalities' ability to regulate billboards and speculated that the cell-tower industry could get similar action.

Thus,  he says,  town commissioners are trying to craft a strategy  "to be in control of our own destiny,"  including decisions about whether a 120-foot tower should go at the edge of the Elizabeth Lane property.

The process has turned into a juggling act for all involved.  Assistant Superintendent Guy Chamberlain says CMS has always been committed to bring cell-tower proposals to school families and neighbors before signing a lease.  The district's goal,  he says,  is to get some extra revenue from land that's not being used for classrooms,  playgrounds or parking lots.

The plans haven't gone to Elizabeth Lane families yet because it isn't even on CMS' list of identified sites, Chamberlain said. The Berkley group was interested in the site,but until Monday,  Matthews didn't allow towers over 80 feet tall in residential/institutional districts,  which include Elizabeth Lane and four other CMS schools. Berkley wants 120-foot towers.  If town commissioners had said no to the change,  the Elizabeth Lane plan would have been off the table.

Robinson's cell-phone "tree"

But when families heard that a proposed zoning change and a petition for the Elizabeth Lane tower were on Monday's agenda, they started looking at the documents.  They saw detailed plans,  including a "fall zone"  that indicated the tower could land on the school track and play area if it toppled.  They realized real trees and shrubs that shelter their school from a busy road could be torn down for a phony cell-phone  "tree"  like the one Berkley built on the grounds of nearby J.M. Robinson Middle School. They believed approval was imminent and thought they'd been sandbagged by CMS.

Meanwhile,  Taylor says,  he and commissioners were hearing from concerned families and planning their strategy. They could say no to 120-foot towers,  he said,  but feared that might lead the state to step in.  Approval,  on the other hand,  would force tower plans to get town approval.  So the board approved the change on a split vote.

Next up was a vote to accept Berkley's petition for approval of the Elizabeth Lane tower.  The town attorney said there's no choice:  A petition has to be accepted,  launching a process that includes a public hearing on the proposal.  Even so,  Taylor said,  Commissioner Kress Query insisted on pulling it off the consent agenda,  and Query and Suzanne Gulley voted against the petition as a symbolic act.

So far,  Chamberlain says,  turnout for tower meetings has been light.  That seems likely to change as the Elizabeth Lane plan moves ahead.  Parent Kelly Stienecker says families will keep emailing CMS officials and speak to the school board about their concerns.

"Our school is very organized,"  she said,  "and we're a tight-knit group of parents."

Update: Expect a long wait for resolution on the Elizabeth Lane question. Paul Bailey, a school board candidate who's also Matthews mayor pro tem, told the school board Tuesday that if there are any objections to the tower at the November hearing, the town will schedule a second hearing to take place after new board members are sworn in, probably in January. And Chamberlain said CMS will launch its review and discussion process only if Matthews officials give their approval.