CMS board working on self-evaluation

A lot has changed in the 17 months since the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board started talking about how to evaluate itself.

The board has yet to create a self-evaluation process,  but the tone at Friday's planning retreat was festive and congratulatory when the seven members present talked about how well they work together. That's a sharp contrast with the September 2012 session where members did a self-evaluation questionnaire and gave themselves low marks on such crucial functions as researching decisions,  keeping confidentiality and supporting majority decisions.

Burney

This time around,  board members laughed frequently and celebrated their cohesiveness as a team,  as Superintendent Heath Morrison and consultant Betty Burney from the Center for Reform of School Systems showered them with praise.  Burney,  a member of the Duval County (Fla.) Board of Education,  assured the board they're positioning CMS to win the Broad Prize for Urban Education for a second time when the district becomes eligible again.

Morrison says he hears good things about the board from local and state officials,  as well as educators around the nation.  The Council of Urban Boards of Education honored the CMS board as its 2013 Board of Excellence last fall.

"But it is so easy to lose it,"  Morrison said.  "You don't want to lose the way you're being perceived right now."

That's one of the reasons the board is working on ways to formally identify the group's strengths and weaknesses.   "If you want to be a healthy board and remain a healthy board,  you've got to do a periodic check,"  Burney said.

Vice Chair Tim Morgan noted that unlike employee evaluations,  which are confidential under state law,  this rating would be a public matter.  Members worried about giving ammunition to critics,  noting the coverage they got in 2012 for the self-inflicted low ratings.  But they also said the evaluation could help educate the public and identify areas for improvement.  Member Ericka Ellis-Stewart said it will work only if members trust each other enough to use the opportunity for review of the group's work,  rather than finger-pointing or reliving clashes.

Paul Bailey,  a former Matthews town commissioner elected to the CMS board in November,  said admitting mistakes can help turn critics into allies.  Thelma Byers-Bailey,  the board's other newcomer,  agreed:  "At least you take the sting out of it when you confess to it rather than having somebody else pick it up and throw it at you."

Members looked at self-evaluations used by other boards around the country.

The CMS board has been working with the CRSS for several years on improving governance.  The district paid $5,625 for Burney to work with the board at this retreat,  which took place at the CMS Leadership Academy near Vance High.

McCray and Morgan make a popular team

It's looking like CMS board chair Mary McCray and vice chair Tim Morgan will cruise to re-election at Wednesday's board meeting.

McCray

From Republican member Rhonda Lennon:  "They brought out the best in everyone."

From Democratic member Joyce Waddell:  "They complement each other and they complement the community."

From unaffiliated member Eric Davis:  "I think Tim and Mary have done a fine job."

Morgan

All three were emphatic about their desire to return the McCray/Morgan team to the leadership spots. And Morgan said he and McCray are eager to accept:  "I feel very good about the working relationship between us and with fellow board members.  Mary and I feel very comfortable with the work the board has done."

As Coach Joe White,  a former board chairman,  used to say,  you can't be sure what will happen until the hands are raised.  But I'm not hearing the usual caginess that I get when board members are wrangling over who will get the leadership posts.

I used to think the selection of a chair and vice chair had little impact beyond board members' egos. But I'm starting to rethink that attitude after seeing the difference between the 2012 board and the 2013 version,  which had the same members but different officers.

In December 2011,  Ericka Ellis-Stewart was elected chair and McCray was vice chair.  They were the top finishers in the November at-large election.  Neither had board experience and both were Democrats.  Partisan rifts flared,  especially when the Democratic majority appointed a Democrat to the District 6 seat,  where voters consistently choose Republicans.  Ellis-Stewart,  who had been a powerhouse candidate with widespread support,  built a reputation as a chairman who made decisions without consulting other members.  Tension among board members went public when Ellis-Stewart found herself unable to cover travel costs for a Charlotte Chamber trip to London, which was ultimately cancelled.

In December 2012, the board paired Democrat McCray with Republican Morgan.  Ellis-Stewart stepped into a different leadership role, representing CMS on the national level as a steering committee member for the Council of Urban Boards of Education.  I've been hearing good things about the new team from board members and the community. Lennon noted that McCray talks to her even when she knows they're going to be on opposite sides of a vote,  something that she seldom experienced in her first three years.

The current good feelings stand in contrast to the board's old reputation for bickering.  And, for that matter, to the drama over electing a chairman for the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners or the Wake County school board.

Hattabaugh: Board members bullied teachers

A clash that started two weeks ago with a school board presentation on teacher effectiveness continues to roil Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leadership.  Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh, normally a mellow guy, sent a strongly worded memo to the board accusing two members of bullying faculty, "behavior so egregiously unfair that I cannot remain silent" (read it below).


During the Feb. 28 discussion of  "hard to staff schools," board member Richard McElrath peppered teachers with questions about that label.  Somali Davis-White, a teacher at Thomasboro Academy,  attended the meeting as part of a teacher study group that crafted the report.

Afterward,  McElrath and board member Joyce Waddell made unannounced visits to Thomasboro and other schools that are part of Project LIFT.  I talked to McElrath the afternoon of March 1 about some of his remarks at the meeting, and he told me he was visiting LIFT schools to ask principals and teachers about the philanthropic program and its support of segregated schools.  A few hours later,  Hattabaugh emailed board members about complaints he'd heard from the Thomasboro visit.

Hattabaugh's memo sparked a heated discussion of school board behavior last night,  one that's likely to continue at Friday's meeting on the superintendent search.  Today I got a copy of Hattabaugh's email to the board.


From: Hugh E. Hattabaugh
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 6:08 PM
To: Ericka Ellis-Stewart; Mary T. McCray; Eric C. Davis; Tom Tate; Richard McElrath; Joyce Waddell; Amelia Stinson-Wesley; Tim Morgan; Rhonda Lennon
Cc: George E. Battle
Subject: Action Required: Review of Board Policy Constituent Services

Dear Board members,

On Wednesday, two Board members visited Thomasboro Elementary.  They spoke with several teachers,  challenging the assertion put forth at Tuesday’s Board meeting that Thomasboro is a  “hard to staff”  school.  One Board member suggested that racism was a factor in that description of Thomasboro.  Both members asked questions but did not allow teachers to answer them,  talking over teachers and the principal as they tried to answer the questions they’d been asked.  The Board members spoke in a denigrating way about one of the teachers on a work team to her Thomasboro colleagues as they gathered for a meeting.  The work team’s discussion of the challenges facing the school was characterized as  “dirty laundry”  that should not be aired in public.  The Board members suggested to several teachers that they had been tricked or treated unfairly in matters of salary.  They spoke in a critical way about Project L.I.F.T. to several teachers and the principal.

All of these actions violate the Board’s own policy governing how Board members interact with staff and the public.  I have attached Policy BHE,  Constituent Services,  for your reference.  It states in part:  “Each Board member will avoid involvement in management activities or giving direction to staff  …  In making this commitment, Board members recognize that their involvement in management and administrative matters creates confusion among district employees,  leads to dysfunctional management systems,  undermines the authority of the Superintendent and the administration,  and weakens the Board…”

To this clear and unequivocal statement of why the two Board members’  actions on Wednesday were in violation of Board policy,  I would add the following:

What message has been sent to staff by these actions?  How can teachers avoid the conclusion that speaking up can lead to a visit from Board members who will bully and belittle them in front of their colleagues?  How will these actions affect teacher and staff morale?

What message does this send to the public about the Board’s role in governing CMS and its responsibility to work in the district’s best interests,  helping all students and schools?

What message does this send to potential superintendent candidates about Board governance and a clear division of duties between the superintendent and the Board?

What message does this send about transparency of district operations and equitable treatment of employees?

I recognize that my speaking out in this way puts me at some personal risk.  However,  the behavior reported to me by the staff at Thomasboro was so egregiously unfair to our teachers and staff that I cannot remain silent.  As the superintendent,  I ask that Board members please follow the policies that you have set.  We may disagree often about what the right choices are for CMS.  Such disagreement is expected and even healthy.  We are dealing with the future of children and all of us have great emotional investment in our work.  But we must remain civil and professional in our dealings with one another.  Open disrespect and abuse of the staff by Board members is wrong . It is damaging to CMS.  It can do very serious harm. Therefore I feel I would be remiss in my duty if I did not share with all of you my very serious concern about this matter.

Respectively,

Hugh E. Hattabaugh
Interim Superintendent
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Government Center
600 East 4th Street
Charlotte, NC 28202