At least 8 big school districts are looking for a superintendent

Just last week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board chairwoman Mary McCray speculated that the reason Heath Morrison left his role as superintendent without a fight is because he saw "a future out there" for himself.

And if that future is in leading a public school district, there are certainly plenty of large districts looking for a new leader.

The job leading Los Angeles schools is clearly the plum position on the list. Morrison's name has already been linked to the search by websites covering the school system.

For his part, Morrison -- who is 48 -- has said there will certainly be lots of rumors about him pursuing this job or that job, but has declined to comment on any positions in particular.

And of course, there's no guarantee he'd go back into a superintendent's job. Morrison's predecessor at CMS, Peter Gorman, left for a job in the private sector in the educational division of News Corp.

Here's a sampling of big school districts looking for a new superintendent:

• Los Angeles Unified School District (California), 670,000 students
• Albuquerque Public Schools (New Mexico), 94,318 students
• Austin Independent School District (Texas), 85,355 students
• Fort Worth Independent School District (Texas), 84,588 students
• Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (Tennessee), 80,393 students
• Elk Grove Unified Public Schools (California), 62,000 students
• Boston Public Schools (Massachusetts), 57,000 students
• Seattle Public Schools (Washington), 49.269 students

The list was compiled by PROACT Search,  a school leadership search firm that works across the country. CMS contracted with PROACT in the 2012 search that resulted in Morrison's hire. The list was made in November. It's possible that one of these slots has since been filled and I didn't hear about it, though I did double check. It's also possible that the list leaves out another big district. Please let me know in the comments if that is the case.

And by the way, Washoe County in Nevada is looking for a new superintendent now, too.

CMS faces driver's ed funding crunch

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders are pushing the state to tap the brakes on changes to driver's education programs.

As part of the budget this year, the General Assembly cut off state funding for driver's ed. Instead, money will have to come from the school districts. In exchange, schools can increase the fee they charge from $55 to $65.

But CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison has begun sounding the alarm that the system will lead to a $2.7 million gap next year.

He said it costs about $300 to put a CMS student through driver's ed. A total of 11,328 students went through the program last year.

Morrison didn't say anything about where the money would come from. Instead, he said the district is trying to work with state legislators on a fix.

CMS buses weren't smooth sailing for all on first day

Superintendent Heath Morrison and other CMS leaders proudly reported that there were no issues with transportation on the first day of classes this week, on what was a pretty smooth day overall.

But it seems like the "no issues" designation might depend on who you talk to. Parents reported a range of problems on the district's Facebook page earlier this week, and the last child wasn't delivered off the school bus until after 7:30 p.m. Yes, that's 20 minutes earlier than last year, but it's still pretty late.

The CMS Facebook page became a forum for complaints from parents whose kids were picked up or dropped off late Monday morning. To be sure, a few dozen or so complaints doesn't represent massive problems in a district of 140,000-plus, but it gives a flavor of some issues that arose.

One parent said her child waited on a broken down bus for an hour before she picked him up from school. Others reported delays from a half hour to more than an hour and a half.

The district's social media team advised the parents to give the transportation line a call.

I asked Carol Stamper, CMS director of transportation, about what "no issues" means in the context of the first day of school.

Here's what she said, via email: "It is unrealistic to think we would have no issues on the first day!  However, we do consider a successful first day in transportation being one that every student was delivered home safely….and that is what we accomplished!"

She said a number of things could result in a late bus, ranging from longer load times to make sure kids were on the right buses, to new students who weren't on the bus roster, to traffic congestion, to drivers getting used to their routes.

Senate walkout a first for Morrison

Heath Morrison came to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools with a reputation for his work with the Nevada state legislature, and he's worn out the pavement between here and Raleigh since taking this job two years ago.

But Wednesday morning's Senate walkout as Morrison prepared to speak to the budget conference committee was a first for him.

Morrison

The senators weren't objecting to the CMS superintendent personally.  They were protesting the House members' insistence on summoning three superintendents to talk about the harm that would come from the Senate proposal to cut teacher assistants.

Morrison voiced gratitude that the Senate,  House and governor's plans include teacher raises,  but said the Senate plan would cost CMS 817 assistant jobs.  Assistants average about $19,000 a year,  he said,  describing them as  "some of the best bangs for our buck that we have in our state."  If they lose their jobs,  Morrison said,  they could end up collecting $14,000 a year in unemployment and health benefits from the state.  Giving up their skills to save $5,000 a year is  "not a good return on investment,"  he told the House members who remained.

Tillis

House Speaker Thom Tillis,  R-Mecklenburg,  asked Morrison whether he'd prefer to keep the two-year budget approved last summer,  which includes no raise for teachers and other state employees,  or get a revised budget that includes raises but eliminates 800 teacher jobs that were promised for 2014-15.  Morrison compared that question to the movie "Sophie's Choice,"  in which Nazis force a woman to choose between her two children.  "I don't think either of those are particularly appealing,"  he said.

In response to another question from Tillis,  Morrison said that the Senate plan,  which provides the largest teacher raises,  would require going back to Mecklenburg County commissioners for more money or cutting $6 million to $7 million from the 2014-15 budget to match those raises for teachers paid with county money.

When Frank Till,  Cumberland County's superintendent,  spoke about the importance of teacher assistants,  Tillis posed what he described as  "a slightly fairer choice:"  Would he prefer the House plan,  which gives raises averaging 5 percent,  or the Senate plan,  where raises average 11 percent but teacher assistants and other aspects of public education are cut?

"I'd rather not make draconian cuts and have a smaller raise,"  Till said.  He added that he'd prefer to see the state raise more revenue,  but said he understood that legislators don't consider that an option.

"We agree on that,"  Tillis said with a laugh.  (By the way,  if you want to listen in on legislative discussions,  check the House and Senate calendars near the top of the General Assembly web page, then find the appropriate audio link.)

Morrison said afterward he wasn't offended by the walkout:   "I had a number of Senate members come out and chat on the way out, and thanked me for what we are doing in CMS and for coming up to testify,"  he emailed in response to my query.  "They wanted me to know that their issue was respecting the rules they had established (with) the House not a lack of respect for the superintendents and teachers speaking." 

Salaries and opportunities: A wrap-up

When I reported on Superintendent Heath Morrison's new administrative appointments Tuesday night,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools didn't have salary information available for the new jobs in central administration.

They are:  $160,000 a year for Chief Academic Officer Brian Schultz;  $126,900 for Akeshia Craven-Howell,  assistant superintendent of school options,  innovation and design;  and $111,000 for Michele Mason,  executive director of leadership.  They join two new zone superintendents Morrison added earlier this month,  as he revamps administration to provide better support for schools.

Following up on Wednesday's post about Opportunity Culture in Project LIFT,  the consultants from Public Impact who are leading that effort sent me a link to their own blog projecting the benefits for 31 schools around the nation that piloted Opportunity Culture jobs last year.  That would include the four in CMS' Project LIFT.

You might wonder how these numbers can be so striking  --  for instance,  $290,000 to $900,000 per teacher in additional lifetime pay  --   when Project LIFT Zone Superintendent Denise Watts says the jobs are changing and evolving so much that it's hard to nail down local specifics.  The Public Impact report takes 2013-14 data and extrapolates on the assumption that all schools  "implement their models fully over three years."  Watts' report indicates it may be tough to forecast what will happen in those three years.  After Tuesday night's meeting, she checked on the status of the 19 who took opportunity culture jobs last year. Ten will continue in those jobs,  five will be in different opportunity culture jobs,  three lost those jobs when their schools redesigned the plans and one retired.

Stam

Finally,  the bill that would clarify beyond question that charter school salaries are subject to public disclosure is supposed to get a final House vote today.  Who would have guessed it would generate a report on incest and pedophilia from Rep. Paul Stam?

Meanwhile,  the two Charlotte holdouts to the Observer's salary request have said they'll provide the information.  Sugar Creek has already sent their full list and Lincoln Charter's director says that school's is coming soon.  We'll update the charter school database as soon as Lincoln's information arrives.  I asked both school leaders how much they paid lawyer Richard Vinroot to fight disclosure;  both said they have yet to receive the bill.

Update:  Salaries for nine districts surrounding Mecklenburg County went online today.  Thanks to database reporter Gavin Off for rounding up that information.

Hate Common Core? Be specific

Name one Common Core standard you disagree with.

That's the challenge Superintendent Heath Morrison says he puts to those who argue that North Carolina needs to scrap the reading and math guidelines that states have spent years hashing out. He said he never gets a specific answer, just comments about federal intrusion.

"We're having this conversation for all the wrong reasons,  and none of it is about education,"  Morrison told the Tuesday Breakfast Forum this week.

I'm scheduled to take a turn at the General Assembly next week.  Maybe I'll hear some intense debate over whether eighth-graders really need to be able to analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations,  or whether it's reasonable to expect first-graders to identify and use headers, tables of contents and glossaries to locate key facts in a text.

But I doubt it.  One reason I've written so little about these standards is that they're so wonky and dense.  You can read through them here  (block out some serious time),  but it won't make you the life of the next political debate.

I spent four hours at a recent Education Writers Association seminar listening to a wide range of experts talk about Common Core. The consensus:  The standards themselves are about specific academic goals that originated with governors, superintendents and school boards.  They've been hashed out over several years by experts,  educators and consultants.

And recently they've become entangled in partisan politics and testing controversy.

Cohen

Mike Cohen of the DC-based nonprofit group Achieve, who helped develop the standards with state leaders, said President Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan inadvertently hurt the cause by "taking credit" for the Common Core push and using Race to the Top grants to prod states to embrace the standards.

Opposition now comes from Republicans who call it federal intrusion and liberals who oppose the testing associated with the standards. "You've got this left-right dynamic that makes it particularly hard to move forward," Cohen said.

Hess

Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute,  who blogs for Education Week,  laid out the federal intrusion case.  The national consistency state leaders say they're seeking isn't likely to happen without strong federal intervention,  he said.  For instance,  if states set their own cut scores and standards on testing,  we'll get the same wild variation we've seen with state exams.  If the federal government has to approve standards,  well,  they become federal standards.  And yes,  he cited the way the Obama administration has used Race to the Top grants to push many states  (including North Carolina)  toward adopting the standards and the common exams.

But Hess said  "repeal and replace"  advocates have generally failed to show they're serious about doing the hard work it will take to craft alternative standards,  design better tests and get schools to adopt them.

Is North Carolina ready to plunge in and show the country how to do it right? I suspect we'll soon find out.

Senate budget: Teacher cuts, raises and lottery

Superintendent Heath Morrison says the Senate budget would cost Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 77 teachers.  Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger says there are no teacher cuts, other than those based on declining enrollment.

So what's up?

Turns out the teachers in question were promised in the two-year budget approved last summer,  and would be taken away if the General Assembly approves the Senate's budget bill for 2014-15.  The 2013-15 plan would have added about 788 second- and third-grade teachers statewide.

The uncertainty about whether to count on those teachers makes it tough for CMS to plan,  says Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley,  but it doesn't mean existing teachers are being cut.

The  "give one year and take the next"  approach may be one reason many teachers are wary of the Senate's pay plan,  even though it promises hefty raises.

The professional track outlined in the budget bill  (starting on p. 39)  spells out a significantly higher pay scale for teachers who relinquish state longevity pay and tenure  --  and it says that the new scale  "shall apply for the 2014-15 fiscal year."  I've heard speculation that once teachers have given up tenure,  the General Assembly could go back to freezing pay rather than letting teachers advance as promised.

I've also heard from a veteran teacher who's savvy about civic affairs that the raises promised to long-time teachers won't be enough to offset the loss of longevity pay,  which can hit almost $3,500 a year for teachers at the top of the CMS scale.  But the budget says,  and Berger's office confirms,  that the bill allows teachers to claim their current salary plus longevity pay if that's higher than the amount on the new scale.  If that tops $50,000,  the cap on the new scale,  they'll also get a 1 percent bonus.

Teachers who opt to stay on the tenure track would keep their current salary and longevity pay.  In other words,  no cut but no raise.

Another perennial hot button in budget discussions is money from the N.C. Education Lottery.  I noticed that the Senate bill (p. 9)  includes a 2014-15 allocation of lottery money that's more than $37 million higher than what was projected in the two-year plan.  It also shifts some of that money from a financial aid reserve to classroom teachers,  bumping the teacher allocation from about $221 million to $277 million.

Senate plan: Big raises, big questions

For Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the Senate's sweeping plan to raise and revamp teacher pay has officials scrambling to sort out its implications.

At a news conference less than 24 hours after seeing the plan, Superintendent Heath Morrison was quick to say he's  "very grateful"  that the Senate has proposed raises that would make a real difference in North Carolina's national standing and teachers' ability to earn a living wage.  "We certainly support that increase at the state level being as high as possible,"  he said.

Morrison

But he noted that Gov. Pat McCrory's budget and the Senate's are substantially different,  with the House version yet to come.  Both plans revealed so far contain significant changes in pay and other conditions for teachers,  and Gov. Pat McCrory is already raising challenges about the Senate's plan for education.

That means huge unanswered questions as CMS and other districts prepare for a budget year that starts July 1 and a school year that starts Aug. 25.  Morrison said he worried about the tradeoffs in the Senate plan;  CMS stands to lose 900 teacher assistants,  77 teachers,  $3.8 million in transportation money and $200,000 for central offices,  he said.

Morrison,  an unaffiliated voter who tries to stay out of partisan crossfire,  said he's not opposed to rethinking tenure  (he prefers to call it due process),  but prefers that such a discussion would have happened more deliberately,  with educators involved.  The Senate plan came out late Wednesday and is expected to be approved by week's end.

Berger

But Senate leader Phil Berger told me Thursday afternoon that he and other GOP senators have been listening for three years,  since they took control of the General Assembly.  The biggest message from educators,  parents and policymakers,  he said,  is that teachers are the most important factor in children's education,  and North Carolina's low national ranking for teacher pay threatens public education.

"We've heard loud and clear the complaints that we're in the 40s,  and not even the high 40s,  on teacher pay,  and that has become an embarrassment for the state,"  he said.  He said the Senate plan would move North Carolina up to 27th  --  assuming every teacher chooses  to give up tenure and move onto the higher pay track with year-to-year contract.  "It is critical for North Carolina to move ahead and to do everything we can to improve outcomes in public education.  Teachers are at the center of that."

Berger said his party made tough choices to make a big raise possible,  including sacrificing teacher assistants.  But he said party leaders have also made concessions,  such as letting teachers keep tenure if that's what's most important to them.   (Not all teachers are grateful;  N.C. Association of Educators President Rodney Ellis said it amounted to treating teachers like  "political pawns in an election year,"  and suggested tenure provided the protection teachers needed to speak up about the problems with low pay.)

Berger said changes in the Read to Achieve Act also show that GOP leaders have been listening and learning.   He said the revisions approved Wednesday preserve the focus on getting third-graders up to grade level in reading while responding to legitimate concerns,  such as the previous lack of flexibility in setting up summer reading programs.  "We listened to those concerns,"  Berger said.

Grundy at General Assembly

It looks like a lively summer debate is just getting cranked up.  Pamela Grundy of Mecklenburg ACTS went to Raleigh to argue against the part of Read to Achieve that requires retention for struggling third-grade readers,  which she says does little to help them.  "Berger's response: not retaining students isn't working, so they have to try something else. The measure passed, but at least the truth made an appearance,"  Grundy posted on Facebook.

And state Superintendent June Atkinson,  a Democrat,  released a statement lauding a  "long overdue"  major raise for teachers,  but saying that the Senate's education budget  "continues to undercut support for teachers and for learning."

"The key to teacher recruitment and retention is pay plus working conditions,"  Atkinson said.  "Student success requires both."

Update:  A Winthrop professor just tweeted me a link to this blog post berating N.C. legislators for offering the "raises or tenure" tradeoff.  "Curmudgucation,"  by a self-described grumpy old teacher,  says the real message is that teachers can't make a career here and that North Carolina now has  "the worst legislature in all of America."

Maybe there is a free lunch ...

Starting next school year, about 59,000 students at 72 high-poverty Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools will automatically get free lunch through a new community eligibility provision of the federal school nutrition program.

The provision covers schools across the country where at least 40 percent of students are on public assistance,  in foster care or fall into other categories that automatically qualify them for lunch subsidies,  according to a presentation to the CMS board.  The goal is to eliminate the need for high-need schools to collect applications and process payments  --  and to make sure students get the nutrition they need to be ready to learn.

Breakfast at Elizabeth Traditional Elementary

CMS already rolled out a universal free breakfast program this year,  though participation hasn't been what officials had hoped, child nutrition director Cindy Hobbs told the board.  The district aimed for a 50 percent increase in kids eating breakfast;  so far it has been about 20 percent.

The free lunch program should save some time and money for participating schools  --  including, Superintendent Heath Morrison said, write-offs for lunches that children eat and parents fail to pay for.  "The reality is many of these families simply can't afford to pay,"  he said,  even if they don't meet the income cutoffs for free meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture,  which already supports CMS students to the tune of about $50 million a year,  will pick up the tab for all students at the designated schools.

Of course,  there are complications.  Eligibility for federal lunch aid is used to gauge school need and qualify students for a waiver of athletic and other fees.  Families will still have to fill out income paperwork for the fee waivers,  CMS officials said,  and the district will have to find another method of tallying the number of  "economically disadvantaged students."

Regular blog readers may be amused to hear that board member Rhonda Lennon noted the perennial comments from "Wiley Coyote"  raising questions about the free lunch program.  "Mr. Coyote will want to know:  What alternative methods for determining student eligibility were used?"  The answers were fairly complex;  those who are really into this can find the child nutrition discussion on video at this link,  starting at the 1:47 mark.  Lennon's questions about Wiley Coyote (and comments about the tastiness and fat content of Takis hot snacks) starts at 2:03.

Vice Chair Tim Morgan asked about the prospects for the federal government to just pay for lunch for all students.

Hobbs said it won't happen soon,  but it should:  "If you can give a child free transportation and you can give them free books,  why can't you give them free meals?"

On the Raleigh roundup,  I'm not finding any new education-related bills on the General Assembly listing for Wednesday.  But Pamela Grundy of MecklenburgACTS says the Senate education committee is taking up changes to the Read to Achieve act,  which mandates consequences for third-graders who fail to prove they can read on grade level.  Read her group's critique here.

Technology, playgrounds on CMS 'opportunity' list

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools budget plan that district leaders and county officials will review today includes a $46.2 million increase in county spending.  But there's also a page detailing almost $69 million in additional  "one-time funding opportunities"  should the county find itself with money left over.

Superintendent Heath Morrison says County Manager Dena Diorio asked the district to list such projects,  which wouldn't be an ongoing annual expense,  for consideration based on the county fund balance.  The list  (on p. 72 of the budget book) includes:

$1 million would get playground upgrades

*$28.9 million in environmental upgrades,  most of that to be spent improving indoor air quality at schools  --  work such as increasing fresh air flow or cleaning ducts.

*$22.8 million for technology,  most of it for  "devices/cases and charging trays"  for  middle school students.

*$9.8 million for  "general deferred maintenance."

*$3.5 million for bus video cameras and vehicle replacement.

*$2.6 million for roof replacements.

*$1 million for playground upgrades.

County commissioners will hear from CMS and CPCC officials at a special budget meeting at 3 p.m. Monday,  May 19.  It's in Room 267 of the Government Center and it's open to the public.  But Commissioner Bill James wants to discourage the massive turnout and testimonials that have marked meetings to discuss teacher raises --  and a recent commissioners' meeting that wasn't about the budget.

James

"Given the disturbance at the last County Commission meeting it might be a good idea to outline to the public and CMS that this is NOT a public hearing,"  James emailed Diorio and other county officials last week.  "The meeting is for the Boards to talk to each other, not listen to prepared speeches from students, presentations from MeckEd or other groups (PTA or teachers)."

I'm guessing the mid-afternoon timing will discourage a crowd.  But based on the email and social media traffic I've seen already,  we can count on another big mobilization for the county's June 11 public budget hearing.

CMS: Visa change isn't about money

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has stopped sponsoring visas for overseas teachers,  and that has some families at Waddell Language Academy worried.

At a recent budget forum,  a parent accused Superintendent Heath Morrison of undermining a standout magnet program to save money.  Waddell,  a K-8 school formerly known as Smith Language Academy,  provides instruction in Chinese,  Japanese,  German and French.  The school has relied on foreign teachers who are fluent in those languages.

Waddell students sing for German dignitaries

Morrison said the change isn't about money,  though he acknowledged work visas are expensive at about $15,000 per teacher.  Instead,  he said,  the district has decided to seek teachers who can be expected to stay longer.

"What we end up with is a lot of instability,"  he said.  "It's about trying to find long-term stability."

CMS put out the word to principals last spring that the district wouldn't sponsor new visas.  As the issue rippled out to parents,  there have been enough concerns that CMS recently held a community meeting and put out a Q&A; read it here.

Renaissance West chooses CMS over charter

This week's announcement of a new  "partnership school"  being developed on West Boulevard highlights a new twist in the CMS/charter dynamic.  It's a model Superintendent Heath Morrison says we'll see more of in the future,  in the suburbs as well as inner-city neighborhoods.

Renaissance West senior center

The preK-8 school,  which Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools plans to open in 2017, will be part of the Renaissance West revitalization project rising from the site of the old Boulevard Homes public housing.  As Hilary Trenda reports,  that project has been years in the making,  with the Charlotte Housing Authority winning a $21 million federal Hope VI grant in 2010.  At that time, the plan called for a CMS school to be part of the project.

But the recession hit and construction money dried up.  The Renaissance West Community Initiative,  a nonprofit created by the housing authority, shifted to planning a charter school.  If the application had been approved,  the nonprofit board would have gotten public money to open a preK-8 school in 2015. The group was scheduled for an interview with the N.C. Charter School Advisory Board in May.

Renaissance West is a "cradle to career" community,  which seeks to break the cycle of poverty with a mix of high-quality child care,  public education,  health care and support services.  Charter schools are a crucial piece in such national models as the Harlem Children's Zone and Atlanta's East Lake revival.  The latter spurred creation of the Purpose-Built Community Network,  which RWCI is working with.

Site for Renaissance West Neighborhood Academy charter

In 2013,  Mecklenburg voters approved a $290 million bond package that included $30 million to build a school that would relieve crowding at Reid Park and Berryhill preK-8 schools.  It would have gone near the proposed charter,  potentially competing for students.

Meanwhile,  Morrison and Deputy Superintendent Ann Clark were talking with the RWCI crew about merging their efforts. Executive Director Laura Clark said her board saw two big advantages to working with CMS:  The nonprofit board won't have to raise construction money,  and CMS can draw boundaries that ensure the Renaissance West community is served by the school.  Charter schools take applications and,  if there's overflow demand,  have to admit by lottery.  If the community charter school had proven successful,  she said,  neighborhood students might have been turned away on luck of the draw.

RWCI won't have the clout of the Project LIFT board,  which got joint power over academic and personnel decisions at nine westside schools by merit of a $55 million, five-year pledge.  But CMS and RWCI say the partnership will be a serious one,  with both groups and other community partners represented on a school leadership council.

At a Wednesday news conference,  Morrison said he's talking to other existing and prospective charter boards about the advantages of working as part of CMS.  He noted that some of the state-authorized schools,  which aren't part of local districts, are struggling:  "So many individuals think they know how to run a school,  only to learn there's so much that's so complicated."

I'm guessing some will see this as a CMS bid to squelch competition,  while others will see a perfect example of how competition can improve the broader system of public education.  One question I felt certain would arise:  Will CMS be equally receptive when a more affluent suburban neighborhood wants to develop a partnership school for its community?

Absolutely,  Morrison said.  He anticipates a similar relationship with south suburban Ballantyne residents when the district starts working on the K-8 neighborhood/magnet school authorized for that area.  That school,  budgeted for a bit over $31 million,  is expected to open in 2020,  the last item in the 2013 bond package.

Let's talk about teacher pay

Education looks like the hot topic for this year's legislative session,  with a special urgency about teacher pay and treatment.  The Observer and PNC Bank are hosting a  "Solving It Together"  forum on May 5,  the week before the session starts,  to talk about teacher compensation.

Cameron

Panelists are Eric Guckian,  the governor's senior education adviser;  CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison;  state representatives Rob Bryan (GOP) and Tricia Cotham (Dem); and Erlene Lyde of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators.  WBTV anchor Paul Cameron will pose questions suggested by the audience and press for answers that go beyond sound bites.

Meanwhile,  I'm working on a package that will try to move the discussion past wheel-spinning and broad generalities to get some discussion going about real options,  what they might cost and where we can find the money.

The forum is from 7-9 p.m. at CPCC's Pease Auditorium.  Click here to register and suggest questions.  I'll be there covering the discussion,  so I hope to see some of you there.

In a separate event,  the N.C. Association of Educators and the Tar Heel Alliance of Classroom Teachers are sponsoring a showing of the documentary  "American Teacher"  at 7 p.m. Thursday,  April 24,  at the CMAE office at 301 S McDowell St., Suite 1200.  The film,  narrated by Matt Damon and sponsored by the Teacher Salary Project,  is part of a national effort to increase teacher pay and respect  (read the list of supporters here).

In North Carolina,  the showing is part of a  "Moral Movies"  series that will run in Charlotte and other cities over the next four months.  The state NAACP and the Wilmington-based Working Films are co-sponsoring the series.

PowerSchool and NC schools: Work continues

A North Carolina blogger known as Lady Liberty 1885 turned up an interesting letter from big-district superintendents taking Pearson to task over problems with the start-up of the PowerSchool data system.

"Delays in report cards,  transcripts and attendance data have generated considerable negative attention from media,  resulting in districts being blamed for poor implementation,"  says the Feb. 21 letter from 10 superintendents,  including the leaders of CMS, Wake, Union and Gaston county schools.  "... Public goodwill has been severely damaged.  We need Pearson to accept responsibility for the challenges as we continue to address issues."

The superintendents ask Pearson to provide PowerSchool to N.C. districts at no charge next year,  saying the product will eventually be a good one but the one-year rollout,  which many of the district leaders predicted would fail,  has been a mess.  "We want a productive relationship with Pearson since the data system will be with us for many years,"  they say.

"Lady Liberty"

Neither the problems nor the frustration of district leaders is surprising.  T. Keung Hui of the News & Observer and I were among those giving  "negative media attention"  about the time that letter was written.  But Lady Liberty,  aka A.P. Dillon of Holly Springs,  a conservative/Libertarian blogger,  got some good details as part of a public records request related to PowerSchool.  She reports that she's still digging through four big boxes of documents.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Heath Morrison said this week that Pearson's follow-up has been  "very good,"  including a visit to Charlotte last week to meet with him and Chief Learning Services Officer Valerie Truesdale.  (An email to the Pearson communications department has gotten no response.)  "They acknowledged many of the issues we have discussed all year and have promised to help with issues we continue to have, such as not being able to print report cards recently,"  Morrison said in an email.

Philip Price,  chief financial officer for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction,  agrees.  "While I would not state that the larger school districts are completely happy at this time,  I will state that we have addressed the items outlined in the posted letter (most prior to the date of that letter).  As we progress through the implementation year, new issues do arise; but we are pleased that we are not experiencing repeat issues."

But don't hold your breath for that year of free service.  The previously reported cost is $7.1 million a year.  While Pearson may be forced to provide some type of refund if it fails to meet agreed-upon levels of service,  the state Board of Education is asking for $6 million to cover the cost that would otherwise fall to districts and charter schools next year,  Price said.

Here's Price's detailed explanation,  for those who can follow it:

The request to have the software to be free for another year relates to the $4 per ADM charge to sign-up for the Home Base suite of products.  There continues to be confusion as to what the $4 charge is based on.  The software, maintenance, support, data conversion, and training are all free to the school districts and charter schools for all parts of Home Base (including PowerSchool).  We subscribed to some Pearson content that strengthened the Home Base tool with Science and Social Studies material for teachers.  This content is charged to the State based on the number of systems that access the content.  We are charged on a sliding scale based on use.  If 20% of the State sign-up to use the content, the charge is $8.30 per ADM.  If 95% sign-up, the charge will be $4.00 per ADM.  The General Assembly authorized the Department to make-up any shortfall from collections by using possible reversions (with authorization from the State Budget Office).  Therefore, we could stabilize the LEA and charter price at $4.00 for the length of the contract (5 years).

Since this content is based on use, it is difficult to eliminate the charge.  The State Board has requested that the Governor recommend and the General Assembly appropriate funding ($6 million) to cover the subscription content costs.  If funded, there will be no cost to the LEA or charters to participate in Home Base.

Our contracts do include service level agreements (SLAs) that set an acceptable level of service.  If those targets are not met, we do receive credits to our maintenance and support costs.  We are currently determining the amount of those credits.  We plan on refunding Home Base participating LEAs and Charters a portion of their $4 per ADM charge (if it is not appropriated), based on the amount of credits received.

There are several incorrect statements included in the write-up around the letter.  PowerSchool was designed and is supporting the entire State (the comments state that it was never intended to support the whole state). CEDARS has nothing to do with PowerSchool other than the fact that data will come from PowerSchool to CEDARS.  The contract w/Pearson does cover all the costs for implementation.

Push is on to change N.C. grading scale

If a North Carolina high school student scores a 92, it's a high B.  In some other states it would be a low A.

Leaders of some of the state's largest districts,  including Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake,  are urging the state to allow districts to adopt a 10-point scale that they say would help N.C. students compete for spots in good colleges.

"We met with the state superintendent in January and have continued to advocate for this change,"  CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison says.  "It is consistent with most school districts and states across the nation. The current grade scale puts our NC students at a competitive disadvantage with their peers in other states."

The Wake school board's policy committee recently discussed the 10-point scale,  Keung Hui of the News & Observer reports.  The current seven-point scale,  in which 93 to 100 is an A,  85 to 92 is a B and so on,  was locked in to get transcript consistency across the state, he reports.

Under a 10-point scale, 90 to 100 would be an A, 80 to 89 a B, etc.  (I'm not sure if the failing point is universal,  but under this scale recently approved by Henrico County  (Va.)  schools,  a D is 65 to 69 and anything below 65 is failing.)

"Supporters give reasons such as how a 10-point scale might cause more students to get As and Bs and could result in an increase in student self-esteem and confidence,"  Hui writes.  "Critics say a 10-point scale might diminish student motivation to achieve higher standards."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/02/3750488/wake-county-may-try-to-change.html#storylink=cp

March snow and spring break

Heath Morrison and the school board are riding a wave of good feelings after last week's decision to save spring break.  But a March snow could shake things up again.  Morrison made it clear that any more closings will result in spring-break makeup days.

Some have asked why.  The state's minimum of 1,025 hours leaves plenty of wiggle room.  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools started with 180 days and 1,080 instructional hours;  giving up two days leaves the district at 1,068,  according to the presentation to the board.

It's looking like spring, but ...

The answer? Morrison isn't willing to give up any more days of class, even if the law allows it.

"The extra hours in our academic calendar were put there to benefit students,"  Morrison said in his weekly report to employees.  "The winter storm in February was an extraordinary event and we felt a unique response was justified  –  but we won’t use any more of our additional instructional time for snow days this year. Academic achievement is always our first goal as a district and we don’t think using more hours for snow days is in the best interests of our students."

The hours-vs-days discussion has highlighted another confusing aspect of our state calendar law. (I've always been perplexed by why the state controls the calendar at all,  and if it's driven by the tourism industry,  why those folks consider it a benefit to crunch summer vacation into one uniform stretch.)  When state lawmakers bumped the required days up from 180 to 185,  there was a lot of talk about demanding more class time for kids.  Then,  faced with protests from school districts,  they added the hours as an alternative.  CMS,  like many districts,  stuck with a 180-day calendar.  I hadn't done the math before,  but since CMS seems to be using six hours as the instructional time  (schools are open for seven)  it looks like the district could actually cut back to 170 days under state law.  So ... more,  less,  whatever?

Meanwhile,  CMS' calendar planners start work on the 2015-16 schedule today.  They'll invite parents,  employees and other interested folks to join them for meetings from 4-6 p.m. March 17 and 24 in the cafeteria of Metro School, 405 S. Davidson St.

Will National Board pay survive?

Earlier this week I got an email from a Butler High teacher worried about losing North Carolina's pay supplement for teachers who earn National Board Certification.  Last summer's session brought unpleasant surprises for teachers,  including the elimination of extra pay for master's degrees and the phase-out of tenure.  With changes to teacher compensation a near certainty for the 2014 session,  she wondered if anyone was eyeing the National Board pay as a pool to tap.

Jennifer Lunsford at Rocky River

The question came up the very next day at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools news conference at Rocky River High,  where Superintendent Heath Morrison celebrated the large numbers of board-certified teachers in CMS and North Carolina.

Morrison said he and leaders of other N.C. school districts would resist any move to cut the supplement.

"It is a way to show the commitment to quality teachers in our state,"  he said.  "It's working really well the way it is now."

Jennifer Lunsford,  a math teacher at Rocky River,  talked about the work she did to earn her certification.  She had to video and critique her own work in the classroom, analyze her lessons and provide evidence of her impact on student learning.  She fell short the first time,  then worked with advisers to improve her skills and try again.

"The process helped me become more honest with myself,"  she said.  "It's hard to deny what you see on the camera."

Morrison noted that his wife has twice earned the certification  (no, she doesn't work for CMS).  The work load is staggering,  comparable to earning an advanced degree,  Morrison said.  "It's like the best professional development,"  he said.  "It makes you look in the mirror and say, 'How do I improve my craft?'  "

CMS hasn't yet analyzed whether board-certified teachers rated higher than others on new state value-added ratings,  which crunch student test scores to determine how much teachers contributed to their gains.

NC superintendents send message to lawmakers

Create a five-year plan to get N.C. teacher pay to the national average.  Kill the new voucher program. Commit to the Common Core curriculum and adopt nationally-normed exams.

Morrison

Those are among the recommendations prepared by superintendents of the state's 10 largest school districts,  including Heath Morrison of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and James Merrill of Wake County Public Schools.  The coalition, which also includes Cumberland,  Durham,  Gaston,  Guilford,  Johnston,  New Hanover,  Union,  and Winston-Salem/Forsyth, has created position papers on Common Core, vouchers and teacher pay.

After a 2013 legislative session that brought dramatic changes to public education,  the superintendents got together to let legislators and the N.C.

Merrill

Board of Education know their thoughts on key issues.

Among the recommendations:

*In addition to boosting base pay,  lawmakers should scrap the bonus plan for 25 percent of teachers and instead work toward a more comprehensive performance pay system.

*Restore pay supplements for teachers who earn master's degrees in teaching or their academic subject.

*If the General Assembly isn't willing to rescind the Opportunity Scholarship program,  which was put on hold by a judge last week,  it should at least add more oversight for the private schools that take the public money.

*Provide assurance that the state will not change its academic standards for at least seven years.

*Adopt nationally-normed exams  (North Carolina has been working with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium to create such tests)  and try to reduce the burden of mandated testing.

Morrison will present the report to the CMS board Tuesday. 

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.

Learn more about CMS bell schedules

The task force studying Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bell schedules meets Thursday to continue talks about when schools should start and dismiss and how long the elementary day should be.

It's a debate that has been going for three years now,  and a topic of high interest to many families.  Yet CMS still seems to be struggling with the notion of opening these meetings to the public.

When Superintendent Heath Morrison announced the creation of 22 task forces in late 2012,  he said the meetings would be private,  although the reports would be public and town hall meetings would be held to discuss the issues.  He relented after the Observer questioned the legality of closing those meetings.

At the time,  CMS also had a group of staff and parents studying bell schedules,  but it wasn't deemed an official task force.  In October 2013,  Morrison and Chief Communication Officer Katherine Block said CMS would revive and expand the informal group,  making it an official CMS task force with public meetings.

I hadn't thought much about it until Susan Plaza,  a parent who has been pushing to shorten the elementary day and end a controversial late schedule,  posted on this blog that a meeting was set for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Government Center.  Someone else followed up Monday,  asking where to find info about the task force meetings.  I checked the CMS site and came up dry.

After I sent a query to spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte,  CMS posted this list of  "meeting times."  Except that you may notice,  as I did belatedly,  that there are no actual times,  just dates and locations. When I emailed again, Chief of Staff Earnest Winston said all the meetings are at 2 p.m.

CMS has released the 2014-15 bell schedule without any major changes from this year. The task force and CMS staff are expected to present any recommended changes,  along with academic and financial implications,  with plenty of time to prepare for 2015-16.

Meanwhile,  I also got curious about meetings of the latest CMS compensation task force.  As most of the official task forces reported their results last summer,  Morrison announced the launch of a new compensation task force,  his second and the fourth for CMS in as many years.  Here's the link that includes some information about that group,  which has concluded its work,  Stalberte tells me.

The moral:  Sometimes public bodies need public pressure to do their business in public,  whether those bodies are small charter schools or big districts.  Thanks to all of you who are pushing for full access and participation.