Bond chat and youth profiles: Get ready for voting

The Observer is hosting a live online chat with key players in the Nov. 5 bond referendum at noon Thursday.

Chamberlain

We'll have Associate Superintendent Guy Chamberlain from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  Public Information Officer Jeff Lowrance from Central Piedmont Community College and Assistant County Manager Dena Diorio from Mecklenburg County available to answer questions about the CMS and CPCC bonds and how the county will pay for the projects.  You can log on to CharlotteObserver.com from noon to 1 p.m. to post questions or follow the chat.  If you've got a question that might take some research,  post it here and I'll forward it to the right people so they can come prepared.

We have stories,  maps and other resources related to the bond votes available at the Observer's voter guide page as well.

Students with GenerationNation,  a youth civics and leadership group, have also posted responses to questionnaires for school board and municipal candidates.  There are other candidate surveys out there,  including the Observer's,  but the young people asked some interesting questions.  For instance,  they asked all candidates about how CMS,  local and state governments should work together.  They got a lot of predictable  "collaboration is important"  answers,  but Republican mayoral candidate Edwin Peacock suggested holding Charlotte City Council meetings in schools around the city.

Peacock

"Start a tradition  where at least 7  City Council meetings each year are being held away from the government center and at a CMS school in one of our 7 Council districts,"  Peacock suggested.  "Each district representative would recognize excellent teachers and students and begin to build that relationship between the city and her schools.  Schools belong to

everyone!"

Instead of asking for political party,  GenerationNation asked for  "political viewpoint,"  intentionally inviting responses that don't fit the obvious labels.  Most gave the party labels anyway,  but they got a few interesting answers,  such as "fiscally and socially responsible which would categorize my views as moderate"  from Democratic mayoral candidate Patrick Cannon,  "speaking for all people"  from unopposed school board candidate Joyce Waddell and "Unitarian"  from school board candidate Queen Elizabeth Thompson.

Naturally,  I was especially interested in another question:  Favorite news source.  It probably does tell you something that school board member Tom Tate cites NPR while Paul Bailey,  a candidate in a different district board race,  cites Fox News.  The Observer got a few mentions,  and quite a few cited  "the internet."

A peek at menu for CMS, CPCC bonds

A November referendum on bonds for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Central Piedmont Community College won't be locked in until August, but county commissioners' approval of a capital plan last week makes it a pretty sure thing.

CMS and CPCC leaders are talking about the best way to present their needs and plans, while the folks at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce are kicking around strategies and names for a bond campaign. Publicly-funded bodies can't spend money to influence an election, so there's always a careful line between the public  "bond information" campaigns and the privately-funded "vote yes" push.

Mecklenburg County' five-year capital plan will provide $290 million for CMS and $210 million for CPCC, says county Finance Director Dena Diorio. Here's how projects break down under that plan:

In 2014-15, the county would provide money to finish the last of the CMS 2007 bond projects: A new school to relieve crowding at Highland Creek Elementary and renovations to Hawthorne High.  Other 2014-15 projects would be:

*Work at Alexander Middle in Huntersville, Myers Park High, Olympic High and Statesville Road Elementary (see details of CMS projects here).

*Reopening Oakhurst and Starmount as elementary schools.

* Construction of a new preK-8 school in west Charlotte, a new K-8 language immersion school in east Charlotte and a replacement for Nations Ford Elementary on the campus of Waddell Language Academy.

* Buying land for a new K-8 magnet in the Ballantyne area and an expansion of Northridge Middle School.

* For CPCC, doing work on the Giles Science Building and Cato Campus,  plus buying land for projects at the Levine,  Central and Merancas campuses.

In 2015-16,  CMS would get money for projects at East Mecklenburg and South Mecklenburg high schools and Northwest School of the Arts.  CPCC would launch projects at the Levine and Harper campuses.

In 2016-17,  CMS would launch work at Northridge, Selwyn Elementary and five preK-8 schools,  while CPCC would get money for a Central Campus project and Terrell renovation/expansion.

In 2017-18,  CMS would build the new Ballantyne-area K-8 magnet, convert Davidson Elementary to a K-8 school and do career-technology improvements at Garinger, Independence, West Mecklenburg and North Mecklenburg high schools.  CPCC would get money for a Hendrick Automotive expansion,  renovation/expansion to the Advanced Technology Center and the Merancas Campus project.

Mobile classrooms: Critical safety risk?

On Tuesday night,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member Rhonda Lennon publicly declared that mobile classrooms clustered outside crowded schools should be seen as a critical safety risk.

On Wednesday morning, Superintendent Heath Morrison said there's nothing unsafe about holding classes in mobiles.

Diorio

Welcome to the wacky world of bond-project ranking.  For about an hour Tuesday,  the CMS board wrangled with Mecklenburg County Finance Director Dena Diorio,  trying to figure out how to work a ranking system that doesn't mesh with the CMS mission.

From the county's point of view it makes perfect sense.  County officials need a way to compare the need for schools, jails, parks and libraries without giving any category privileged status.

But as CMS and Central Piedmont Community College vie for the chance to put up to $300 million in projects on the November ballot, it's easy to see why educators feel hobbled by the process.

For instance:  County commissioners often say they want CMS to show how their investments boost student achievement. But when board member Tim Morgan asked whether CMS projects got any points for their intended effect on student performance,  the answer was simple:  No.

Enhancing economic development boosts a project's rating,  but the county uses a model that's geared toward traditional business recruitment.  Even though good schools increase property values and create a stronger work force,  those aren't the kind of things that show up.

The county ranking awards points based on the "extent to which population has increased in the area in which the project is located."  But as Lennon noted,  the need for schools is shaped by the number of school-age children,  which can be different from overall population trends.  "We prioritize based on the needs of children,  not adults,"  Lennon said.

Lennon suggested that declaring mobile classrooms a safety risk might gain some extra points in the building safety category.  "Parents perceive these mobiles to be a safety factor,"  she said.  Board member Richard McElrath hinted at a broader definition:  "I would put it as a high risk when a child walks out his front door and he's not going to work and he's not going to college."

Why all the confusion and consternation?  The county introduced this ranking system in 2011 and used it to set the schedule for finishing CMS projects approved in the 2007 referendum.  This is the first time it has been used to decide what goes on a bond ballot.

On Tuesday CMS approved a request for 18 projects totaling almost $294 million  (read the 10-year list it was pulled from here).  CPCC has made a pitch for $430 million.  The county is looking at a total of $300 million in bonds to last the next three years  --  or possibly $400 million for four years.  The ranking system will not only determine how big a slice of the bond pie each body gets,  but it could shake up the CMS priorities,  eliminating top-ranked projects from bond consideration while giving the green light to lower ones.

That created plenty of frustration.  But there were moments of harmony.  Board member Eric Davis said as a taxpayer he appreciates the county's push to rein in debt:  "I think any family can comprehend what happens when the credit card gets out of control."

Diorio said CMS isn't going to get the level of spending it wants until the economy rebounds.  "They say the recession is over,  but we're not seeing it in our revenue growth."  And while she didn't give the board the answers they wanted on the ranking system,  she urged them to keep working with county officials.  "No one has come forward to give me a better way,"  she said.  "I'm happy to entertain suggestions."

Teacher assistants at risk -- again

One of the biggest bombshells in Superintendent Heath Morrison's 2013-14 budget was an item beyond his control:  Gov. Pat McCrory's proposed budget would eliminate about 400 teacher assistant jobs in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Morrison and CMS board members say they're working to convince state legislators that cutting second- and third-grade classroom assistants would be a bad idea,  one that could undermine the state's push to make sure students are reading on grade level by third grade.

Pope and McCrory

As Morrison told the board,  normally the governor's budget plan gets a big yawn.  But this year,  with Republicans in control across the board and conservative powerhouse Art Pope serving as McCrory's budget writer,  Morrison and others see the governor's plan as a possible blueprint for legislators.

Assistants have repeatedly been the target of recession-driven budget cuts  --  something of an irony,  given how little they make. CMS leaders say they need to help lawmakers understand how much professional power they're getting for those salaries.  "They bring great value,"  Morrison said at a news conference Wednesday.

But McCrory's press secretary, Crystal Feldman, said the cut is part of a tradeoff that will benefit students:  "The governor’s proposed budget hires 1,800 more full-time teachers. The McCrory administration prioritizes resources on hiring more full-time certified teachers throughout North Carolina over the next two years rather than classroom assistants to help our students succeed in the classroom."
 
Wake County Schools would lose about the same number of assistants,  and leaders there are also mounting a campaign to fight the cut, the News & Observer reports.

Like CMS,  Wake is also exploring a 2013 bond campaign,  but they're talking much bigger numbers.  On Wednesday,  administrators presented five scenarios ranging from $609 million to $2.3 billion, according to the N&O.  They acknowledged the top number isn't realistic,  but even their lowest package is well above what CMS can hope to get.  Morrison has talked about a package that would cover 21 projects at about $386 million,  but some Mecklenburg commissioners say that's more than the county can afford.

Most crowded schools? You'd be surprised

The days of jam-packed suburban schools and underfilled urban ones are over,  according to a 10-year capital plan Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools rolled out in draft form last week.

I missed the presentation,  so I'm trying to get up to speed on the massive binder reporter April Bethea brought back from the meeting  (read her story here).  If the full 10-year report is online,  I haven't located it.  I'll be chipping away in hopes of getting as much information as possible to readers before the April 9 public hearing.

CMS has faced an ongoing challenge figuring out the best way to calculate which schools are in direst need of relief from crowding.  The latest report talks about measuring stress on each school's  "core spaces,"  such as cafeterias, gyms and libraries.  The district can use mobile classrooms to expand enrollment,  but if it's stretched too far  you end up with lunch times spread out over most of the day,  playgrounds squeezed out and parking lots that can't begin to handle volunteers and visitors.

The report also includes a utilization chart that  "takes into account the number of teachers,  brick and mortar classrooms,  and annual student populations at each and every school."  It's described as a snapshot of any given school this year.

According to that list,  the most crowded school is Hickory Grove Elementary,  a high-poverty school in east Charlotte that's being utilized at 206 percent,  with 1,239 students  (including 250 prekindergarteners) and 37 mobile classrooms.  Voters approved money for a relief school in 2007,  but that school isn't slated to open until 2015.

Close behind is Collinswood Language Academy at 200 percent,  with 714 K-8 students and 24 mobile classrooms  (the south Charlotte building only has 23).  It's odd to find extreme crowding at magnet schools,  given that CMS controls admission.  But the district decided to expand Collinswood to include middle school grades,  which has strained the building.  The proposal for a 2013 bond package includes a new K-8 school in the Albemarle Road area that will provide neighborhood seats to relieve Albemarle Road Elementary  (174 percent student utilization)  and Albemarle Road Middle (94 percent),  with Spanish-English magnet seats providing an alternative to Collinswood.

Others ranked among the most overutilized this year are Selwyn Elementary in south Charlotte  (172 percent);  Huntersville's Torrence Creek Elementary  (157 percent),  which will get relief when Grand Oak Elementary opens in August;  Montclaire Elementary in south Charlotte (154 percent);  Windsor Park Elementary in east Charlotte  (151 percent);  and Cotswold Elementary in southeast Charlotte (150 percent).   Several of the most crowded schools are those serving large numbers of Hispanic students,  who represent a fast-growing segment of enrollment.

The lowest utilization on the new chart is 55 percent for Marie G. Davis Military and Global Leadership Academy,  a K-12 magnet south of uptown Charlotte.  Voters approved an expansion/replacement school many years ago,  when it was a thriving International Baccalaureate middle school magnet.  Under a massive student assignment shakeup in 2002,  it became a struggling high-poverty neighborhood school,  which was eventually replaced by the military magnet. Even with 12 grades,  it has only 730 students.

Other underfilled schools on the new list are Irwin Avenue Elementary  (62 percent),  an uptown school that became a talent development magnet last year;  North Mecklenburg High  (62 percent),  which was overcrowded until nearby Hough High opened; and Kennedy Middle in southwest Charlotte  (63 percent).

The utilization numbers are not being used as a sole source of decision-making about long-term plans for new schools, expansions or renovations.  That's a more complex calculation that I'll be delving into in coming days.  As always,  observations and questions from readers are helpful.

Testing and construction: Tune in Tuesday

Tuesday's school board meeting includes two hot topics:  An update on 2007 bond spending and a report on new state standards and exams.

The report on how CMS has spent the $517 million in school bonds that voters authorized is a lead-up to updating the district's long-term construction plan.  The board is slated to discuss how it will set those priorities Tuesday,  with rankings of specific projects presented March 26.  (March 26 is also when Superintendent Heath Morrison says his staff will give the board a revised school safety plan,  after realizing belatedly that the $33.7 million plan approved last month would delay other 2007 projects.)

Staff will also fill the school board in on how the new state exams that debut this spring will affect technology and teacher training (read the presentation here).  The new exams will feature more open-ended questions,  and will eventually be given online.  The old EOG and EOC tests were all multiple choice. The conversion promises to be complicated;  I've been hearing horror stories about the complexity of bubbling in and scoring the new tests.

So Tuesday's session might be worth tuning in,  either on CMS-TV 3 or online. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.,  and it will open with public comments.  Last month's comments revealed concerns among many faculty and parents at Albemarle Road Elementary School about the district's plans to bring in more mobiles to cope with crowding.  Morrison told me recently that finding a better solution is high on his priority list for new projects.