CMS prepares for potential layoffs by MARK BOONE / NewsChannel 36 E-mail Mark: MBoone@WCNC.COM
Posted on February 17, 2010 at 11:37 PM
Updated today at 2:48 PM ****** Related:
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A potential $82.5 million shortfall could mean hundreds of layoffs, shuttered schools, and the end of bus service for some students, according to information presented Wednesday to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board.
Superintendent Peter Gorman said the details were meant to prepare school leaders for possible funding scenarios over the next few months.
The district will not know its full financial picture until Mecklenburg leaders and state lawmakers finalize their budgets, including the allocation to public schools.
As many as 880 employees, including 658 teachers, could be laid off if CMS receives 3% less in funding from the state and county next year, Gorman said.
CMS leaders could also consider closing three schools, delaying the opening of two new high schools which are scheduled to open in the fall, and ending bus transportation for students who attend magnet schools.
School board member Trent Merchant suggested parents of magnet school students could be asked to pay for bus transportation.
"If we are not getting revenue from our traditional sources, state, county, and federal government, then maybe some of it needs to come from parents who choose to put their children in those programs," Merchant told NewsChannel 36.
The amount charged for transportation could be based on a tiered system, he said, based on a family's ability to pay the fee.
Gorman said staff would need to research Merchant's suggestion, including possible legal issues surrounding a transportation surcharge.
A best-case scenario presented to the CMS board would result in 124 layoffs, largely from the district's administration and transportation departments.
