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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will use federal stimulus money and aid for high-poverty schools to hire 180 teachers, social workers and other support staff, Chief Operating Officer Hugh Hattabaugh said today.
The new positions come from $12.3 million CMS has received through the stimulus package, as well as ongoing federal aid for its highest-poverty schools. About 60 of the district's 170-plus schools have poverty levels above 75 percent, qualifying for the help.
While some districts say they're counting on stimulus money and other cost savings to avert all teacher layoffs, Hattabaugh said that still isn't the case for CMS. As of June 30, the district had 665 laid-off teachers who hadn't been placed in new jobs, including 25 who were working in Title I positions. Some teachers could be rehired for the new openings.
Dot Cromwell, a veteran math teacher, said this year's tangle of layoffs and hiring has been illogical and confusing. She works at West Charlotte High, which lost 16 teachers to recent layoffs, including five in the hard-to-fill math and science fields.
West Charlotte becomes eligible for Title I money this year, but Cromwell said she had no idea what that will mean for filling classrooms with strong teachers: “I'm just waiting for August to get here and see how the classrooms are going to be staffed.”
For CMS, the question lingers: Why are massive layoffs going on when the federal government is pumping in millions of extra dollars? Some districts say they expect to avoid teacher layoffs by using stimulus money and other budget cuts.
CMS, however, continues to be wary of counting on stimulus dollars to keep teachers on staff because state and federal officials are sending a “double message,” Hattabaugh said. They're urging local districts to save jobs, he said, but also warning against using the money for ongoing expenses. The stimulus money is scheduled to run out in two years.
It's against federal rules to use Title I stimulus money to cover existing expenses at the high-poverty schools and shift the money to other schools or needs, he added. The new money is supposed to be used for additional aid at the targeted schools.
And some of the money is desginated for purposes other than hiring teachers, such as improving parental involvement.
CMS still doesn't know whether almost $36 million in “stabilization” money from the stimulus package could save more jobs. That money has been tagged for CMS, but must pass through the state. The House version of the N.C. budget cuts roughly the same amount of money to plug the state budget gap, leaving CMS with nothing extra, Superintendent Peter Gorman recently told the school board.
The House and Senate are still working on a budget.
