Why one elusive word matters so much to the CMS board, taxpayers and 147,000 students

Does a brilliant teen at Harding High have the same shot at a top college as a counterpart at Providence?

Is a 7-year-old boy more likely to be labeled a troublemaker if he’s black?

Are good teachers fleeing Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s neediest schools, and can the district find a way to keep them there?

Those questions are all part of the challenge of equity, which was the focus of Saturday’s school board retreat. Board members and a series of superintendents have struggled for years to define the term, report the most meaningful data and ensure that all students have their best shot at success.

Now a new team is taking a crack at it: Three new board members were elected in November, joining a superintendent who’s been in office less than a year.

The retreat was more about discussion than decisions. Members reviewed their own equity policy, compared it with a more detailed policy from Roanoke City (Va.) Public Schools and talked about how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools can do better.

The Roanoke policy spells out a number of measures to be scrutinized, including the qualifications, diversity and stability of faculty; school budgets; discipline data and school crowding. It requires an annual equity report and a citizen task force.

Compared with that, the CMS policy is “fluffy,” said Vice Chair Rhonda Cheek. “Ours is about equitable distribution of resources,” she said. The Roanoke policy “is about academic and educational success for all kids.”

The CMS policy calls for an annual equity report and a review of the policy every three years. It allows but doesn’t require the board to create an advisory group. CMS disbanded its equity panel and stopped doing annual reports years ago, and hasn’t updated the policy since 2010.

That’s not because the challenges have evaporated. District leaders have spent millions of dollars and untold energy on recent efforts to equalize opportunity, from providing additional teachers and resources at high-poverty schools to putting restrictions on out-of-school suspensions for students younger than third grade. But when they listed those efforts Saturday, board members disagreed on whether they’re making a difference.

Any policy changes will require action at future board meetings. Meanwhile, Wilcox plans to present his first equity report later this month, and offer a long-range strategic plan this spring or summer. And board Chair Mary McCray said she thinks most members would like to revive the equity task force.

This story was originally published February 11, 2018 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Why one elusive word matters so much to the CMS board, taxpayers and 147,000 students."