County proposal to withhold funding could endanger hundreds of CMS jobs

A proposal by Mecklenburg County Commissioners to withhold $11 million in funding to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools unless the district pays its employees a minimum wage of $15 an hour could lead to job cuts in the school system if passed.

School board chair Elyse Dashew said the district would need to trim $11.7 million from elsewhere in its budget to make the raise possible. Because of limits on the federal and state funding CMS receives, as well as the inability to operate on a deficit, Dashew said that would likely mean the district would have to cut roughly 175 jobs.

“What we do is filled with unfunded mandates,” Dashew said. “In the midst of the pandemic, we have a new big unfunded mandate from the county.”

The move to withhold the money came during a budget workshop session last week and was proposed by board chairman George Dunlap. Dunlap criticized the school district for being the only major local government agency that did not pay its employees a $15 hourly minimum wage, saying that the county and the city had already accomplished that goal.

“I will tell you that I have dealt with their budget for over nearly 14 years,” Dunlap said. “I’ve dealt with the county budget for 12 years. I believe that the school system can make available monies to support their priorities.”

In a separate move, commissioner Vilma Leake proposed withholding $30 million from CMS unless it came up with a plan within 90 days of “how to educate children,” citing academic gaps between black and white students.

Dashew said Leake’s proposal would endanger even more jobs in the school district. The commissioners voted 8-1 in favor of Dunlap’s proposal in a straw vote. Leake’s motion was tabled and ultimately did not come to a straw vote. A final vote on the budget is expected to take place on Tuesday.

CMS is in year two of a three-year plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In its budget request to the county, it asked for $2.8 million to bring the minimum wage to $14.11 this year. County manager Dena Diorio did not include that increase in her recommendation to the commissioners.

Dunlap called for CMS to produce a plan to reach $15 per hour, and said the county would withhold the $11 million until the commissioners approved CMS’s next steps. CMS said that the budget they submitted to the county included a request to continue with the three-year planned increase.

“Until we receive clarity from the BOCC about the exact scope of the motion, we cannot provide an accurate monetary figure relative to what the motion means for our budget this year,” a spokeswoman said.

In a Facebook post, school board member Carol Sawyer also said that she did not have clarity on what the board wanted.

“It is not clear whether CMS is expected to produce a plan to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr OR to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr this year,” she said. “If we are expected to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr, CMS will need to CUT county funded positions totaling at least $11.7 million.”

Some commissioners said they were frustrated with CMS constantly asking the county for more money. But school districts in North Carolina do not have the power to levy taxes. Instead, they rely on a mix of federal, state and local county funding to support their operations.

“I know we’ll hear the gnashing of teeth, and all of that, but I’m sure they’ll be able to find a way so that we can fund this for them,” commissioner Trevor Fuller said. “Look, we’re paying for it. It’s not like we’re not paying for it. And all we’re saying is we want to get what we’re paying for.”

Historically, roughly one-third of CMS’s budget comes from the county, while the state provides much of the remainder. Many of CMS’s high-profile initiatives, including a local supplement for teacher salaries, more teachers in low-income schools, and expanded support positions like counselors and therapists, are predominantly funded by the county.

Those positions would likely be the ones jeopardized, as school districts cannot budget to operate on a deficit, Dashew said, and have limited flexibility to move state funding to fill those gaps. The withholding of $11 million means CMS must enter the upcoming fiscal year as if those funds are not available, leading to likely cuts in an attempt to balance the budget.

Earlier this year, the county told CMS to expect a flat budget allotment from the previous year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns. But CMS said that would mean effective cuts, as much of the nearly $37 million increase it asked for was for mandated changes like funding for charter school students.

Currently, the county plans to give the district an additional $26 million, with $11 million of that withheld via Dunlap’s motion. In total, the county’s proposed budget gives $527 million to CMS.

“For those of you thinking ‘easy, just cut the ‘bloated central office’’ you should know that 88% of CMS staff are school-based,” Sawyer said.