Charlotte schools to require COVID tests for unvaccinated staff + BofA leadership switch-ups

Good afternoon, folks. Kristen here. In case you missed this story last night from the Observer’s Alison Kuznitz, Charlotte could be getting a major international art exhibition in 2023. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County officials may jointly commit to a total of $500,000 to bring “Picasso Landscapes: Out of Bounds” here. At a City Council meeting Monday evening, City Manager Marcus Jones said he and County Manager Dena Diorio are excited about their potential collaboration and will share more information soon. Learn more here.

Let’s talk about today’s news:

1. Charlotte schools to require COVID tests for unvaccinated staff

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teachers will soon be asked to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or agree to be tested regularly.

Beginning the week of Sept. 20, CMS teachers and staff will be asked to provide documentation of their vaccination status. Vaccinated staff must upload pictures of their vaccine card. Testing of unvaccinated staff will be mandatory.

Students who have COVID symptoms or want to reduce time spent in quarantine can opt in to be tested. That round of testing is expected to be launched in October.

“This testing aligns with recommendations from Mecklenburg County Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,” CMS school board member Carol Sawyer wrote on her Facebook page Tuesday night.

Learn more about the new guidelines with the Observer’s Anna Maria Della Costa.

Related reading from the N&O: School board meetings across NC have become heated battlegrounds over masks. Here’s why, with T. Keung Hui.

2. Bank of America shakes up senior leadership — with two big changes for Charlotte

Bank of America shook up its senior leadership recently. The changes include adding five new members, naming a new CFO and shifts in the roles of two prominent local Charlotte figures.

As the Observer’s Hannah Lang reports, the changes bring a new bunch of potential leaders at the bank to the forefront.

Here’s a breakdown of the changes, as outlined in CEO Brian Moynihan’s memo:

• Cathy Bessant, the bank’s Charlotte-based chief technology and operations officer for more than 12 years, will move to Paris to serve as vice chair of global strategy. It was not immediately known when.
• Bessant’s role will be split between technology and operations with two new executives.
• Aditya Bhasin, who has worked for Bank of America since 2004, will take on the role of chief technology and information officer. Tom Scrivener is the new chief operations executive.
• Andrea Smith, the bank’s chief administrative officer, will retire at the end of the year.
• Paul Donofrio, Chief Financial Officer since 2015, will step down to oversee sustainable finance for BofA.

“It will continue to be my privilege to serve with (the leadership team) as CEO as we drive responsible growth through its second decade,” Moynihan said in the release announcing the changes.

3. Is your rent going up in Charlotte? You’re not alone, data show

It’s more expensive to find an apartment in Charlotte now than it was a year ago, according to data from real estate research firm CoStar.

According to the data, rents across the 10-county metro area are up 16.7% year-over-year from last September, with an average rent of $1,430 per month.

How was the data interpreted?

• The analysis uses rents offered to new tenants — not renewals for current residents — for buildings with five or more units, like apartment complexes and other multi-family housing.
• The data includes units of many different sizes and bedroom numbers.

Where in the area are rents increasing the most, and why? The Observer’s Lauren Lindstrom has answers for you here.

4. Amazon is hiring more than 3,500 in region, offering bonuses

Amazon is hiring more than 3,500 people in the Charlotte region as the company adds new facilities. Pay starts at $15 an hour plus benefits for full-time employees, including career programs and training.

The company is also offering sign-on bonuses of up to $1,000 at some Charlotte locations, as reported by the Observer’s Catherine Muccigrosso.

Full-time and part-time employees are sought in logistics as the company expands in Charlotte, the company said in a news release Tuesday.

In April, Amazon said it plans to open a fulfillment center in Pineville and two delivery stations at Beam Road and Old Statesville Road in Charlotte.

5. Charlotte affordable housing fund may support for-sale homes

Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund has historically been used to build new affordable apartments. But now, Charlotte leaders will consider directing those funds to building affordable houses for families otherwise priced out of owning homes.

In recent years, city leaders have pushed for a broader use of the fund to include buying and preserving “naturally occurring affordable housing, or NOAH units, and for-sale housing, the Observer’s Lauren Lindstrom reports.

The developments presented to the council Monday night contain five new apartment complexes, two NOAH properties, and two developments of for-sale housing — 879 units in total, including 226 priced for households earning up to 30% of the area median income, or up to $25,250 for a family of four.

What’s next? The referendum, when there will be a vote on the city borrowing funds against tax revenue, is scheduled for the November 2022 election.

---

That’s all for today, folks. If you don’t already, subscribe to The Charlotte Observer here. If you’re already a subscriber (thanks!), download our iOS or Android app to get connected.

Stay updated with us at charlotteobserver.com, and follow along on Twitter and Instagram to see more from us. Thanks for reading!

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up here.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 3:53 PM.