CMS fights back against new Mecklenburg County budget, launches legal process for funds
Mecklenburg County leaders adopted a $2 billion budget for the next fiscal year Tuesday, vowing to overcome racial disparities and gaps in college readiness at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools by withholding millions of dollars from the district.
A little over an hour later, the controversial move over education funding triggered a legal showdown between commissioners and the school board, the latest in a long-running squabble that has played out in heated press conferences and budget talks.
County commissioners believe that putting $56 million into conditional funding is crucial to spur CMS leaders into action and produce a strategic plan, rooted in tangible goals and metrics, to remedy failing schools largely attended by Black and brown students. The money represents about 11% of the county’s nearly $532 million appropriation to CMS.
Commissioners approved the full county budget in a 7-2 vote. Commissioners Susan Rodriguez-McDowell and Laura Meier, who tried to remove the conditional funding for CMS, voted against the budget.
School board leaders say county commissioners’ tactic is self-defeating, that they’re overstepping their legal authority and could ultimately harm the very students they aim to help. CMS Board Chair Elyse Dashew said the district already has a strategic plan, which Mecklenburg has seen “many times.”
After the commissioners’ vote, CMS initiated what’s known as the dispute resolution process, which calls for the two boards to meet within seven days.
If they can’t reach an agreement, a mediation process will follow, CMS officials said. If that doesn’t work, Mecklenburg would need to provide funding based on a formula outlined in a state statute.
“We are dismayed that this funding dispute has reached the point where we must seek statutory resolution — but we will not stand by while the County impedes our efforts to educate students,” Dashew said in a statement Tuesday.
“Our students would be better served if our two boards could collaborate as good-faith partners — respectfully, truthfully and strategically, each in accordance with the roles assigned to us by statute. We hope this sort of relationship will be possible in our future. The stakes could not be higher.”
CMS funding has garnered the most scrutiny during the county’s budget deliberations last month.
But in fiscal year 2022, Mecklenburg leaders have also renewed their commitment to county services, local nonprofits, and arts and culture groups — without raising taxes.
Under County Manager Dena Diorio’s proposal, the property tax will stay at 61.69 cents for $100 of assessed value. The budget grew by 5.5% — $105 million — compared to the current year.
CMS funding clash
After the budget adoption Tuesday night, a district spokesperson said Superintendent Earnest Winston was “unavailable for comment.”
Diorio has said the conditional funding won’t impact classroom operations. But CMS leaders say the funding mechanism will hamper teacher pay raises and “indisputably harm students, teachers and schools.”
School board member Thelma Byers-Bailey said many students already are struggling under the pressures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and months of virtual learning.
“Cutting funds for political reasons is unacceptable under any circumstances,” Byers-Bailey said in a statement. “But it is particularly offensive now. We know that many of our students lost ground when we had to shift to remote learning. It makes no sense to hold back money that is needed to support students.”
Rodriguez-McDowell said Mecklenburg missed its opportunity to partner with CMS and find a viable solution for overcoming academic achievement gaps.
“The shame of this whole fiasco is that we could be doing so much better...”Rodriguez-McDowell said, reading prepared remarks at the end of commissioners meeting. “Sign me up for the part where we start to work with other elected bodies to bring real efforts on behalf of the children.”
The county budget gives CMS a “modest increase” of $6.1 million in the new budget, according to Diorio. That’s earmarked for school maintenance costs and more mental health professionals.
Budget breakdown
The overall budget is rooted in racial equity and investments in marginalized communities — reflecting a key focus among county commissioners, who have grappled with the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black and brown residents.
In one new program, for example, commissioners allocated $600,000 to help eliminate overdue book fines at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. That will restore library privileges for about 40,000 residents, many of whom live in Mecklenburg’s crescent, home to high-poverty, under-served neighborhoods.
The county’s six budget priorities in fiscal year 2022, totaling more than $40 million in new funding, are affordable housing, educational achievement gaps, environmental leadership, Meck Pre-K, workforce development and reducing racial disparities.
Some highlights from the county’s budget book include:
▪ $7 million for a rental subsidy plan.
▪ $2.5 million to support a new Salvation Army site.
▪ $20 million for acquiring more park, greenway and nature preserve land.
▪ An extra $2 million to Meck Pre-K to add 16 classrooms.
▪ $884,000 to support apprenticeship and college scholarships for low-income high school seniors.
▪ $5 million to improve parks in under-served communities.
▪ $753,000 to improve recruitment for school health nurses.
▪ $2 million to support creating a behavioral health urgent care center in Mecklenburg.
▪ $25 million for county employee compensation adjustments, including at least a 3% raise for all employees.
Diorio also proposed allocating $2.1 million to the Arts and Science Council, with almost $700,000 in new funding. It’s a sharp contrast to the Charlotte City Council, which is solidifying plans to give millions of dollars instead to the Foundation For the Carolinas to dole out grants for arts and culture groups.
Observer reporter Devna Bose contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 7:21 PM.