Posted by Ruelz on 3/08/09

Our superintendent Doctor Gorman, and school board are
planning on eliminating more than a thousand jobs to meet
budget requirements. This is with classrooms already
stretched thin, and trimming the arts from middle/high
school is simply criminal. I am only a parent, with a
single voice, but I'm calling out to whomever will listen
and can help.

Losing more than half an elementary staff will be a major
shock to the school system, and schools that have been
traditionally high performance will no doubt drop
drastically. Whether you're reading this for political,
social, or humanitarian reasons, this action proposed by
Gorman and his "closed door meeting" on Tuesday will affect
EVERYONE in Charlotte Mecklenburg.

I've contacted him myself, as have hundreds of CMS employees
with budget saving ideas. Every idea has been rebuffed,
saying it "doesn't save enough", as though the school board
completely forgot how to add numbers together for a total
savings. The job cuts are literally the ONLY thing Gorman
and the board have advocated since the economic crisis
began. If you look at our history the last three months,
little to nothing has been done to creatively address these
issues without harming the people who have poured their
lives into the school.

While enforced furlough is against state law, I believe that
teachers would VOLUNTARILY take a day unpaid if it meant
saving the jobs of their colleagues. One day alone would
save more than 4 million!

Gorman refuses to negotiate with the state, taking the
budget cuts without putting up any kind of fight. For example:
More flexibility with the school year
Longer school day hours
Year round school
4 day weeks every other week
...and the aforementioned voluntary furlough.

These are concessions the state could make, since they're
demanding an almost 10% budget cut.

I know that legally there's not much teachers can do. But
please, help publicize the atrocities that are about to be
committed. If the public knew that they were going to lose
hundreds of teachers from schools, they would join a voice
to put pressure on the board to consider these other
alternatives! Forward this message to state rep Ruth
Samuelson. Ruth.Samuelson@ncleg.net
peter.gorman@cms.k12.nc.us
Rep. Sue Myrick: myrick@mail.house.gov

I appreciate your time in at least reading this, if nothing
else. They need all the support they can get from fellow
professionals.

--Ruelz

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