CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After weeks of feuding between leaders in Mecklenburg County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools over the potential restriction of millions of dollars from the school system’s budget, a prominent civil rights organization is now demanding accountability.
“Show us the money,” said Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte chapter of the NAACP.
County leaders have proposed withholding $56 Million from the CMS budget next year unless district leaders can prove what they are doing to improve equity and performance scores at underachieving schools.
“Transparency is important to me,” Mack said. “And the lack of transparency tells me there’s something amiss.”
Mack, who said she believes the county has been “complicit” in the neglect of many Black and brown students, is demanding a forensic audit of CMS expenditures over the last three years.
“I am calling for the Secretary of State to get involved, I am calling for the state legislators to get involved, I am calling for the FBI to get involved,” Mack said. “We’re talking about a billion dollars.”
The CMS Board of Education voted to approve a $1.7 billion budget for the 2021-2022 year.
Mecklenburg County contributes a portion of the school district’s budget.
County manager Dena Diorio, the chairman of the Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners George Dunlap, and other prominent leaders are proposing withholding $56 Million from the budget until the district produces proof of its plans to improve performance at 42 schools.
Data released by CMS this school year revealed a significant increase in failing grades for Black and Hispanic students. Data also showed 42 schools were on the “low-performing” list. Most of them are minority-majority schools.
“When you give someone almost a billion dollars for the purpose of ensuring that all students receive equitable education and we see the kinds of numbers that came out in 2020, it’s very disturbing,” Mack said.
Diorio said the restricted money primarily would be taken from the administrative budget and not impact classrooms. It would be released once they are confident there is a plan in place, she added.
CMS leadership strongly disagreed that the budget restriction would not impact classrooms.
A statement issued by the school system called the proposed restrictions “extremely problematic,” adding: “Funding reductions and holdbacks of this magnitude impact the classroom. Period.”
But Mack believes funding restrictions are necessary until CMS proves it is actively working toward equity at 42 underperforming schools.
She pointed to the crumbling conditions at the track Harding University High School, which is a predominantly Black school, and compared it to the “state-of-the-art” facilities at predominantly white schools.
A number of leaders on both boards have expressed concern over whether a budget restriction is prudent or appropriate, particularly on the heels of a pandemic year that set back thousands of students.
Leaders from CMS have accepted a meeting invitation from county leaders to discuss their concerns, according to Elyse Dashew, the president of the CMS board. That meeting is scheduled to be held Tuesday, Dashew said.
Mack is calling on parents and concerned community members to demonstrate outside of the Government Center Tuesday at 5 p.m
“We all have failed our children,” Mack said. “We all have; the entire community. Because there should have been some outcry and some outrage years ago.”
The Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners has scheduled special meetings on Wednesday, May 26 and Thursday, May 27 at 8 a.m. to vote on the budget.