Save Mecklenburg County Teachers
- by: MeckFUTURE
- recipient: Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners
CMS plans to cut nearly 1000 teacher and staff positions in an effort to bridge the $100 million dollar budget reduction from the state. The reduction from the state may be even more than projected. North Carolina's per pupil spending is already 42nd in the nation and these new cuts forces the schools to cut in areas that have a direct impact on student achievement. Fewer teachers will be combined with larger classes: an increase of 2 students per class in grades 4 - 12. Superintendent Peter Gorman admits that these changes "... are going to detrimentally impact that lives of our students."
We can ease the impact, however, by using the recent property revaluation to generate additional income on the County level. At MeckFUTURE we are urging County Commissioners to listen to voters who say that education should come first and increase the portion of the county budget that goes to CMS.
As voters in Mecklenburg County, we are deeply concerned about the funding of our public schools. Our children have already lost teachers, support staff, and resources. If CMS must make an additional $100 million worth of cuts, our schools will be devastated. We strongly support maintaining the current tax rate and allocating the additional revenue to CMS for the following reasons:
1. More than 133,600 children attend CMS schools. They cannot wait for economic recovery to deliver them a better education. They need their community to sacrifice and invest in their education NOW.
2. The number one concern of businesses and families that are considering opportunities in Charlotte is how good the public education system is. Without high quality public education, Charlotte cannot hope to entice businesses to expand or establish their presence here and our area's economic growth will suffer.
3. According to Education Week, North Carolina now ranks 49th in the nation in per pupil spending.
4. Investing in children benefits ALL taxpayers. High quality public schools increase property values, create a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, and reduce the long-term costs of crime and health care.
5. According to Superintendent Peter Gorman and Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis, an additional $55 million in revenue from the county would save over 900 teachers, teaching assistants, and educational support positions.
We call on you, as our elected representative, to provide additional stable revenues to invest in children and in Mecklenburg County's future. We urge you to support maintaining the current tax rate and allocating the additional revenue from the property revaluation to CMS.
We really can't race to the top in education if we sink to the bottom in our investment in children.
Thank you for your support.
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