Gorman Cranks Up Doomsday Machine
And right on cue, Commissioners Chairman Jennifer Roberts floats warnings about how it might be impossible to avoid a tax increase as part of the reval process, given the dramatic cuts looming for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
And now along comes Mayor Anthony Foxx, with a crafty piece of politicking that pitches a plan having the city trim its tax rate to stay revenue neutral, easing the sting of any possible county hike with proceeds flowing to save education. Never mind that – well, what do you know – city council just happens to be up for reelection this year and a nice tax cut on the city side of the ledger would look pretty sweet on campaign pushcards, even though any actual tax benefit would be swallowed whole by the county. Brilliant – and all for the children, of course.
Superintendent Peter Gorman triggered the avalanche of tax-hike talk earlier this week with plans to roll out proposals next week for cutting upwards of $100 million from the CMS budget.
While scarce on specifics, Gorman has previously told the school board that decisions need to be reached early on possible cuts for time-sensitive proposals like busing (possibly eliminating transportation for students who attend magnet schools) and classroom adjustments (changing the district’s so-called weighted student staffing formula, which funnels additional resources to high-poverty, low-performing schools).
Providing more fuel to the fire in preparation for teacher layoffs (or tax hikes – take your pick; there apparently isn’t any other choice), CMS this week released new figures on per-student funding, which show what anybody who has been paying attention already knew: CMS is spending more money to educate kids at high-poverty, low-performing schools.
Some quick examples from the per-student funding range highlight the disparity: Thomasboro Elementary, $10,393 – Ballantyne Elementary, $4,406; Lincoln Heights Elementary, $9,396 – Elon Park Elementary, $4,531; Sedgefield Middle, $8,377 – Community House Middle, $4,014; J.T. Williams Middle, $7,844 – Ridge Road Middle, $4,427; Hopewell High, $4,538 – Midwood High, $10,086; Mallard Creek High, $4,595 – Harding High, $6,216.
Take away that enhanced funding from high-poverty schools, the argument goes, and you hurt the kids worst who can least afford it and need the most help. Unless, of course, a tax hike can save the day.
School Board member Trent Merchant advises folks to review the per-student funding information and “use it as a template to ask more questions and not use it as ammunition.”
Nope, that’s the job of our $300,000-a-year superintendent and his $73,000-a-year speechwriter, as they prep the public for massive budget cuts that will hurt children. Without a tax hike, that is.
It’s nonsense, of course, which I suspect Gorman, Roberts and Foxx already know. There is no tax hike that can save education – or libraries and parks, for that matter – at this point. We cannot tax our way out of the hole that has been created; it is simply too deep, a sinkhole filled with trinkets of whitewater parks, Taj Mahal schools, administrative outposts for educrats, arenas, and racing museums.
Only with a fundamental shift to shrink government at all levels can we begin a climb out of that hole. Unfortunately, it’s much easier and expedient to simply reach further into the taxpayers’ pockets, claim it’s for the children, and keep digging.
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