When the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education two weeks ago pushed back a vote to cut $10.4 million from Bright Beginnings, board member Trent Merchant urged his colleagues to find a way to salvage the popular pre-kindergarten program by embracing the innovative work ethic of Walt Disney and letting their consciences, in the mode of Jiminy […]
After a week’s worth of squabbling about whether to vote on earmarking a $10 million special grant to help save the Bright Beginnings pre-kindergarten program, Mecklenburg commissioners on Tuesday night stepped up to the plate and resolutely deferred a decision until April. The move leaves the fate of Bright Beginnings in tenuous limbo, with the […]
Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you. Or in this case maybe to Bright Beginnings, which received a reprieve from the budget ax this week when the school board voted to delay a decision to cut $10.4 million from the popular pre-kindergarten program. At the same time, the board moved forward with […]
After a bruising budget year for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library that saw branch closings, reduced operating hours, and scores of layoffs, library chief Charles Brown is checking out after seven years at the helm. He announced his retirement this week, effective June 30 at the end of the fiscal year. Until then Brown will continue […]
Opponents of an ambitious renovation planned for Quail Corners shopping center in southeast Charlotte showed up ready for a food fight at Tuesday night’s city council zoning meeting. Crosland development wants to give its 30-year-old shopping center a multi-million-dollar facelift, but the plan hinges on an expansion to include a drive-thru fast-food restaurant that company […]
Superintendent Peter Gorman on Tuesday afternoon rolled out recommended cuts of about $100 million for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that include scuttling more than half of the district’s Bright Beginnings classes, eliminating more than 1,500 jobs, including hundreds of teachers and teachers assistants and school security staff, while increasing classroom sizes and lengthening the school day for […]
Faced with a multi-million-dollar budget deficit that has led to wholesale shuttering of public schools, pink-slipping hundreds of teachers, slashing funding for libraries and parks, cutting services for wounded and disabled Veterans, and reducing social services across the board, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners spent the bulk of its Tuesday night meeting approving a […]
When South Carolina’s General Assembly convenes its 119th Session on Jan. 11, 2010, legislators will have an opportunity to create the 10th state without a personal income tax. The soon to be introduced South Carolina FairTax Act eliminates the state’s 7% personal income tax (which most small businesses also pay), the 5% corporate income tax, […]
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education weaved through myriad twists and turns Tuesday night navigating its way through possible busing changes that might be lurking around the bend next year, as officials grapple with budget cuts projected to top $100 million. A preliminary roadmap that district officials rolled out included proposals that could cut nearly $19 […]
With the NASCAR Hall of Fame racing into the red and the chiefs of uptown booster groups making headlines for their exorbitant salaries, the Charlotte City Council on Monday night unanimously voted to review the city’s dealings with four of its so-called financial partners. The council’s budget committee is being tasked with the chore, but […]
