Monday, October 8, 2012

CMS payment ends legal battle over 'touching'

The settlement released Monday between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and former teacher Jeffrey Leardini ends a legal battle over how the district handled a 2006 complaint that he had improperly touched students at Community House Middle School.

A jury awarded Leardini $1.1 million in February,  concluding that CMS misled him into a hasty resignation. The settlement reduces the amount CMS pays but also ends appeals,  which could have brought a new trial.

Read the settlement here.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

North Meck's Poole: Redo boundaries

Some residents of northern Mecklenburg County have been upset about high school boundaries since Hough High opened in Cornelius in 2010.  Jimmy Poole,  who retired as principal of North Mecklenburg High in 2005 and leads the North Meck alumni association,  has been a spokesperson for the view that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools damaged his former school by removing most of the white, middle-class and suburban students,  leaving North to serve northern Charlotte.

He recently wrote to Huntersville officials spelling out some of the consequences of the changes and suggesting boundary changes he hopes the school board will make. Read his letter here.