GOP statement on commissioner districts

Republican members of a citizens' committee created to help Mecklenburg commissioners reset county election lines issued a statement today explaining why they asked state lawmakers to step into the redistricting debate.

The statement was signed jointly by Bryan Holladay, Larry Shaheen, Lee Teague and Mike Walker. -- APRIL BETHEA

A Statement from the Republican members of the Ad Hoc County Commission Redistricting Committee:

After a great deal of soul-searching , the Republican members of the Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee decided to inform local members of the state delegation from the Matthews and Mint Hill of a proposed plan by Democrats on the committee that would severely harm the interests of those towns. A plan we feared would be railroaded through the County Commission.

The Democrats had proposed a plan that created a new, radically different District 6 that winds from Matthews and Mint Hill through central Charlotte then all the way over to South Blvd. The Republicans repeatedly asked for either an explanation or a revision to the plan. At our final meeting and after subsequent requests, neither was forthcoming. It became obvious there would be none.

Our primary concern centers around the impact on the southern towns. Dividing them between two separate districts and tying them to significant areas of Charlotte far from them would dilute their voice on the County Commission and potentially deny them their due from County services such as schools and parks.

Over the course of last week, it has become apparent from email discussions on the four plans agreed to be sent to the Commissioners for consideration that the Democrats real intention was to use their majority on the Committee and the Commission to influence the type of Republican elected from this district. Phrases such as “change for change’s sake” and “an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice” were bandied about. Their hope seems to be to see someone more to their liking at the expense of the southern towns.

We decided we had to take some action so we discussed the issue with the state House and Senate members from Matthews and Mint Hill. They shared our concerns. At their request, we combined the best aspects of all four plans into one fair, legal, and logical plan that minimizes the change from the current districts, produces compact districts that allow all for better interaction between commissioners and their constituents, meets all the guidelines from the County Commission, and keeps communities together. It is a good-faith effort to create six fair districts, not just three or four of them.

This plan has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Brawley with the support of Senators Rucho and Tucker. We applaud the actions of these representatives to protect the interests of the southern towns and the southern part of Mecklenburg County against the redistricting plan proposed by the Democrats.

Bryan Holladay
Larry Shaheen
Lee Teague
Mike Walker

CRVA: National search for new CEO

The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority will conduct a national search for a new chief executive in its plan to move current CEO Tim Newman to a new job overseeing business development, sales and marketing.

Click here to read the CRVA statement.

While the search is under way, "Tim will remain in his current position as chief executive," the statement says.

CRVA's goal is to finish the search by year's end.

- Doug Miller

CHS: county, not hospital, breached pact

Carolinas HealthCare System alleges that Mecklenburg County has failed to honor its longtime contract with the hospital authority by eliminating indigent care funding and reducing money for the health department in its 2011-12 budget without proper notice. It also said the county has improperly withheld money to CHS in recent weeks.

In court papers filed Thursday, the hospital system asked the courts to compel the county to honor the terms of its agreement with CHS "unless and until such time as the contract is properly terminated with appropriate notice." Or, Carolinas HealthCare said, the court could order the county to pay damages.

Read the suit by clicking here. The filing comes two days after Mecklenburg commissioners voted to end the county's contract with Carolinas HealthCare effective June 30, 2013.

The hospital authority also wants a court to declare the CHS has fulfilled its obligations under the contract.

In June, county commissioners approved a budget that cut a subsidy to CHS and Novant Health toward indigent care. The spending plan also cuts $500,000 from a contract the hospital system has to manage services at the county's health department.

In its suit, Carolinas HealthCare says the county has the right to make changes to its agreement, but can't without appropriate notice. The suit also states that the withholding of payments to the hospital "terminates certain aspects of the 2000 Joint Undertaking, without providing CHS appropriate notice."

The county has withheld payments to the hospital systems since early June when County Manager Harry Jones and other administrators said CHS was in breach of its agreement. The county says the hospital has not provided certain patient data and other information required under the contract. This week, the county also claimed the hospital hasn't conducted psychiatric evaluations for disabled adults served by the Department of Social Services.

The hospital has denied both allegations. It says it has worked diligently to provide required data and in accordance with state and federal law. -- APRIL BETHEA

Emails show Wachovia's lobbying on bailout

The U.S. Treasury recently provided the Observer with 17 pages of emails and other documents as part of a nearly three-year-old Freedom of Information Act request.

The documents show Wachovia's lobbying related to the bank bailout bill in September 2008 and other interactions with Treasury.

Click here to read the documents.

- Rick Rothacker

Projections soared during race for NASCAR Hall

Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority officials rejected early, more modest attendance projections for the NASCAR Hall of Fame as competition to host the facility intensified between Charlotte, Atlanta and Daytona.

"It is not clear what, if any, due diligence was conducted in support of these upward revisions," concluded a report released today from a consultant who studied the authority.

Click here to read the Pricewaterhouse Coopers report.

The report said it is possible that the hall's failure to hit its projected first-year attendance of 800,000 - 274,000 visited in its first year - resulted from the weak economy.

But the CRVA chief executive and its board of directors should have clearly identified the potential lack of supporting evidence for the projections at the tax-supported project, the report said.

- Doug Miller

CMS: Middle school sports are back

Here's the memo CMS officials sent to principals and board members today announcing that middle school sports won't vanish next year, as originally planned.

MEMORANDUM

TO:                 All Middle School Principals

                       

THRU:            Hugh Hattabaugh, Chief Operating Officer

                        Sue Doran, Interim Athletic Director

FROM:           LaTarzja Henry, Executive Director, Communications

DATE:            June 23, 2011

RE:                 Update on Middle School Athletics

ACTION:       Communicate middle school sports changes

Funding for middle school athletics was cut from the 2010-2011 budget. However, we were able to fund it in 2010-2011 using high school and middle school participation fees, a $1 surcharge on high school ticket sales and community donations. In the spring, it again appeared that middle school athletics would be eliminated because a portion of the participation fees in high schools were needed to pay for high school sports. This did not leave enough money to fully fund middle school sports.

Since then, the district has identified a way to fund selected middle school sports for the 2011-2012 school year. We will share our plans with the CMS community on Wednesday, June 29. The hybrid model offerings are:

o        Fall Season 2011:

§         Boys football

§         Girls cheerleading

§         Girls volleyball

o       Winter Season 2011-2012:

§         Boys basketball

§         Girls basketball

§         Girls cheerleading

o       Spring Season 2012:

§         Boys track & field

§         Girls track & field

These sports were selected based on high participation in recent years. They also meet Title IX requirements. For the 2011-2012 school year, softball, baseball, soccer and golf will not be offered. In order to ensure that principals and executive staff are informed, attached to this memo you will find:

• Frequently Asked Questions: Please share this document with your athletic directors.

• Sample Parent Letter from Principal: This letter may be tailored and distributed by principals to alert parents to the changes with back-to-school communications materials. Parents should not be informed of this change until the announcement is made on June 29.

• Sample ConnectED Message: Principals are responsible for sending a ConnectED message at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29. A sample ConnectED message is attached.

In addition, principals need to:

·        Hire athletic directors and coaches, who are generally 10-month teachers receiving stipends but may also be non-faculty members receiving stipends only

·        Update the school website no later than July 14 to list only the sports to be offered 

·        Send a ConnectED message to families at 7 p.m. on June 29

·        Include a parent letter detailing changes to athletics in back-to-school communications material

This information will be released to the public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29.

Thank you.

c:                      Executive staff

                         

CMS: Two weeks to transfer

The latest twist in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools job shakeup is a new chance for employees to seek available positions starting Friday. According to a memo sent today, openings will trickle out throughout June, as CMS figures out what jobs will survive in the 2011-12 budget. District leaders planned for about 1,500 jobs to be cut and notified hundreds of people that their jobs could disappear, but then restored many of them after county commissioners bumped up the budget last week.

Here's the update:

From: cmscommunications
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 11:07 AM
To: cmsmailall
Subject: Transfer Opportunities

As of Friday, June 17, CMS employees will have an opportunity to apply for new positions throughout the district when we begin to post available positions and accept applications.

This opportunity is different from earlier years. The application process is not a general transfer fair. There are new procedures for applying for a position, and we will share details about the procedures later this week. One important change: Not all available jobs will be posted at once. Some will be posted on Friday, and daily updates of the postings will follow.

As part of the posting process, employees will be given priority in application but not necessarily in hiring decisions. We will give employees the opportunity to apply first for these jobs, and then we will choose the strongest candidates to fill them.

The decision to begin posting jobs was made following the announcement that Mecklenburg County would give CMS $26 million more than the district originally expected. The $26 million will cover two items in Tier 4 of the proposed cuts, and will provide partial funding for a third item.

The $26 million will cover the funding needed to keep our weighted student staffing formula at the current level, and to keep class sizes at current levels. Those two items add up to about $24 million. The remaining $2 million will be applied toward the $11 million needed to avoid cutting one support position at each school.  

The status of funds to cover the proposed cuts in Bright Beginnings classes and teacher assistant positions has not been determined because we do not have the final state budget numbers. When we get that information,  we will share it.

The application process is scheduled to close on June 30. If you are interested in applying for a job in one of the postings, please be sure to check your  CMS email regularly throughout the rest of June for updates and more information.

Thank you.