DSS money misspent, receipts altered

Auditors found numerous problems with a Christmas charity run by the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.

The now-defunct Giving Tree program collected gifts and donations for children in the county's foster care system

The Giving Tree audit, which triggered an agency-wide probe, found:

- No receipts for a $10,000 check made out to an employee.
- For the remaining $152,289 disbursed, $138,978 in receipt copies were provided.
- Of those 840 receipts, 799 had problems, including:
- Parts of receipts whited out, or omitted in photocopying.
- Altered dates.
- Gift card misuse.
- Multiple submissions of altered receipts.

Click here to read the Giving Tree audit.

- Doug Miller

Jones: E-mails, blogs changed my job

Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones says he is no longer the main source of information for county commissioners on his board.

Today, the barrage of emails and blogs sent to commissioners raises new challenges "in terms of keeping up with the information board members have to make decisions," Jones wrote in column published Sunday in the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record.

Click here to read the column.

He wrote: "In the 'old' days before e-mails, Blackberrys, and blogs (which was not that long ago), a county manager had what would now be considered a luxurious amount of time to research and communicate facts and recommendations to the elected body."

"In many cases, this would constitute almost the full extent of the information available to the governing group. In today’s world of instant access to information, elected officials often receive a barrage of data and opinions that may or may not be accurate or valid, but are, nonetheless, provided with the intent to influence decision-making."

A recent trend, he notes: board members who use laptops during meetings.

The computers are "green" because they save paper, he says, but commissioners send and receive email during discussions.

"In short, technology has expanded the partnership that once existed mostly between the board and its appointed manager to include anyone with an e-mail account or a cell phone," Jones wrote.

- Doug Miller

Gaston schools report big gains

Charlotte-Mecklenburg wasn't the only district celebrating test-score gains this week.

Gaston County school officials also reported preliminary results of elementary and middle-school exams.

Unlike CMS, they haven't yet reported high-school scores, and they didn't break out how much of their boost came from retesting. But like CMS, they saw big gains across the board:

Click here to read Gaston County Schools' summary of results.

Click here to see reading scores for all elementary and middle schools (Note: 2009 scores include results from students who passed on their second try, while 2008 results do not).

Click here to see math scores for all elementary and middle schools.

Click here to see science scores for fifth- and eighth-graders at all elementary and middle schools.

Click here to see how test scores break out by grade level.

- Ann Doss Helms

View school-by-school rest results from CMS

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools improved in nearly every category in this year's North Carolina tests, CMS officials announced Wednesday morning. Here are the full results provided by CMS.

No. 1 - Here's the presentation Superintendent Peter Gorman gave at today's news conference. He suggested using 2009 results without retests as a fair comparison with previous years, while the higher pass rates with retests will be used going forward:

Read Supt. Gorman's presentation

No. 2 - Here's the total pass rate for each high school on End-of-Course exams given at the end of 10 English, math, science and social studies classes. These results are comparable to previous years because there was no retesting. Marie G. Davis Military Academy was not open in 2007-08.

Read the EOC composite scores, for high schools

No. 3 - Here are results of each subject at CMS high schools, with results broken down by race, family income, students with disabilities (EC) and students with limited English proficiency (LEP). Students who qualify for lunch subsidies are considered economically disadvantaged. "lt6" means fewer than six students in a category took the exam; CMS does not report results for such small groups.

Read the EOC scores, by subject

No. 4 - Here's how each CMS elementary and middle school fared on reading and math, given in grades 3-8, and science exams, given only in grades 5 and 8, along with a composite pass rate for all three subjects. The 2009 proficiency rate -- the percent who scored at or above grade level -- includes results before and after the retesting.

Read the EOG rest results

- Ann Doss Helms

Papers: Feds doubted Black will ever talk

Testifying may be Jim Black's ticket out of prison, but he'd have to offer up more than he has before.

According to a court papers used in the former N.C. House Speaker's July 2007 sentencing, U.S. Attorney George Holding wrote, "The information provided by the defendant in these sessions did not substantially assist in the investigation or prosecution of others, nor it is likely to ripen into such assistance."

Click here to read the full memorandum.

Holding this week explained that under Black's plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a shorter sentence in exchange for "substantial assistance." He was responding to recent reports that more than 150 people have asked officials to commute Black's sentence or move him closer to home.

Black's scheduled release from a federal prison in Lewisburg, Pa. is in March 2012.

Here is how Holding assessed Black's contributions to prosecutors at the time:

"The defendant provided mostly what might be described as intelligence information about activities in state government. Much of what the defendant reported was already known to
investigators, from news accounts and other sources. Moreover, it is the Government’s assessment that the defendant was not completely forthcoming and truthful in the debriefing."

- Doug Miller/Jim Morrill

CMPD report: Chase thresholds vary

A new Charlotte-Mecklenburg report details how local police departments have different rules for when to pursue suspect vehicles.

The report, prepared for tonight's Charlotte City Council meeting, comes after Councilman Michael Barnes criticized Concord police for a May 22 pursuit.

The pursuit began as a simple shoplifting call but escalated after an officer saw the alleged thief climb into the back seat of a car full of people where a “violent assault” took place. It started in Concord, but resulted in a fatal collision in Charlotte between the suspect and another vehicle.

The CMPD report shows:

- Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and Mint Hill require a 'felony dangerous to life' as a condition to initiate a pursuit.

- Concord, the Union County Sheriff and the N.C. State Highway Patrol require that the suspect commit a felony.

- CMPD policy states that officers are authorized to engage and continue in a pursuit only when they have reasonable suspicion to believe the driver or occupant has committed or is attempting to commit a crime dangerous to life - or because of the potential for harm to the public.

Barnes requested an update on pursuit policies during a May 26 meeting. Click here to read the report.

Concord police Chief Merl Hamilton has said his officers acted properly in the high-speed chase.

- Doug Miller

Tonight's debate: Taxes for teachers?

The N.C. Legislature reconvenes at 7 p.m. , and Gov. Bev Perdue wants to raise taxes to protect classrooms.

Click here to read the latest budget proposals. Look under "News and Information" for a list of links related to the 2009 budget.

Topping the list of new items is a list of "budget conferees" who will iron out differences between the House and Senate spending plans.

Sen. Charlie Dannelly and Rep. Martha Alexander, both Mecklenburg Democrats, are among the co-chairs. Click on the links to email them.

Perdue is traveling the state, rallying educators and their supporters in support of raising taxes to protect classrooms. Judging by comments posted on the Observer's report on Perdue's Charlotte visit, people who support her and those who oppose a tax hike feel strongly about the matter.

- Ann Doss Helms