Eric Davis
The Buzz thinks Ballantyne parents must be extremely pleased with CMS schools in their area because there were about 75 people in attendance at The Ballantyne Breakfast Club meeting held last Saturday and half of those 75 were presenters and politicians!!As you guessed, the focus was on the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System.
Eric Davis, chair of the CMS Board, said his #1 goal is “Academic achievement of our students” and gave us his vision for evaluating teacher performance. He stated he wanted to elevate the value of teachers (yea!) and change theculture from a compliance organization to a performance driven organization. In the pastteacher pay has been based on seniority and how many scholastic degrees they have earned. Now, hisvision is to evaluate teachers on the following criteria:
1. The Boss’s opinion matters – principals’ feedback
2. Feedback of the teacher’s peers.
3. Perception of students and parents
4. Individual teacher’s drive ambition to achieve goals.
5. Students outcomes – how much are they growing under teacher’s guidance?
Furthermore the culture of the School Board is undergoing a change. Instead of going after each other; board members are discussing the issues. And when asked why Meckelnburg County seems unable to hold on to their superintendents, the response was the general public needs to more mindful of comments directed at the Superintendent. We run off our Superintendents by the constant attacks which wear them out. Something to definitely think about!
Tim Morgan
There was lots of other school-related issues discussed such as closing of schools, hiring 500 teachers and the future of technology in teaching students. Tim Morgan, district 6 school board representative and Scott Muri – Chief Information Officer of CMS were also in attendance.
The other presentation was made by Paul Stroup, CEO of the Mecklenburg County ABC Board. He shared some interesting facts:
Paul Stroup
1. The former Valentino’s on Independence Blvd.received the first alcohol license issued by the ABC Board and the old Epicurean received the second alcohol license.
2. The week-long CIAA tournamentincreasedalcohol sales to$3.2 Million versus the average $2 Million per week, resulting in $300,000 additional tax revenue dollars. Thank you, Tim Newman!
3. With $100 Million in revenue, Mecklenburg County is the largest in the state. The ABC Board has 103 full-time employees with 23 stores. $11.5 Million goes back to Meckleburg County.
4. The 5 member board is appointed by the Mecklenburg County Commissioners.
Ray Eschert
The Biggest announcementwas made by Ray Eschert, one of the founders of the Ballantyne Breakfast Club, regarding the Ballantyne Festival on Saturday, October 8th which will include the 3rd Annual Ballantyne Area Candidates Forum and Chili Cook-Off! This Buzzer is thinking she might be cooking up some chili! Stay-tuned!
