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CMS Board of Education and Mecklenburg County commissioners discuss money

By Dedrick Russell - bio l email

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Mecklenburg County commissioners and Charlotte - Mecklenburg school (CMS) board members sat down in one room on Tuesday to talk about finances.  During a tight economy elected leaders are trying to figure out the best way to handle taxpayer dollars.

CMS students may have to deal with overcrowded conditions a little while longer. The challenged economy has forced county leaders to rethink how they borrow money to build schools that cost millions and millions of dollars.

"We know we are cutting back," County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts said.  "We want to cut back with good knowledge from the school perspective and the county so we do it in a way that has the least impact."

The elected leaders believe this was a good meeting.  The leaders tossed out money-saving suggestions. They included bringing CMS and County government together to consolidate certain functions.

"I think it will help if we look at places where we can duplicate certain efforts," Roberts said.  "We might not be getting the biggest bang for the buck."

"We're already working together on real estate," CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman said.  "Our communications folks have been talking for about a month now, we keep looking and talking to see if we can consolidate."

The main concern is CMS' budget. Commissioners are anxious to tackle it. They have already warned school leaders times are tough and the money is dwindling.

"It's going to be critical," CMS Board Chairperson Molly Griffin said.  "We know there is not enough money to go around. That's why we have to be strategic in our cuts so we can continue progress on student achievement."

CMS is scheduled to approve its budget in May. After that school board members and county commissioners will meet again to talk about how to manage your tax dollars.