The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School board of education voted Feb. 12 to continue using the free and reduced-lunch program for resource allocation:
[The] board agreed to keep using poverty levels, as measured by eligibility for federal lunch subsidies, to award extra teachers and supplies to schools with disadvantaged students. Board member Kaye McGarry objected, saying those numbers ?have no integrity? and promote a culture equating poverty with failure.
A consultant who has spent several months studying CMS said it would be possible to craft a formula for middle and high schools based partly on the number of students who arrive performing below grade level. But that would consume staff time and confuse the public while making little difference in how the money is spent, said Jonathan Travers, director of the nonprofit Education Resource Strategies.
Seven board members agreed to stick with the poverty-based formula, at least for 2009-10.
Charlotte uses a 1.3 multiplier for every student enrolled in the F&R lunch program, meaning that schools get 30 percent more resources for each student compared with students not receiving the entitlement.
