Which will it be?

Color me extremely skeptical that Mecklenburg County will be able to stick to its newly proscribed limits on issuing more debt.

County Commissioner Bill James detailed why in a dispatch to his email list. The planned reductions in debt offerings would be huge. Instead of $253m. for 2010 the number would be $100m. for 2010, and just $150m. for 2011. And what does this mean for Char-Meck schools? As James puts it:

If the money is allocated (limited) based on existing unsold bonds, CMS gets…………(drum roll)………..

  • $47.4 million for 2011 (they wanted $300 million)
  • $80.0 million for 2012 to 2014

CMS wanted $320 million a year or $3.2 billion over 10 years and to spend that much had planned on new bond referendums of $500 million every TWO years (2009, 2011, 2013, etc….). Those are scrapped indefinitely.

Now how do you imagine CMS and its apologists will react to that? Building new and upfitting old schools is a major component of CMS’ public pacification program. All the new stuff is supposed to distract parents and taxpayers from CMS’ chronic weak performance in far too many schools.

James also spells out what this situation puts into play. “This will require CMS to start over with their capital plan, close and consolidate inner-city low population schools and focus on the basics,” he writes.

Now how hard to do you think the forces of the status quo would fight that? I’d start with tooth-and-nail and progress through thermonuclear annihilation. Disagree? OK. And how hard do you think any entity in the county — say the local GOP establishment — will fight back? Wet noodle, feather pillow?

Tell me I’m wrong.