Did Peter Gorman Want This?

Or put it this way — does Pete Gorman plan to still be superintendent come the first day of school in 2012?

Anyone who knows anything about Charlotte could see last night’s outburst over school closings coming from a mile away. Did Pete see it coming or not? If he did not, I think Gorman’s days in Charlotte are numbered. A surprised superintendent would mean that Gorman really does not understand the forces he is trying to contend with in an era of shrinking resources. This not what he signed on to do — Gorman was brought in to pass bonds and build schools, not close them in the face of angry and upset people he will never be able to quell or spin away.

However. We know Pete is smart. He may have calculated that taking these lumps in the middle of the school year, right now, would not be the worst thing — especially if it staved off yo-yoing his beat down teachers around any more, in the middle of the school year. In this scenario, Gorman is hopping from lillypad to lillypad, hoping to land some place safe, buying time along the way — possibly until the property reval delivers a way for Mecklenburg County to boost education spending.

The alternative is that last night’s public unrest surfaced in front of shocked Gorman like a stealthy U-Boat and is training its deck gun on a sitting duck. If that is the case, I expect Gorman to surrender and start to wrap up his Charlotte tenure.