Interesting to see Davidson Mayor Rusty Knox weigh in on House Bill 514, which would allow suburban Charlotte cities to create their own charter schools:
“This has almost become a political poker chip with our kids,” said Knox, a CMS alum and parent. “We’re just not going to do that.”
…Knox disputed the notion that municipal charters are needed to cope with overcrowded CMS schools and neglect from the countywide school system. The town of Davidson also broke with its northern neighbors in supporting last year’s $922 million CMS bond referendum. While the towns of Huntersville and Cornelius and the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce opposed the plan, saying it had too little for the north part of the county, the package passed with strong countywide support.
It’s reasonable to assume Know agrees with CMS Chair Mary McCray, who said HB 514 is a “nightmare for taxpayers.” That might be the first time I’ve ever heard a school board chair utter those words. At any event, it would be difficult for Davidson to open its own charter school, given the MI Connection that serves Davidson and Mooresville is $80 million in debt and has an annual operating deficit of $6 million–which makes it one of the Dirty Dozen Broadband Boondoggles.