Free lunch fraud debate still going strong

The perennial debate over fraud in the free- and reduced-priced lunch program flared once again at last night's Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board meeting. Board members have been discussing the issue for years. Back in 2008, they moved towards auditing a random sampling of applications for the federally subsidized lunch program to see how many families were cheating. But they dropped that idea after being told some $34 million in lunch subsidies could be taken away if they didn't follow federal rules stipulating that they "may do no more" than the checks prescribed by Washington. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture tells school systems to check 3 percent of applications filed by families whose yearly income falls within $100 of the cutoff levels for aid).

Anyway, the debate popped up again last night after Cindy Hobbs, head of CMS' child nutrition program, briefed the board on the latest audit results, which showed 236 applications had been checked, and 66 didn't supply verification documents matching the income reported on the application. In another 36 cases, the families didn't respond. Board members Rhonda Lennon, Kaye McGarry and Tim Morgan said if potentially 43 percent of those applications had flaws, there must be thousands of similar cases of ineligible students receiving subsidized lunches. By Morgan's math, about 11,000.

All of which prompted the same round of debate that's been going on for years on the school board. Coach Joe White, Richard McElrath and others suggested there's probably no way to find out how many people are cheating, so just feed the kids. Lennon took offense, stressing that she wasn't suggesting letting kids go hungry. She said her main concern is the fact that CMS uses the free-lunch figures to determine lots of other things, including who gets exemptions from Advanced Placement test fees and sports fees, and figuring how many additional teachers to assign schools. That prompted Superintendent Peter Gorman to repeat what he always says: the free-lunch figures, whatever their flaws, are the best tool CMS has for predicting which students will struggle and need extra help.

Lennon was undeterred.

"You're going to hear way more about this from me," she said. "That's not a threat. That's a promise."

Influential senator thinks CMS is hoarding money

During a meeting this morning with editors and reporters at the Observer, N.C. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bob Rucho offered an eye-opening observation about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. CMS, the Matthews Republican proclaimed, is "sitting on" $26 million in federal stimulus money. If the district has such a dire budget problem, he said, why aren't CMS leaders spending the money?

School board members, who have said they intend to press for more money out of Raleigh to help overcome a $100 million budget shortfall, might want to get on the phone with Rucho. CMS has made no secret of the fact that it received $25.7 million in stimulus money in August, then decided to save most of it till this year's budget process to help offset an anticipated $66 million drop in federal support, due largely to the stimulus program's disappearance. Superintendent Peter Gorman and School Board Chair Eric Davis say as much in an open letter to the public on the very first page of the school system's official 2010-11 budget document. And the 2011-12 budget Gorman unveiled last month outlines plans to spend the money this year.

Those messages apparently haven't made it to Rucho. Asked who told him CMS was hoarding stimulus money, he cited "private" sources out of Raleigh.

More on CMS testing

The testing frenzy in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is winding down, though state-ordered retests for those who fail state exams will drag things out.

CMS officials will soon be crunching results from the 52 new end-of-year exams the district created for everything from kindergarten science to high-school calculus. Each school will get a report on how its kids fared, says Chris Cobitz, the CMS official in charge of the tests. By identifying where kids soared and where they floundered, CMS hopes schools can refine teaching tactics to help students learn more.

Individual students will not get results, with one exception: The tests that CMS designed for Advanced Placement classes can be used in place of a teacher's final exam for grading, Cobitz says. The AP exams given by The College Board aren't used toward grades because the results aren't available in time.

Cobitz said CMS hasn't yet decided whether to report results for individual teachers. As you may recall, the push to generate "value-added" ratings of teacher effectiveness is driving development of the new tests. This year, Cobitz says, principals are under orders not to use the new exams to evaluate teachers.

We also talked about the test-security issues that are creating a buzz. Cobitz says the state and district codes of ethics specify that teachers can lose their jobs and licenses if they disclose "secure information" from tests. That definitely includes revealing a question, whether that's in an online post, an email or a conversation in the grocery store, Cobitz said.

When there's an allegation that someone has breached test security, CMS investigates and, if a state exam is involved, makes a report to state officials. Cobitz said he's done one investigation in connection with the new CMS exams and concluded there was no violation.

Cobitz says teachers who think questions are flawed should discuss their concerns with the school test coordinator, who can relay it to him. They're not supposed to put specifics into an email because emails may be subject to public disclosure. Once specific questions are public, they're no longer considered valid.

Some people have urged me to get a copy of "the test" and print it in the Observer. While Cobitz let me look at the early versions of the K-2 tests, he's not about to hand them over for publication, for the reason just cited. And if he did, publication wouldn't be practical; there's not one test but a mountain of them. The various versions of the K-2 test alone created a phone-book sized stack.

So, will CMS work out the kinks and create a testing system that makes sense to families and faculty? That remains to be seen.
p.s. I'm going on vacation next week. The timing coincides with the departure of some Observer employees (no reporters) because of our own "reduction in force," but it's just that -- a coincidence. Like it or not, I'll be back soon!

A laid-off CMS employee speaks out

We get lots of e-mail from readers on our stories. Some want more information, or want to offer it. Others want to take issue with something we've written. But often, people just want to express how they're feeling. With so much discussion and debate brewing over teacher layoffs and possible property tax increases, I thought I'd pass along this e-mail below, from one of the 739 CMS employees notified last week that their jobs are gone. The writer didn't want to be identified, but this seemed to give a glimpse of the emotions those folks are feeling:

"I just finished reading your article about teacher layoffs, in particular, media specialists, and I feel the need to inform you of my own current layoff within CMS. I am a licensed school psychologist as well as a provisionally licensed school counselor who has just recently been given my non-renewal packet for employment. In other words, I am out of a job.
What's even more devastating is I was informed last January that I would need to return to graduate school to complete the Master's in School Counseling in order to remain employed within CMS. Not only would I take a pay cut, I was expected to pay for graduate school on my own, which is currently up to $8,000. Since January 2010, I have completed 9 semester hours through Lenoir-Rhyne University with a 4.0 and somehow find myself unemployed starting the next school year. How can someone overly qualified for the position be out of a job? I would like to know. Not only are the budget cuts affecting teachers and media specialists but the main support staff for students, staff and parents the school provides. My list of responsibilities within the school are endless, from legal paperwork (504 plans, McKinney-Vento, Intervention Team and suicide risk protocols) to working with students both in whole classes, small groups and individuals. I regularly assist teachers with various academic and social/emotional needs of their students and provide a bridge for outside resources in the community for the entire school community. As mentioned earlier my roles and responsibilities are vast and to think they will be expected to be taken over by teachers is astounding. Teachers have enough on their plate between larger class sizes and the addition of these summative tests to be able to effectively meet all students' needs, especially the social-emotional needs that help to develop the whole child. Our district is in a crisis and all the necessary supports for our students to help develop the leaders of tomorrow are disappearing. The community needs to realize, this is much bigger than they know.
Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,
A concerned professional

What do you think about CMS' budget dilemma, and what's happening with employees like this one?

How many teachers would $26 million save?

County Manager Harry Jones' newly unveiled budget proposal is good news for CMS, even if it's not everything they asked for. It's not the final word, of course. The commissioners get that. But if they stick to Jones' script, CMS will get $26 million more than last year, which school board chair Eric Davis calls a welcome step in the right direction toward closing the school system's $100 million budget shortfall.

So, what exactly would CMS do with the additional $26 million? The school board has long said it would follow the four tiers of reductions outlined in Superintendent Peter Gorman's budget plan. (Some commissioners and a few school board members have questioned whether the board will truly stick to that plan). Be that as it may, the general expectation seems to be that they'll follow the tiers.

According to the tiers, $26 million would allow CMS to add back 260 teaching positions in grades 4-12 (cost: $15.4 million). Gorman has said CMS needs $10 million from the county to cover next year's projected student enrollment growth and sustaining current operations. That ostensibly would need to be handled even before you get to the tiers. So, as best as I can tell, those two items would pretty much consume the $26 million.

Falling just short of restoration would be the next priority item -- 146 teaching positions allocated under the "weighted student staffing" formula that assigns additional teachers to help low-income students. And just beyond that in the tiers would be 164 positions that include media specialists, guidance counselors and academic and literacy facilitators.

School board member Joe White told me yesterday that he's hoping the state will follow the county's example and give CMS more money. Like other school advocates around the state, he wants the General Assembly to extend the one-cent temporary sales tax. Republicans have said they want to end it, and the House version of the budget does so. With the Senate working feverishly toward finalizing its version of the budget, the true size of CMS' budget hole -- and the fate of hundreds of educators' jobs -- is slowly coming into focus.

CMS testing: Shhh ....

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher passes along this story about administering one of the new CMS exams to a first-grader. The new tests require the teachers to read questions aloud and record the children's answers.

Teacher: "Name a place where you might find ... (type of landform)."


Student: "Name a place?"

Teacher: "Yes. Name a place where you might find...."

Student: "Name it?"

Teacher: "Yes."

Student: "Uh...I would name it...Brianna."

It's a cute story, and you might wonder why I'm not naming the teacher who shared it -- or for that matter, why the question itself is related in such a vague manner.

If you're a teacher or parent who's been involved in the new testing, you know the answer: Testing security.

And it's no laughing matter. "The team of teachers and assistants who are administrating the test were informed that any information that is leaked to the outside would result in the loss of our teaching licenses," one teacher wrote.
Here's the dilemma: CMS has created 52 new tests (with more to come next year) as part of its quest to size up teacher effectiveness. With the stakes so high, officials don't want the questions circulating, for fear some teachers could prep kids on specific items.

But a significant number of educators and parents say the tests are deeply flawed, if not worthless. It's important for the public -- and the taxpayers footing the bill for new exams -- to know if they're right. So ... how do we have a good discussion about the validity of the tests if the tests are secret? And how do teachers weigh in if they're afraid they'll be accused of unethical conduct and potentially lose their jobs?

If you have first-hand knowledge of how this is playing out in schools, let me know. And I'll try to find out more about how CMS plans to rebuild confidence and answer questions as the district moves ahead with a testing/performance pay plan that even the biggest boosters say has hit a rocky stretch.

What's "urban"?

Talk about The Broad Prize for Urban Education always sparks questions about what they mean by "urban," and what kind of students can get scholarships from the Broad Foundation.

Some people say Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools shouldn't be labeled an urban district because it includes majority white, low-poverty suburban schools. And I did a double-take when Gwinnett County Schools landed last year's prize; I've always thought of Gwinnett as an Atlanta suburb.

After mulling some of those questions, the foundation redefined its eligibility standards this year, narrowing the field from 100 to 75. Spokeswoman Erica Lepping said even some of the past nominees have been taken aback by the "urban" label. The new requirements are based on size and demographics -- generally, at least 40 percent nonwhite and at least 40 percent who qualify for lunch subsidies. CMS is plenty big enough, 67 percent nonwhite and has a 53 percent poverty level.

Districts that make the finalist list, as CMS has three times, win significant scholarship money. I've heard rumblings that those scholarships are limited to low-income or minority students, or to those who attend "urban" schools. The student eligibility guidelines online don't say anything about the student's race or school demographics; it does specify financial need, as many scholarships do. The 13 who won scholarships Wednesday included white students, as well as four from the majority-white Myers Park High, which has relatively low poverty levels but includes a significant number of disadvantaged students.

CMS will find out Sept. 20 whether the third time's the charm. This time around, the big prize has shrunk a bit -- reduced, Lepping says, because philanthropist Eli Broad wants to make sure the endowment of around $40 million lasts longer. In 2010, Gwinett claimed $1 million in scholarships, while the finalists got $250,000 each. The foundation still touts the "$1 million Broad Prize," but now that's the total for the winner ($550,000) and three finalists ($150,000 each).