Saturday, December 18, 2010

Mayor's choice: Private school, public scorn?

Would you feel better this morning if you knew Charlotte’s mayor sent his child to public schools?

Anthony Foxx’s oldest child goes to Charlotte Country Day this year, and he’s not talking about why. But lots of others have been, including the man who used to have his job.

Earlier this month, former Mayor Pat McCrory blew on the public- vs. private-school embers a bit during a taping of the WCNC-TV news show “Flashpoint.” In a conversation about budget cuts at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, McCrory called for leaders to “step up and lead by example.”

“(They) are actually sending their kids to private schools...,” he said. “That’s why we have a difference in the economic status. That’s why we often have a difference in the racial status is because a lot of the leaders are not sticking with public schools.”

McCrory was careful to include business and community leaders in his poke, but the only people he identified were Foxx and Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon, who has two children at Charlotte Christian.

Let’s get something out of the way here: McCrory is childless. He’s never signed a report card or sweated a parent-teacher conference. So yes, the bolts are a bit loose on his parenting soapbox. But he’s not disqualified from speaking about how the current mayor’s choices are perceived.

McCrory, a Republican, spent seven terms cultivating what people think about Charlotte, and he’s right about CMS. The schools are facing a public crisis of confidence, and much of that crisis comes from a tangle of race and socioeconomics. The people who can help our schools are often the people who are fleeing from them – taking their children from public classrooms to private, leaving CMS as a majority minority district.

Foxx, a Democrat, knows this, too. He’s a West Charlotte High grad, and he’s spoken passionately about the importance of our public schools. What statement could be more powerful, McCrory and others wonder, than if he expressed confidence in those schools with his child’s presence?

McCrory hasn’t said, however, which public choice would be the right one for Foxx.

Would it be OK, symbolism-wise, if the mayor moved his family to a different school zone – perhaps farther south in Charlotte, as many parents have – so that his children could have an academically stronger or more stable public school path?

How about one of CMS’s magnets – or does that send a poor message about neighborhood schools?

Those aren’t the considerations parents ponder when we’re sitting at our kitchen tables with our spouses, looking at school profiles and statistics, trying to find the best fit for our son or daughter.

Maybe we want a school where teachers push a gifted child harder – or one with a nurturing environment for a child who struggles. Maybe it’s one that can nourish an artistic-minded boy or girl – or a school with a spiritual grounding that complements our household’s.

It’s difficult enough figuring out what’s best for our own family – let alone someone else’s – but surely we understand this: You don’t play politics with your children’s future.

Anthony Foxx has chosen not to. He’s also decided not to speak publicly on the topic, so we don’t know what considerations he’s needed to ponder at his kitchen table.

But he knows, as do we, that while symbolism can be powerful, it also has its limitations. Would you feel better about public schools if our mayor sent his child to one tomorrow morning? Probably not.

Because symbolism, sometimes, is the gap between what we wish and what we know, and Foxx’s choice is an acknowledgment of what the rest of us know about most private vs. public schools here. He’s just fortunate enough to do something about it.

That’s his duty as a parent, and we shouldn’t expect different from anyone, even if he happens to be mayor.

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's none of my business where anyone chooses to send their children to school- it's their right and their choice whether Republican or Democrat. This is nothing more than a "bash McCrory" piece.

Anonymous said...

Personally, if Foxx can afford to send his kids to a private school he should!

We all know CMS is a joke and is not about learning anymore, it is about catering to one race, and I am tired of kids being dummied down to suit that race!

School should be about learning and challenges, not making it easier for those who can't and won't try!

My child gets enough ebonics and "culture" (and I use that term very loosely because I don't consider the thug life culture) from TV, dang if they would be in CMS if I can afford private.

But I will say his sending his kids to private school DOES make a HUGE statement about the shape of CMS!

steve luquire said...

when it to his children the only title in front of anthony foxx's name is PARENT. and parent's it is the foxx's responsibility to make choices that they believe best for their children. end of conversation. no one else's business.

Anonymous said...

If I were a resident of Charlotte with children in CMS I think I would trust that the mayor was giving public education his all if his children attended a CMS school.

If elected officials avoid placing their own children into the very system they are entrusted to govern then it does raise questions whether the public system is a priority.

Anonymous said...

The issue is that Democrats like Fox and Cannon want to eliminate school choice from families less well off than they are. Same thing with Obama and Clinton. They talk about supporting public schools, but keep their kids far away.

Anonymous said...

Hey, we know the saying: Don't talk about it, be about it. I am pretty shocked that Mayor Foxx and Patrick Cannon aren't sending their children to public schools on several levels.

Anonymous said...

We know if the shoe had been on the other foot (the mayor being republican), the CO would have crucified the mayor already.

Anonymous said...

How dare he! The schools of the community he oversees as Mayor are not good enough for his child? As a fellow Democrat, I am outraged that he feels that CMS is below standards for his child but alright for the thousands of children of parents that voted for him to be in office. CMS is trying its best and what great support it receives from the leader of our city. Shameful.

Anonymous said...

It is widely known that while he was running for office he had his child in public school-a magnet, no less. Once elected, he decided to move her to a private school. So good enough to get him elected, not good enough once he is in office??

I understand that there are other factors that figure in to where your child goes to school, but what statement does that send? His daughter was doing very well at the school-for what it's worth.

wiley coyote said...

The problem isn't that Mayor Fixxit and Cannon send their kids to private school, as I would have sent mine there if I could afford it.

The difference is when Fixxit runs his mouth and gets involved with issues facing CMS or talks about how great they are, but decides to yank his kid out of the system.

At least Obama came out and had the guts to state DC schools weren't good enough for his kids.

The other issue is that both these gentlemen belong to Black caucuses and support the NAACP yet keep their mouths shut and don't stand up to the loudmouths with the very organization they support.

We all know the NAACP's attemp at filing complaints against CMS is for nothing else but trying to placate the base and get face time on TV.

Mecklenbug County is 62% White yet CMS is 33% White. CMS is 42% Black and 16% Hispanic so until Mayor Fixxit comes out and tells the NAACP to back off, McCrory's comments are spot on.

All the while, private schools in the area keep growing and growing.

Anonymous said...

I find it patronizing to the masses. What would ever happen in America if its leaders ever had to operate within the rules that the leadership sets for the people. Congressional leadership can bypass the TSA, for instance, at the airport. Foxx can talk passionately, but is never afffected by CMS's lousy teachers or administrators. And, out of the other side of their mouths, want to restrict the poor from getting a shot at vouchers. It's like Al Gore screaming about energy usage and global warming while globetrotting on huge jets and living in a 25,000 sf house. And, John Edwards, screaming about the poor while living in a mansion in Chapel Hill. You don't have to be a soldier to know about war, but once you've had to muck around with the homeless, CMS, the folks on a tight budget, you do learn how things work. But for now, it's do as I say, not do as I do. People's actions speak volumes more than their words. Foxx's actions say CMS sucks for those most important to him.

Anonymous said...

This whole issue goes back quite a ways. In the late 1990s/early 2000s during the court case over ending busing, Hugh McColl and several other civic leaders testified on the importance of "diverse" public schools. Of course, their children and grandchildren attended private schools. The Observer was particularly vehement about suburban parents being selfish for not wanting their children bused, yet its editor at the time, Jennie Buckner, sent her child to Country Day. Currently a local rabbi who is big on the diversity circuit has her children at Providence Day. I think most of us are pretty sick of all the hypocrisy. I believe Peter is right about not playing politics with your children--everyone has a right to send their children to where they believe they will have the best fit. And certainly don't try to tell everyone else that they should sacrifice their children's education for your political cause.

wiley coyote said...

Hey Anon?

We all know the makeup of City?County government.

The fact is, Mayor Fixxit has come out on several occasions and made statements regarding CMS and what is going on there.

Yes there is stupidity here.

Perhaps you should read this article by Tara Servatius in September regarding Mayor Fixxit and his involvement with CMS.

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/anthony_foxx_snubs_schools/Content?oid=1051708

Anonymous said...

I don't have a real strong opinion about mayor Fixx and private schools. It does kinda remind me of the great radical left wing columnist Tom Wicker who endorsed forced bussing for the masses while sending his own kids to private schools. Long bus rides for everyone else, but not for his. The way he put it, 'it causes me some intellectual discomfort, but I'm not about to sacrifice their education....' Ok to sacrifice everyone elses, but not his own. Typical left wing liberal hypocrit. Difference with Fixx is I don't get the feeling he's trying to destroy mine the way Wicker was. He just made a parental decision.

Anonymous said...

The ambivalence about this question is clear in all these comments; many of them argue one side then the other... the bottom line is, our children only have one chance at education. If you work really hard at making CMS a good fit for your family, and it doesn't work for you, you must do something else if you care about education for your children. Everyone should have choice, and we should all keep working for that choice, which is disappearing as we go back to "neighborhood" schools.

Anonymous said...

The obvious answer is to enact school choice via no-strings-attached vouchers or tax credits so that EVERY child has the same educational opportunity that the children of well-connected politicos like Foxx and Cannon have.

Anonymous said...

I am not a fan of Foxx, but one thing I will say is Foxx did at least go to a charlotte public school and rose to become mayor. all those poor minorities do have the lesson of "if you attend even a bad public school and study hard, you can one day be successful enough to send your child to a better school"....no, even that sounds hollow, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

with democrats it's 'do as I say, not as I do' ...

McCrory should be thrilled that the Mayor IS leading by example to get his children OUT of government screwls!!!

Anonymous said...

Fox can send his children wherever he wants. Politics or not, he has to act in their best interest. If I had kids and lived in Charlotte, I'd send them to private school too. The Observer is just trying to stir up trouble for McCrory in case he runs for office again.

Anonymous said...

Its not just a private school. Its a private WHITE school.

Hypocrisy to the maximum.

But lets not forget that Obama sends his 2 kids to a private WHITE school.

Why a private WHITE school?

Are they scared of the private BLACK schools?

Jim Laseter said...

We all have multiple roles --- worker, player, lover, and so on. In this case, Foxx's role is parent. End of discussion.

Anonymous said...

Symbolism,schmymbolism. The fact is that CMS is not good enough for anyone's kids unless they are at a predominantly white suburban school, and even that has its problems (namely overcrowding since every parent who can is trying to move to the north or south end of the district). Discipline problems, lack of funding, teachers that are hamstrung by NCLB -- these are just a few of the problems that plague CMS and cause parents to seek other school opportunities for their child. I am a product of CMS schools when they were integrated (i.e. before they ended busing and created a de facto re-segregation). I don't yet have children, but right now, I would do everything I could to find an alternative to CMS (and no, we can't afford private school).

pstonge said...

Good morning, all. Thanks for the comments so far. This is an issue people feel passionately about, but lets stay away from name calling or other nastiness.

Thanks...

Peter

Anonymous said...

Give him a break. There is no hypocrisy - he doesn't have the control over the classrooms. I give him credit for doing what he feels is right regardless of the political effect.

Anonymous said...

The fact of the matter is that if McCrory wants other's to lead by example then he ought to set the example by ADOPTING children if he's shooting blanks, put them in CMS; send them to a school that eventually gets shut down, have them bused from here to London in the name of diversity, fire/layoff the teachers that would educate our children, and have them be educated under compentent leaders on the school board along with Superintendent Gorman.

Futhermore, if McCrory who is only seeking glory (which backfired because "HE" opened "HIS" big mouth on a parental issue he knows nothing about), why doesn't he run for School Board or "finally" get a job by going after Gorman's spot to become Mecklenburg County's new Superintendent of Schools? Talking about the number's really going to hades if that happens. lol

And to the anonymous writer who thinks that anybody has to send there children to a private school that is either black or white in its makeup, when all that should be in order is a "quality education" for that child, is just as stupid, not ignorant, but as STUPID as McCrory. They must be kin.

Anonymous said...

It is no ones business where they send their child to school. Last I looked it was still a free country but I see people rising up and always wanting to take a person's freedom away because they may disagree.

As for these politicians leave their minor children alone!!!

Anonymous said...

This is such an old chestnut.

Of course Foxx wants the best for his kids, and Country Day is his and his wife's choice. His choice says volumes about the public schools which have been destroyed by politics, unions, PC, Fannie Flonoism etc, and his choice shows that like many liberals, Foxx doesn't believe all of his own rhetoric.

He is not going to sacrifice his kids on the altar of "diversity," oh no, he is putting his in CD, but you slobs out there, clinging to your religion and guns (quote is from another famous liberal phony), you must send your kids to inferior and dangerous schools to make numbers and assuage the guilt of the Swanns.

Anonymous said...

There are NO unions in CMS. NC doesn't allow teacher unions.

Pamela Grundy said...

Good morning, Peter

I am not a parent at Cotswold Elementary, where Anthony Foxx sent his daughter for kindergarten, but I have to challenge the assumptions you have made about that school. As you state, you do not know why Mayor Foxx moved his child. Yet you suggest that if he had moved out of the center city to the south, "his children could have an academically stronger or more stable school path." Later on, you state that "Foxx's choice is an acknowledgment of what the rest of us know about most private vs. public schools here." How vague and mealy-mouthed can you get? How much time have you spent at Cotswold? How much time have you spent at Country Day? I know people who have been at both, I haven't heard from any of them that Country Day is better academically (although it does seem to offer a somewhat softer cocoon). It is this unexamined attitude that private schools must be better than public that people who have never set foot in a public school in their lives (such as the current head of New York City Schools or Waiting for Superman's lame director) are using to wreck public education today. I recommend that you take a break from this column thing and get out and do some actual reporting.

Anonymous said...

Peter,

What do you think about making a call to Pat McCrory and ask him to list for you those in the private sector of the business community who the leaders are that send or have sent their children to private school and what schools they are in?

I also would like for you to ask him if he also thinks that the public sector should not engage with the private sector when they come to the city to ask for money. Also, ask if parents that are so-called leaders in the business community and in governing, if they should not send "their" children to private colleges as well.

Thanks for your consideration.

Those private colleges in NC would include:
Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Bennett College, Brevard College, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, Campbell University, CATAWBA COLLEGE (WHERE McCRORY WENT TO SCHOOL), Chowan University, DAVIDSON COLLEGE (WHERE I UNDERSTAND HIS NEPHEW WENT and FOXX), Duke University, Elon University, Gardner-Webb University, Greensboro College, Guilford College, High Point University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lees-McRae College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Livingstone College, Louisburg College, Mars Hill College, Meredith College, Methodist University, Montreat College, Mount Olive College, NC Wesleyan College, Peace College, Pfeiffer University, Queens University of Charlotte, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Saint Augustine's College, Salem College, Shaw University, Wake Forest University, Warren Wilson College, and Wingate University.

I bet he would have a political answer for all of it. How can anyone can believe anything this guy says is beyond me.

Anonymous said...

I didn't vote for Foxx but it is a personal decision for his family to make. Since when is it anyone else's business if someone decides to spend the money on a better education for their child? We should give him, Cannon, and Dulin awards for saying what we already know---CMS stinks no matter what Czar Peter and his "lauded urban school district" crowd might say. Celebrate mediocrity in a thug infested, violent, social experiment.

Anonymous said...

It really doesn't matter where Mayor Foxx's kids go to school.

He will still be held up to public scorn.

Dale Gribble said...

While I agree with the jist of the article---when it comes down to it, this is a parent/child decision and politics shouldnt get in the way---there is no doubt in my mind that if a white Republican mayor was sending his children to private school, this paper would criminalize him as the leader of the white-flight movement. This may be the first time in history the CO is actually praising a parent for sending their kids to private school (unless they did it for Obama and I missed it)

Anonymous said...

"That’s his duty as a parent, and we shouldn’t expect different from anyone, even if he happens to be mayor."

That is a subjective opinion for 2 reasons
1) if somoene is willing to make that commitment (aka 'sacrifice") they are justified in expecting the same fromother people. in other words Don't expect something from others you don't exprect from youreslf does not apply to people who expect somenting from others they expect of themselves.
2) The mayor typically is a spokesperson and a role model who people look to for confidence in the quality of life of a city and it's services. And people are reasonable to expect the mayor to show that con

Anonymous said...

Mayor Foxx is tacitly acknowledging the truth-CMS is garbage. In fact, all public education has gotten to be worthless in this city, state, nation.

So, abolish CMS.

Reduce property taxes by the amount spent to fund CMS.

PS: Stop having children that you cannot afford to raise.

PPS: Privatize UNC while you're at it.

bob said...

i think the mayor showed real courage by not doing the politically correct thing and sending his kids to cms, but to private school where they would be physically, morally and culturally safer as well as better taught. cms is a disgrace and has been for years, with gorman just the latest neo liberal political
yes man for a school board that refuses to hold children and their parents responsible for their behaviour and learning

good for you mayor

Anonymous said...

You now screaming at someone only shows your inability to be articulate. NC is a Right to Work state and as such, “unions” are constitutionally prohibited. We have many professional organizations. Trust me, if we had a teachers’ union or any other type of union in this state, things would be completely different. Probably not all that much better, but totally different.

Anonymous said...

Typical Democrats. School choice for anyyone who can afford private schools.

Anonymous said...

For me, Foxx sending his child to Country Day gives him some credence as a parent. The school is more diverse on different levels, which can foster more openness toward worldly differences in the classroom. However, as a leader when he talks in support of CMS, it makes me question his rational and his intent. Pete Gorman having his child in CMS makes me question his rational and intent as a parent and a leader. Pat McCory being neither makes me question him period.

pstonge said...

Thanks, everyone, for the thoughtful comments today.

Pamela: I'm very familiar with both Cotswold and Country Day, and I'd be happy to have my children at either school. But Cotswold, but like many fine CMS schools, faces challenges with funding (and recently, stability) that Country Day does not. As you know, those funding challenges are about to become more pronounced.

Thanks,

Peter

Anonymous said...

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH.

Anonymous said...

"Mayor = CITY
CMS = COUNTY

The two are not the same.

December 18, 2010 11:26 PM"


So by your logic Charlotte is not in Mecklenburg County?

Ignorance.

Larry said...

We should make the school board decide the fate of the elected officials children's future.

Oh wait how about them getting us all Vouchers so we all can get our kids out of the heck hole of public education.

That and put the future of peoples children futures back in the hands of the people with these vouchers.

Pamela Grundy said...

If you would be happy to have your children at Cotswold, it would have been helpful to state that in the column, rather than insinuating that "the rest of us know" why people "fortunate enough" to be able to choose private over public schools do so. As well as being sloppy writing, that vagueness opens the floodgates to the folks who are so fond of trashing public education.

Anonymous said...

As a retired CMS teacher, I maintain the right to educate my children in the manner in which I choose. If I want my child to have an emphasis on Christian Education, I have to send them to a private school. The government has taken religion out of the public school environment. I appaude Foxx for keeping God in his children's lives 24/7.

pstonge said...

Pamela,

I'm sorry you read my words as trashing CMS schools. I didn't do so. I said that Foxx's decision acknowledges what the rest of us know about most public vs. private schools, and as you know, public schools here face challenges now that private schools do not.

Thanks,

Peter

Anonymous said...

If the mayor believes that Country Day is the best choice for his children he should absolutely put them there if he can afford it. However, almost a year ago he commented to the Swann Fellowship that "we're going to do some housing things on the city side that will help (the schools) in the long run."
(http://www.swannfellowship.org/--scroll to bottom of page). Shortly after that the proposal for public housing in Ballantyne came up. So while putting his kids in private schools should the mayor be using his powers to push a diversity agenda, which may affect the public schools? I believe this is a prime example of hypocrisy.

Anonymous said...

It is offensive for McCrory to make such statements about public education in Charlotte and where two public officials send their children. This is bad politics plain and simple. It is also race baiting plain and simple. The problems with CMS are many and resegregating schools are chief amoung them. Look at the schools and there is no wonder people don't want to send their children. CMS is a national model of how not to do things. It is being look at by many communities because they do not want to suffer the same fate. This was a school system that was a national model and now they are a national model of how not to be. Shame on politicians who bait and get on their soap boxes with sound bites that incite. The political climate in Charlotte is an scating indictment of its residents.

Anonymous said...

To poster at 11:55--You are mistaken about the perception of CMS nationally--CMS is very much respected because it has actually made progress with the achievement gap. This was not happening under busing (except when it was initially implemented), and the community during those years was very divided over busing. Do you know of any school systems that are clamoring to implement busing based assignment plan today? In addition the race baiting that I'm seeing right now is being done by the pro-busing proponents--those who imply every decision is based on racism.

wiley coyote said...

judgment as self-evident.

Obama made his comments on NBC’s “Today” show in response to a woman who asked whether Malia and Sasha Obama “would get the same kind of education at a D.C. public school” that they would get at the D.C. private school that has educated generations of the city’s elite.

“I’ll be blunt with you: The answer is no, right now,” Obama said. D.C. public schools “are struggling,” he said, but they “have made some important strides over the last several years to move in the direction of reform. There are some terrific individual schools in the D.C. system.”


As previously stated, at least Obama has a spine and states exactly why his daughters won't attend DC public schools.

Fixxit can send his kids where he wants, but I personally don't care for his constant "fixxit" approach to CMS, libraries and other things he has no control over.

Fixxit? Put your kids in private schools and stay out of CMS business. They have enough problems from the NAACP you and Cannon both support yet keep your mouths shut when it comes to THAT situation.

wiley coyote said...

Pam said:


I know people who have been at both, I haven't heard from any of them that Country Day is better academically (although it does seem to offer a somewhat softer cocoon). It is this unexamined attitude that private schools must be better than public that people who have never set foot in a public school in their lives (such as the current head of New York City Schools or Waiting for Superman's lame director) are using to wreck public education today. I recommend that you take a break from this column thing and get out and do some actual reporting.


Let's be blunt here.

For 40 years, private schools and the suburbs were and still are havens for whites and white flight. The fact that the County is 62% white and CMS is only 33% white attests to that fact.

I wanted to put my son in private school but couldn't afford it. Not because whether private schools are any better academically but because of stability and lack of riff raff and garbage public schools deal with on a daily basis.

When is the last time you heard the NAACP run it's mouth about Country Day or any other private school?

When is the last time you had a private school occupy the front page of the Charlotte Observer because of Admin who were fired or reassigned due to malfeasance?

When is the last time you've seen Butler HS type headlines of athletes being accused of rape or having sex on campus?

How many fights, assaults, shootings, etc made the front pages of the Observer from all these private schools?

Public schools will never get any better until the mindset changes with personal expectations and discipline.

Pamela Grundy said...

To Wiley,

It's interesting what makes the front page and what doesn't. Here's a tiny blurb that was buried in a Observer column this summer:

Providence Day teacher charged with sexual assault

A faculty member at Providence Day School in southeast Charlotte has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a minor, school officials said Monday.

Tristan Russell, 28, had been a teacher at Providence Day 's afterschool and summer programs for two years, said spokeswoman Jennifer Howe.

He was arrested August 9, and charged with indecent liberties with a child and first-degree sex offense with a victim under 13.

School officials notified parents Monday.

The alleged assaults all happened off school grounds, Howe said.

Anonymous said...

I don't know how much is spent to educate one sutdent for one year, but will say, for example, $5000. If 1000 private school students decided to attend public school for one year, it would cost the taxpayer an additional $5,000,000.

Anonymous said...

Ms. Grundy, how many lock downs have involved student violence at private schools? How many near riots have happened on their campuses? How many police officers are on their campuses daily? Heard of any shots being discharged on one of their campuses? I think you get the point. I taught in CMS and left for the ranks of the private sector schools. At least I get the chance to teach without living in fear like some of my CMS friends do. Meg

therestofthestory said...

Bottom line is, find out where most CMS teachers have their kids enrolled in schools?

Anonymous said...

Where is you go to school? Better yet, where would you send your kids if you had the money?

Anonymous said...

Yes, what a hypocrite Pat McCrory is. Pat McCrory does not have children but his own niece went to private school---Charlotte Latin School---and graduated from Latin in May 2008.

So, why were the Public Elementary Schools, Public Middle Schools and the Public High Schools not good for McCrory's own niece but they are good for Foxx's and Cannon's children?

Give me a break!!!!!

If you can afford to send your children to private schools---by all means--- do. There is no question about the differences in the quality of education received from the public schools versus the private schools.

Just check the percentage of students who are admitted to 4-year colleges. The private schools are at a 100% admission rate to four year colleges, including the Ivy League schools. You cannotsay the same for the public school---not even our own Myers Park High School in its very best years!!!!

Please leave PARENTS ALONE TO MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN!!!!!

wiley coyote said...

Pam,

You will never say one negative thing regarding CMS, regardless of whether it is factual.

Those who have their heads stuck in the sand are no different than the loudmouths such as the NAACP who see nothing but race.

Garinger High School's homecoming game against Charlotte Catholic was ended at the start of the fourth quarter Friday night after a melee broke out in the Garinger home-side stands.

Charlotte Catholic football coach Jim Oddo said officials called the game after the ruckus broke out, and players left the field to board a bus.

Charlotte Catholic led 37-7 when the game was called.

In 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg school leaders vowed to make football games safer after violence broke out at East Mecklenburg High following a game with Myers Park.

In that incident, two students, one from East Meck and one from Garinger, were beaten with a metal crutch after a group of spectators followed them to a church parking lot near the stadium. Police later said that attack was gang-related.

After that fight, CMS started sending extra security staff to make sure that students with chronic discipline issues, including those who display gang signs or behavior, weren't allowed into games.


...it doesn't seem to be working.

Anonymous said...

Pat Cannon plainly stated that he and his wife wanted their children to attend a school where FAITH is the pre-dominant factor. He did not "bash" CMS nor did he hide behind his choice. As for the Mayor, he's chosen not to comment which is his right.

Anonymous noted that Mr. McCrory's neice attended a local private school....and his nephew attended an out of state private boarding school.
I believe Mayor McCrory has served his community well and could serve the state well....BUT...there are some opinions he should NEVER offer up in order to be that leader once again.
As the saying goes...."just my opnion".....

Anonymous said...

I believe I am sick and tired of catering to ONE race in this dang town!

There are MORE than just blacks and anyone on here knows exactly what I am talking about!

FORCED reversed discrimination is all CharMeck is about anymore, well it is getting old, REAL old!

Anonymous said...

"Pat Cannon stated that he and his wife wanted their children to attend a school where FAITH is the pre-dominant factor."

This is pure BS. If you look at the websites of Charlotte Country Day, Charlotte Latin, or Providence Day School, you will not find any statements regarding "faith" or religious studies mentioned in their core values or their core curriculum for any grade level. This is an outdated argument that was used following court ordered desegration to justify the creation of private schools. It's as inaccurate today as it was then. Private schools today still exist for the same reason as when they were created after the Supreme Court decision of 1954. Yes, a few select minorities are allowed to attend but don't get it twisted... In the words of Eddie Murphy, "Don't fall for the banana in the tailpipe."

Anonymous said...

In response to Anonymous that Cannon's reason for sending his children to private school was BS-------It is not.
You are comparing Apples and Oranges.

Charlotte Latin School; Charlotte Country Day School and Providence Day School exist for very different reasons unlike Charlotte Christian School--where Cannon's kids attend. Charlotte Christian is faith based. The other three schools you mentioned (Charlotte Latin School; Charlotte Country Day School and Providence Day School) are secular schools---not faith based.

cltindependent said...

My husband and I don't have children yet but if we do we will send our children to one of the private schools. Mccrory has the right to his opinion, but I believe he's just trying to keep himself relevant until he runs for governor again. Had he known he was going to lose, he'd have run for mayor again. He's a hypocrite for being childless and criticizing someone for their school choice. When he was mayor, I can't remember him expressing such concern over CMS. Why doesn't he criticize the county commission who actually holds the purse strings? Foxx and Cannon do NOT fund the schools.

Anonymous said...

McCrory sounds like he might finally be growing a set if he'd get elected. That remains to be seen otherwise we'd still have the 30 million 24,000 seat immaculate spacious colorful massive Tyvola Arena Dome instead of a 17,000 seat cramped sardine can downtown that cost 300 million for free usage.

Somebody tell McCrory its pronounced PHONE not "phoan". Its BONE not "bhoan". Its LOAN not "lhoan" etc. Cut the mamas boy phonics.