By KAREN CIMINO WILSON
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson IB Middle School officials and parents are seeking help determining where to locate consolidated bus stops that are part of the fallout from big budget cuts at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools for fiscal year 2011.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will reduce bus routes to some middle and high school magnet programs, which could save CMS more than $3.5 million, according to school officials. Read the full story

With bus service being curtailed next year, Davidson IB Middle School officials and parents meet Wednesday evening to talk about transportation options for next year.

Meanwhile, Davidson Day’s mathletes scored recent successes. CMS offers summer Parent University sessions. And guess what faddish kid accessory is now off limits among gradeschoolers?

Details below.

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Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board will meet Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Charlotte to vote on a 2010-11 budget. The plan won’t include bell-schedule changes at Davidson IB, Piedmont Open Middle and Smith Academy, as the system has found other areas to cut. Read the full story

By ANN DOSS HELMS
The Charlotte Observer

Making Charlotte-Mecklenburg students pay for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams would save $1.3 million the district now covers, giving the school board the chance to avert other budget cuts, Superintendent Peter Gorman said Friday.
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By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

More than 50 parents, students and neighbors attended a meeting at Davidson IB Middle School last night, many objecting to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ plan to replace neighborhood buses with regional shuttles and push back the start of the school day by 90 minutes next year.

CMS Chief operating officer Hugh Hattabaugh was at Wednesday’s meeting to answer questions and outline the proposed changes, which will come up for a school board vote on Tuesday, May 11. District 1 school board representative Rhonda Lennon also attended, and though she initially said she was there only to listen, she told parents about halfway through the 2-hour meeting that she will put forward a motion Tuesday to throw out the bell-schedule change.
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AWARD COMES ON EVE OF MEETING ABOUT FUTURE OF SCHOOL

Davidson International Baccalaureate Middle School was recognized as one of the top magnet schools in the country at a conference in Tampa, Fla., over the weekend.

“It’s quite an honor,” said Principal Jo Karney.

“We are proud and humbled – but not surprised,” said Student Leadership Team Chair Jim Brueggemann.

The award comes at a time when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are bracing for budget cuts and preparing to make difficult decisions about magnet schools like Davidson IB.  One school board member has even advocated folding the school into a larger building closer to Charlotte, to allow cost savings and program expansion.

Wednesday night, May 5, Davidson IB will hold a public meeting about proposed changes, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the school auditorium. Read the full story

To the Editor:

This letter is to remind area residents and parents that the second of two parent-information meetings about the proposed changes for Davidson IB Middle School will be held this Wednesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. at Davidson IB. This will be an important and informative meeting and we encourage the community to be present. Read the full story

With extra county funding unlikely, board will ask state legislators to OK furloughs to save teachers’ jobs.

By ANN DOSS HELMS
The Charlotte Observer

After rejecting pay cuts and school closings, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board Tuesday pinned its 2010-11 budget-cutting hopes on the state legislature, hoping to get permission to furlough employees and tinker with the school calendar.

The drastic measures discussed at the budget meeting would be on top of – or possibly instead of – the 600 teacher layoffs the board authorized last week. Read the full story