North Mecklenburg High School won the state women’s high school 4A state soccer title Saturday night in Raleigh, outlasting J.T. Hoggard of Wilmington in a marathon that came down to penalty kicks. See story in Sports, CLICK HERE>

Sam Maloney

It’s April 15 and you have just a few more hours to file those dreaded (for most) federal and state tax returns.  If you’re still not done, consider checking with the post office for the nearest facility that will cancel your return up until midnight to avoid late penalties.

On a happier note, Around Davidson brings you reports today of a Happy Birthday for Karen Myers, a winning performance for Clara Gerdes and a Flight of Honor tour to Washington, D.C., for WWII Veteran and Pines resident Sam Maloney.  There are also a few Noteworthy Notes for your calendar. Read the full story

Would it save money to fold the small but successful program at Davidson IB Middle into a larger school building somewhere else?  Will Hough High open this fall?  How will it impact North Meck?

These were the kinds of questions school board representative Rhonda Lennon took on at a meeting with about 100 constituents Monday night at Cornelius Town Hall.  She wondered aloud whether Davidson IB is too small and expensive to stay as is, said she wanted to see the new W.A. Hough High School in Cornelius open on schedule in August, and hoped North Mecklenburg High School parents would come to terms with the boundary changes the board has approved.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg school board meets today (Tuesday, March 30) to discuss its options for cutting up to $80 million from its 2010-11 budget. Those options include hundreds of school layoffs, pay cuts, and school closings – with Davidson IB Middle School under scrutiny. Today’s meeting could provide a clearer picture of what the board will ultimately decide to cut when it votes on the budget April 13.
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Joe Hunt

Joe Harvey Hunt of Charlotte, a lifelong educator and athlete who once coached basketball under Lefty Driesel at Davidson College, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. He was 79. A funeral is planned Saturday, with visitation Friday evening. Details below.
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William Amos Hough, Jr., in 1966, during his tenure as principal of North Mecklenburg High School.

Vote honors the longtime principal who led integration efforts and was known as ‘Mr. North Meck’

By LAURIE DENNIS
DavidsonNews.net

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voted Tuesday night to name the new high school on Bailey Road in Cornelius after a well-known principal from years past, W.A. Hough Jr.

For those who knew Mr. Hough, principal of North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville from 1955 to 1974, the vote has deep and emotional significance. Mr. Hough, who died in 1998, is remembered as “Mr. North Meck,” a man devoted to his students and known for his fairness. He also shepherded an anxious and fearful student body through racial integration during the contentious 1960s, meeting behind the scenes with parents, pastors, politicians and whoever else it took to keep the school running smoothly.

“The name is pretty much a history lesson in itself as relates to race relations in this area,” said Garfield Carr, a former Davidson Town Commissioner who served on the committee that recommended the Hough name.

Davidson Mayor John Woods, a 1967 North Meck graduate, said: “This is a decision that honors the history of our community and honors a man who had a tremendous impact on generations of students.” Mayor Woods spent much of the past year lobbying to get the new high school named after Mr. Hough.
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The new high school under construction on Bailey Road will soon have an official name.

Name of principal who integrated N. Meck HS is a finalist for the name; board votes Tuesday

By LAURIE DENNIS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson mayor John Woods describes him as a man who was everywhere – mowing the school lawn, driving the after-school activity bus, helping out with batting practice. But beyond being a beloved educator and principal, W.A. Hough was also the man who successfully integrated North Mecklenburg High School in 1966-67. Like his colleague Ed Sanders at Charlotte’s Central High, Mr. Hough did it without the ugly headlines that accompanied the controversial integration of Charlotte’s Harding High. That’s why Mayor Woods and others lobbied so hard to get the new high school on Bailey Road named for Mr. Hough (pronounced “Huff”).

On Tuesday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education will vote on whether to accept the naming committee’s recommendation of W.A. Hough for the new high school, set to open in fall 2010. Read the full story

Allison Cooke (Gordon Clark photo)

Gordon Clark, proprietor of the Davidson Village Inn and an occasional contributor to DavidsonNews.net, was at North Mecklenburg High School Tuesday to watch a bit of sports. He sent along this report.

Volleyball player Allison Cooke of Davidson and soccer players Patrick Harrow and twin brothers John and Will Krentz, also of Davidson, all played key roles Tuesday night leading their teams to victory at North Mecklenburg High in Huntersville. Read the full story

Bill Strong has lots of books to read and carpentry projects to work on...but he'd rather be teaching this fall.

It’s been a long and anxious summer for teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  The need to cut $100 million to deal with the state budget crisis has cost the public school district money for things like field trips and supplies, forced delays in building plans, and jeopardized funding for middle school athletics.  More reductions may be on the way.

Teachers and staff are bearing the brunt of cuts. The Charlotte Observer reported in July that of the 1,175 people who lost their jobs in the school district due to budget reductions, almost 57 percent were teachers.

For schools serving Davidson, these reductions have resulted in lay-off notices for at least 17, transfers for several assistant principals and a tense time of waiting to see whether a job will be available when school opens Aug. 25.

Read on for more about whose jobs were cut, who is transferring where, and how cuts are being managed by the four local CMS schools: Davidson Elementary, Davidson IB Middle, Bailey Middle and North Mecklenburg High. Read the full story