Another CMS Hiring Snafu
Posted July 31st, 2008 at 7:14 AM by Jeff A. TaylorAnd another hit for Mo Green.
I swear I meant to check the status of CMS lead counsel Regina Bartholomew yesterday. But today I see that Ann Doss Helms was way ahead of me.
She reports that Bartholomew has still not taken the NC Bar exam, let alone become a member of the state bar.
““I don’t think it’s hindering my ability at all to do my duties,” Bartholomew told Helms. This from the author of a legal memo on political activity by the school board which did not mention NC state law.
It was never clear how a year-long search by CMS landed on Bartholomew one year ago, resulting in a 6-3 board vote to hire her to replace Mo Green as CMS’ top attorney. She had served in the highly politicized role of general counsel for the Orleans Parish School Board and ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress while on leave from that post in 2006. At the time of her hiring last July she was widely expected to make another run for political office in New Orleans.
But the lure of a $140K job with CMS must have been too great, even if it meant agreeing to become of a member of the NC Bar by this September. Now that is impossible. Helms notes that Bartholomew did not take the just concluded Bar exam and the next one is not until February. As a result, Bartholomew must ask the board to waive the provision in her contract that required her to be a member of the bar by September.
That will happen next month and the board will say yes. The alternative is to admit that Pete Gorman, Mo Green, and a board majority made a mistake in hiring her. That never happens.
Instead CMS will quite publicly say that sticking to your word, studying, and preparing for a test only matters sometimes. Only when you do not have the raw political power behind you to change the rules after the fact.
Bonus Observation: I think I pointed out Green’s culpability for the Bartholomew hire to the folks in Gboro, but I honestly do not remember. Suffice it to say they convinced themselves they were hiring some reformer in Green, and that was that.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:47 am
I guess Ms. Bartholomew could consult with Rodney Monroe. They could put their heads together and come up with a plan. Oh, darn…they already did…screw requirements…they’ll just fib.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:32 am
Orleans Parish? Mecklenberg Parish is slowly starting to resemble the cesspool on Lake Ponchatrain.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Lets just face the facts,here in Char-Meck some people are more equal than others.Requirements are for honest people, the liberal socialist have their own set of rules,they just make them up as they go along.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I hate to drag the dead horse out and beat it again, but here goes:
If they had any integrity, the CMS school board would inform Ms. Bartholomew that she has failed to live up to her side of the contract and that her employment will be terminated at 12:01 AM on October 1, assuming she is not a member of the NC Bar at that point in time. She’s had over a year to prepare for the bar exam and did not take it: I am assuming that there is no “excuses for not having taken the bar exam which will be accepted” clause in her employment contract.
And if they want political cover, I’ll give it to them: The mistake here is not CMS’ having hired her in the first place, although we can debate that if you like. The mistake here is that Ms. Bartholomew didn’t do what she was supposed to do. There must be a consequence for her failure to perform the duties for which she was hired.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Comment I sent to Guilford County School Board:
nrouth@bellsouth.net
dotkendall@aol.com
quicka@gcsnc.com
hayesd@gcsnc.com
kcooke73@triad.rr.com
beltonj@gcsnc.com
sharpea@gcsnc.com
alan.duncan@smithmoorelaw.com
dygarr@aol.com
garth@thecpafirm.com
childsw@gcsnc.com
In a message dated 7/23/08 1:41:16 PM, writes:
Based on only my personal experience with Mo Green as a parent with kids in CMS I could not offer a recommendation. Over a six month period I included Mo Green in ten emails concerning CMS shorting our middle schools on arts teachers
and he never answered any of the emails personally. He did at last ask a PR/planning type person to respond
and tell me that he and Superintendent Gorman were not going to change the teacher allocations and that they didn’t need to follow the NC Standard Course of Study. I was greatly disappointed in his response to my concerns
and a reply email questioning many of the positions taken was also not answered.
I will continue to advocate for equitable allocation of a complete group of arts teachers for all CMS middle schools in spite of the lack of concern and support of Mo Green.
Dale Johnson
Charlotte
NC
Mr. Johnson,
Maurice Green has asked that I respond to your request for information as indicated below:
“In next year’s proposed budget does CMS plan to adequately staff all CMS middle schools with equal and equitable group of arts teachers–art, band, orchestra, drama, choral, dance–so the staffing meets CMS minimum requirements as well as NC Standard Course of Study?
This year, and for many recent years, CMS has not, despite what the CMS Equity Report and the Equity Committee has reported. J.M. Robinson’s principal currently tells me, for example, that she doesn’t know if dance will be offered, as it has not been offered this year, or the year before, and choral was initially eliminated for the current year, until a part-time retired teacher was talked back into teaching on a limited schedule. A number of other middle schools have gone without drama and choral teachers in recent years, a situation which leaves inequalities between CMS middles schools.”
The Superintendent’s Budget Recommendation for the 2008-09 school year does not include changes to staffing formulas at the middle school level. All middle schools receive what is called an ADM teacher allotment. This allotment is based on student enrollment and free and/or reduced lunch (FRL) students at each school. ADM positions are not allocated by subject as the principal has the responsibility of determining the number of positions that will be used for various subject areas. All middle schools receive a full-time band and half-time orchestra position (w/ the exception of Davidson IB – half-time band) in addition to the ADM allotment. Most other electives (art, drama, chorus, P.E./health, foreign languages, etc.) must be carved out of the ADM teacher allotment. Therefore, the principal will be responsible for determining whether or not electives such as dance and chorus will be offered for the coming school year. My understanding is that the North Carolina Course of Study requires that all schools have an arts program and recommends that all schools include a variety of electives in order to maintain equity of program offerings within the district, however the state does not mandate that specific electives be offered. Principals tend to make these decisions based on the interests of their particular student population. I hope that this information is helpful to you. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns.
Kim Brazzell
Director, Planning and Workforce Mgt.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
(980) 343-7416
August 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
We all know that if Ms. Bartholomew were not African American this would not be an issue. I love it when people make excuses for unqualified whites who acquire jobs and contracts through good old boy system.
jay w