Mecklenburg commissioners vote on CMS funding next week. Here’s what to expect.

County leaders this week endorsed a funding strategy for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that’s split the community since early May, spawning a series of fiery meetings and public hearings that led to no compromise.

The school district typically receives one-third of its $1.7 billion budget from Mecklenburg County.

But county leaders, displeased with persistently poor outcomes and low test scores for Black and brown students, are pushing for more progress. A key way to do that, county leaders say, is to exert more control over their budget appropriation to CMS.

In budget talks for the upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1, Mecklenburg County commissioners cast straw votes to temporarily withhold $56 million earmarked for the school district, comprised mostly of top administrators’ salaries.

That’s pending a strategic plan commissioners have requested — but may not receive — from CMS leadership. Such a plan is supposed to outline metrics, plus intermediate steps, for closing stark academic achievement gaps among marginalized students in failing schools across Mecklenburg.

CMS says it already provided the county with a strategic plan. But county manager Dena Diorio said at Wednesday’s county meeting that the district’s current plan lacks distinct targets and strategies.

In a tense private meeting with county and school leaders Tuesday, CMS board chair Elyse Dashew said the governing bodies were at an impasse and that Mecklenburg was overstepping its statutory authority. Neither body suggested a compromise during the 45-minute exchange.

Black clergy and activists have praised the county funding proposal to overcome racial disparities, boost test scores and ensure that all CMS students are college-ready. But opponents of the plan, including two county commissioners, say underfunding education will worsen current problems and harm the schools Mecklenburg is attempting to help.

With commissioners set to formally adopt their budget June 1, here’s what to expect — and what CMS leaders may need to do next.

How much money is CMS getting?

Nearly $532 million, with 11% — the controversial $56 million — held in conditional funding, according to Mecklenburg County’s proposed budget book.

Diorio also recommended a “modest increase” of $6.1 million for CMS, with that money targeted for school maintenance costs and more mental health professionals, including 29 social workers, 10 psychologists and a social work coordinator.

Last year, the county gave CMS $525 million.

The average North Carolina school district gets about 65% of its operating revenue from the state, 25% from the county and the remaining 10% comes from the federal government. In larger urban districts like CMS, the local request is often greater.

What happened during this week’s joint meeting?

County commissioners chair George Dunlap and Diorio privately met with Dashew, CMS board vice chair Thelma Byers-Bailey and CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston on Tuesday to attempt a compromise. But nothing changed, district leaders said at a press conference after the session.

Dashew, whose audio recording of the meeting was later released publicly by CMS to local news outlets, told Dunlap the conditional funding felt like a “hostage situation” — not a partnership.

“It is as though it is at gunpoint,” Dashew said. “There’s this threat around it.”

Dunlap chastised Dashew for her characterization of the disagreement. He said CMS would receive “every penny we promised” once the district produced a strategic plan justifying the use of county dollars.

“There are things that we believe need to be in place that help us decide whether or not we’re adequately funding education,” Dunlap said. “What I hear you guys saying is that although we have the data and we have a plan, we can’t pull all of that together in one place so that the community can clearly see it.”

Will commissioners withhold funds next week?

On Wednesday, during straw votes that lay the groundwork for what commissioners are expected to formally approve next week, commissioners voted 6-2 in favor of Diorio’s budget recommendations, including withholding funds from CMS. Commissioner Ella Scarborough did not participate.

Commissioners Laura Meier and Susan Rodriguez-McDowell voted no, arguing that the commissioners may lack the legal right to hold the CMS board — another elected body — accountable.

Can CMS sue Mecklenburg?

No, CMS cannot sue Mecklenburg, county attorney Tyrone Wade said. But there is a dispute resolution process, Wade said, that could be set into motion once commissioners adopt the budget.

“Once and for all, we will find out whether or not we’re sufficiently funding them or whether or not they deserve additional funding,” Dunlap said.

Dashew brought up the same dispute resolution process during Tuesday’s private meeting.

“We do not fundamentally believe that you have the right to attach conditions to the budget,” she said. “(NC) statute lays out a very clear process for dispute resolutions in this sort of a situation.”

The statute says that in a budget funding dispute like this, the chairs of the two boards can arrange a joint meeting within seven days of the commissioners’ decision. Then, if no resolution is reached, a mediation should be hosted. If that fails, the next step hinges on what the dispute is over.

Devna Bose contributed to this report.