[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6280061,"mediaKeyId","2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec","parentId",2617389,"title","CMS presents classified compensation plan to raise minimum to $20 and phase in raises over three years","audioSeconds",1738,"startMs",4221000,"endMs",5959000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec&start=4221&end=5959","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec/thumbnail_4221000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6280061/North-Carolina/CMS-presents-classified-compensation-plan-to-raise-minimum-to-20-and-phase-in-raises-over-three-years","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6280061-ba09950ec361f0df7684f8981cf956bc/orig.mp4?Expires=1770707495&Signature=ZQt492wdbXoRZjN9308pL11AxU2rjD4PxH1tIHYnkvKAhZHySzUX0HiWWQW0cjfYcdFh2ye1MYXhSAnKYkWWxvImvefgZvIo5tepp7j5uX4TbZ9WEI2GcqH3pNxWJjqyHwrMU7Fqgf2JpZpZ~X78pB7vyZtGayHtPzUA5EY-lWDkVJvUX7wRCW3bXMEZ3Uqd96HRH3ScnB0JCPbKJKX-HvL03XrKtYy5u2pqlMg0zhlR-PVSm40vtAVtZ3rz8KJsXWxsonYXbPd~cTm8eh67U0pF0kuzXcwRpVAt-NvarDng46QvgXysNk9OTZSowB9InnXxZqT~2hD1FL2IwoSEIg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools ","date","2025-01-14T00:00:00Z","article","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders presented the findings and recommendations of a classified compensation study to the Board of Education on Jan. 14, proposing a phased implementation intended to raise the district minimum for classified positions to $20 an hour and address long-standing pay compression.

Dr. Crystal Hill, superintendent, said compensation had been the single most frequent concern raised during her engagement with staff: \"The number 1 concern I received from employees was in regards to their compensation,\" she said, noting that many classified positions had seen little or no adjustment in nearly two decades.

The recommended Phase 1 schedules cover pay grades 1–9 (classified staff only) and carry an estimated first-year implementation cost of just over $25 million, staff said. Superintendent and senior staff said Mecklenburg County had approved $13.2 million toward the initiative during the budget process and that additional local and program funds would be used to fund the first phase. Staff said implementation would be retroactive to July 1, 2024, if the board approves the schedules at its next meeting.

Dr. Keisha Khan, chief human resources officer, said the study addresses roughly 390 unique classified job titles (examples: bus drivers, custodians, teacher assistants, clerical staff). Kelly Klutz, chief finance officer, gave a fund-level breakdown and said the district’s adopted budget can cover Phase 1 costs; staff also noted that some revenue from school nutrition and after-school funds will be used.

Consultants from the study team explained the rationale: long-term stagnation in pay, legislative minimum changes, and market pressure have created compression and hiring/retention challenges. Consultant Ricky Lopes said the study found that many new hires could be paid at or above the rate of long-tenured district employees because of years without consistent adjustments and different market pressures.

Phase 1 details presented by staff:

- The district has approximately 6,171 employees in pay grades 1–5. Under the Phase 1 recommendation, 4,775 employees in that group would receive increases costing approximately $23.7 million; the average increase for affected employees in that category would be about 13.9%.

- Pay grades 6–9 include fewer employees; Phase 1 would give increases to a subset (staff cited 325 employees) at an estimated cost of $1.9 million, an average increase of roughly 8.5% for those affected.

- Consultants and staff said some employees already paid above the new grade midpoint would not see a reduction in pay and that the district will not reduce anyone’s salary as a result of the schedule change.

Staff said the recommendation establishes a 30-step schedule (steps tied to verifiable years of experience) to make placements transparent and reduce ad hoc placement decisions. The district reported it had collected and verified state service for more than 7,000 classified employees to support placement.

Board members asked questions about equity, timeline and next steps. Vice Chair Dee Rankin and others pressed staff on communication plans to employees: staff said all employees will receive a district-wide notice about the presentation and that, after a board vote, individuals covered by the study will receive personal communications with their new placement and pay information. Staff said a vote on Phase 1 schedules is expected at the board’s next meeting and that implementation (if approved) would be retroactive to July 1, 2024.

Why it matters: CMS classified workers include bus drivers, custodians, teacher assistants and nutrition staff who perform work essential to daily operations. Staff told the board the recommended Phase 1 is intended to increase the minimum hourly rate, reward service, reduce compression, and create a schedule that is more transparent and easier to explain to employees.

What’s next: The board will be asked to adopt Phase 1 salary schedules at a future meeting (staff indicated an adoption request in January). Staff also said they will return with Phase 2 and Phase 3 recommendations to continue adjustments over subsequent fiscal years.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","CMS Board of Education Business Meeting - January 14, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders presented a consultant-led classified compensation study on Jan. 14 that recommends raising the minimum wage for classified employees to $20 an hour in Phase 1 and phasing additional adjustments in over subsequent years.","taxTitle","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, School Districts, North Carolina","taxId",14085,"location","North Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6280066,"CMS outlines strategy to raise reading scores for grades 3–5, warns gains will be difficult",544,563000,1107000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec&start=563&end=1107","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec/thumbnail_563000.jpg","/articles/6280066/North-Carolina/CMS-outlines-strategy-to-raise-reading-scores-for-grades-35-warns-gains-will-be-difficult","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6280066-f0ae622cf4c5bb27f73b7b7f4db491c9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770707495&Signature=oAJ75jbP7WdClFQAIHzAr60AYaUEz3s39pacj0qlZV2VIqEmMTCt38DUk~qFh~cVsii7ma4DhAETD0wVuEPy33MRV8X2xhcV80G1TXMc2mPi2-WHfI5GUUl~bsnbXurkfuXs0csCOl3cZ1~JzZipkbx9NSisJAC6T9Bj2cAOtvw4Q4rum6WVR4HXGNM0chVjkCwnyVpa9rjergLgf3HmIeHoP1BTcJXZoHWMn7jNrm6u0F7GrXcrymjILf4rx72Mj812L-Y01i3zgJfoNxn4wfWvGnXeYUzhAWMse~a73lEnV98FZ97KCGUsy4oV3tdjXdIe8qcLHTTZtbkNIbf0Mw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill told the Board of Education on Jan. 14 that the district must accelerate reading growth in grades 3 through 8 and that the district’s interim focus for this year is grades 3 through 5.

\"Goal 2 is increase the percent of students scoring college and career ready on reading end of grade assessments in grades 3 through 8 from 31 percent in June 2023 to 50 percent in June 2029,\" Dr. Hill said as she introduced the report on the board’s student-outcomes governance goal focused on reading.

The report and board discussion centered on MVPA benchmark projections administered districtwide. District staff said 61,565 students in grades 3–8 were assessed at the beginning of the school year and that 32% are projected to score at the level CMS defines as \"college and career ready\" (level 4 or 5). For the current school year the district’s target is 37%, and staff said the MVPA projections show CMS needs 3,136 additional students to reach that target across grades 3–8.

For the interim measure, district staff reported that among 31,322 students in grades 3–5, 33% are currently projected to be a level 4 or 5 and that the district needs 1,063 more students at that level to meet the 37% year target. Dr. Hill cautioned the board that the district’s most recent end-of-grade results showed a 1-percentage-point decline overall and described the year-over-year gains required as difficult.

\"It's a herculean task,\" Dr. Hill said when asked if the 7 percentage-point year-over-year increase was attainable, citing the size of the district’s interventions and the need for consistent implementation.

Board members pressed for specifics. Board member Monterrey Duvall asked how interventions such as high-dosage tutoring and a differentiated \"all block\" (the core literacy block in grades 3–5) had contributed so far. Dr. Hill and staff said implementation fidelity was uneven: during recovery from the pandemic some schools had continued a hybrid approach described as \"all-plus skills block,\" emphasizing skill work rather than the on-grade-level, differentiated core instruction required in grades 3–5. Staff said that shifting back to a pure, on-grade-level differentiated core during the all block is a priority.

District leaders described concrete classroom and system supports: defined module and all-block minutes, required intervention/enrichment blocks (30–45 minutes), standard treatment protocols for interventions (with defined time, frequency and progress monitoring), and a set of materials and exemplars for teachers. Staff also noted new reporting and monitoring tools that allow school leadership teams to triangulate MVPA results with classroom benchmarks (for example, DIBELS for third grade), attendance and other indicators so teams can identify students who are near the threshold between level 3 and level 4 and target instruction.

Questions about equity and English learners (ML/EL students) drew specific explanations. Dr. Hill said English learners are supported with language scaffolds, a \"mini language dive\" for new vocabulary, and a district PACE toolkit intended to guide teachers in making on-grade-level text accessible without assigning below-grade work. She said the team is deploying master teachers and instructional specialists into schools to support planning and teacher use of those scaffolds.

Board members repeatedly pressed on monitoring: how curriculum implementation, \"core action walks\" and usage reports from tools such as i-Ready will be used to measure fidelity between benchmarks. Staff said they will monitor usage reports, progress-monitoring data tied to standard treatment protocols, and the outputs of core action walks to adjust instruction more rapidly than waiting for the next MVPA.

The presentation identified family-facing supports as a strategic area of development. Staff said the district’s \"family academy\" and other outreach (lunch-and-learns, exemplars posted for families) aim to help parents understand what students should learn and how to support that learning.

Why it matters: Reading proficiency by the end of elementary grades is a common predictor of later academic outcomes and high school readiness. CMS leaders framed the work as urgent because the district’s multi-year goal seeks a roughly 19 percentage-point rise (31% to 50%) in CCR reading by 2029 and this year’s incremental increase is a necessary near-term step.

What’s next: Staff said the board will receive further monitoring reports in subsequent meetings with deeper quarterly evidence about intervention effectiveness and implementation fidelity; the district will also continue to refine professional development, master-teacher deployment and family supports.","Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administrators presented data showing a small year-over-year decline in projected high-level reading performance and outlined classroom and system strategies to hit a 37% target for grades 3–5 this school year; officials said the work is doable but “herculean.”",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6280056,"Board adopts bylaw and student-assignment policy changes; consent agenda approved unanimously",101,7522000,7623000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec&start=7522&end=7623","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2617389-42a1b2081c8ff81a9f67f0263b6d84ec/thumbnail_7522000.jpg","/articles/6280056/North-Carolina/Board-adopts-bylaw-and-student-assignment-policy-changes-consent-agenda-approved-unanimously","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6280056-b84bf29faa969ccc5b0fe425129dfd5b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770707495&Signature=hmXzcS~AkO9XOXaG~mUQVTsXgMf962DEoY6Qe8NgIh6~fyLiiifJSzihWLrxXyMWNWzUJygK6rPaXYzX5l1xge6feBIPdqDEYix58HKi1aMabBhPkhxNxftCZXmrp1Myx3WpxksB576J~Ja44K9EVf1187a6OKHlNlWj3lZwSpBIQtk7p-5bQ2HMMeByTToXOqDJWyKnPC5fk~A7jymt7I-i7EcXWfWJCA6fYIZHmP9cUwzIvmmbPsvhged0OhqJmgiXf~JbONtMIcoZA9B7g80pfPfSWKjbf53vWLNGlI5XoutVjiSxRHcGAWlZJDfrW36SECPXYcTmBdszE7aStA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education on Jan. 14 approved two policy items and the consent agenda after committee reports and motions from the policy committee.

Vice Chair Dee Rankin, speaking as chair of the policy committee, moved to adopt proposed modifications to the board bylaws governing Board of Education meetings (the committee motion did not require a second). The policy committee had considered the item previously and recommended approval. The board voted unanimously to adopt the revisions.

Rankin also moved to approve proposed modifications to policy S‑ASGP (student assignment), again reporting out of committee. The approved changes add language that requires parents who submit a magnet application to sign a school-choice agreement, clarifies that state statute allows students to apply to magnet programs without enrolling in CMS, defines the district’s comprehensive review process, and requires the board to review district-wide data every four years for purposes of considering assignment plan changes. The board adopted the policy modifications unanimously.

Earlier in the meeting the board approved the consent agenda; Board Member Klein moved and Board Member Byers Bailey seconded the motion and the clerk announced the vote was unanimous.

Why it matters: Changes to the student-assignment policy and meeting bylaws alter board procedures and how families interact with magnet program admissions, and set a formal schedule for comprehensive reviews that could trigger localized assignment changes in the future.

What’s next: The changes are effective as adopted; board staff will post updated policies and guidance for families and update board regulations as needed.","At its Jan. 14 meeting the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved revisions to board meeting bylaws and the student-assignment policy after committee reports; the motions carried unanimously and the board approved the consent agenda as presented.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

CMS presents classified compensation plan to raise minimum to $20 and phase in raises over three years

CMS outlines strategy to raise reading scores for grades 3–5, warns gains will be difficult

Board adopts bylaw and student-assignment policy changes; consent agenda approved unanimously