CMS changes student club funding. Some fear closure of non-athletic programs with cuts

Leaders of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools clubs, after-school activities and theater productions could see cuts in their paycheck next school year because of changes in pay for non-athletic programs.

The cuts are coming as CMS standardizes stipend rates, which pay advisors. The amounts will be based on whether the clubs serve middle or high schoolers and how many students attend each school. For clubs like yearbook, no money will be allocated if the club is part of a class.

It’s a departure from a policy in place for years allowing principals to allocate stipends for non-athletic activities activities however they chose. Many students and teachers fear the changes will lead to clubs closing and students left with nowhere to turn because people won’t agree to work for lower pay.

Providence High School’s speech and debate team is one club seeing cuts in funding. Last year it was allocated about $1,000 in stipends to pay for a coach, travel and other expenses. This year, funding will be cut to $200.

“By taking away funding, you not only make it exponentially more difficult for students to participate in non-athletic activities, but you also tell every student who does not excel in athletics, that their achievements are worthless and insignificant,” Emma McGaha, a Providence student, said at the CMS Board of Education meeting last week .

The stipend changes stem from a discrimination complaint made by a CMS teacher who claimed a principal showed favoritism toward certain clubs, said Superintendent Crystal Hill .

Hill said the pot of stipend money CMS gives schools access to won’t change — only how it’s allocated.

“We discovered that there was no equity or parameters in terms of every school getting a flat amount (of funds) but principals had little oversight over how they gave out that money,” she told The Charlotte Observer.

CMS teacher: stipend change plan is flawed

Nicole Jenkins, a Providence English teacher , agrees with the premise of equity, but says the execution is flawed.

“The idea that we want to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake is great, but the challenge is that we didn’t put more money in the pot to fill gaps created by changing the funding system,” she told the Observer. “There’s a disconnect.”

She and other students and teachers are worried that, without higher stipends, many clubs will collapse without staff, leading some students to even transfer schools.

“It’s completely unrealistic to think that anyone, even someone who is super passionate about something, is going to work for close to 25 cents an hour,” Jenkins said. “I’ve had students transfer because clubs aren’t here any more and I really can’t blame them. It will keep happening without more money.”

Non-athletic stipends are far lower in CMS than in other similarly sized school districts in the state. For comparison, Wake County Schools allocates about $6,300 for schools’ theater programs. CMS plans to allocate $1,000.

Leaders of other activities like student government and yearbook won’t receive stipends if the activities are a part of a class – even if a teacher works extra hours after the final bell rings at the end of the school day.

It’s unlikely there will be changes to the stipend plan. Hill called the plan final and said teachers received notification about it last Wednesday. However, some board members, including Summer Nunn who represents Providence, hope to reconsider the policy before the year starts.

“If you look at the size of our high schools, there’s only so many athletic spots and we need to provide an outlet for those kids who aren’t into sports,” Nunn told the Observer. “If you look at Union County and others surrounding us, kids are engaging in the arts more and have much bigger programs than in CMS.”

“There’s plenty of time to fix this. The good news is that while teachers aren’t working we still are. We still have time to solve it.”