Char-Meck School Board Lays Off Almost 900 Employees

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board voted Tuesday night to lay off 885 employees including teachers, assistant principals, psychologists, and social workers.

The vote came after more than a dozen people addressed the board during a standing-room only meeting at the Government Center in uptown Charlotte. Board members said they had no choice but to make the cuts and voted with little discussion.

Many of those attending the board meeting had rallied Tuesday afternoon in Marshall Park and then marched to the Government Center.

Aimee Jordan, a theater arts instructor at Mallard Creek High School, was one of the teachers laid off. Some of her students attended the rally.

"I can't believe they've rallied around me, in light of the situation," said Jordan. "You don't know how much you're loved until the possibility you're going to be gone."