CMS Announces Massive Layoffs

Tuesday night, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools released a list of all 855 employees the board voted to let go.

Eyewitness News spent hours on Tuesday, looking over the long list of names, figuring out where each person worked, what subject they taught, and how much money they earned.

After compiling all the data, we learned that high schools will be the hardest hit under the CMS plan, since there are more teachers and staff to cut. Among the high schools with the most layoffs are Myers Park with around 22, West Charlotte with around 20, and Butler, Garinger, Olympic and Ardrey Kell with around 15 each.

Valeria Mederos, a rising 10th-grader, said, “In my opinion, they’re really good teachers.”

Smith Language Academy will be one of the hardest hit proportionally, losing 15 teachers, about a quarter of its staff. Parent June Brzoska said, “That’s very sad. Maybe they should look at upper administration.”

Of all the layoffs, the most frequently cut areas are in kindergarten through third grade, math and Spanish.

Only 10 people on the entire list made more than $70,000 per year. The average salary for those where let go is $35,000. That’s a far cry from the $300,00 the superintendent makes and from 100 other administrators who all make six figures.

Brzoska said, “Why don’t you take some of the upper management who probably make $80,000, one for every two teachers? That could do it.”