The tech-money shuffle

How did Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools end up with $10 million in county money to spend on iPads and other technology improvements this year? The budget maneuver was so complex that even board members who voted for it in July were asking questions, and Chief Financial Officer Sheila Shirley created a flow chart to explain it (read it on page 5 of this budget presentation).

Here's how it worked:  Last spring,  as then-Superintendent Peter Gorman and the board were planning the 2011-12 budget,  CMS planned to pay for clerical and custodial jobs with a mix of county money and temporary federal aid.  But when the state budget approved in June was better than CMS had anticipated,  there was money to cover the county share and free up $28 million (commissioners had just granted CMS a $26 million bump).

CMS didn't use that money to hire more staff because officials realized the federal money that was paying for secretaries and custodians would disappear in 2012-13, Shirley said this week.  Instead,  CMS tapped that money for one-time projects in 2011-12, including technology, maintenance projects that had been put off and the cost of moving several administrative offices.  In 2012-13,  the county money will go back into the budget for clerical and custodial staff.

None of that got much attention at the time,  given the hullabaloo over averting teacher layoffs and saving prekindergarten classrooms.  Gorman and his staff had spent months talking about laying off hundreds of teachers and other employees to prepare for an anticipated $100 million in cuts.  When the board voted 8-1 for the final 2011-12 budget in July (only Kaye McGarry opposed it),  the minutes show their comments focused on their delight at being able to restore 1,665 jobs for teachers and other school staff.

The technology money got new attention last week,  when CMS invited teams of teachers to make proposals to get  "innovation kits"  that include one iPad per teacher and up to 10 per classroom.

CMS initially said there was about $10 million in county money for that project, including training and "infrastructure upgrades."  Tuesday night, Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh said the actual breakdown is $3.5 million for devices such as iPads,  $500,000 for training to help teachers use the new technology and $6.6 million to install wireless internet in all schools.

The $1.2 million CMS spent to give iPads and software to principals and other school administrators didn't come from that $10 million pot,  but from money carried over from the previous budget year,  Shirley said.

CMS teachers can seek iPad grants

Teachers who want help moving into next year's wireless learning environment can apply for grants to get an  "innovation kit"  that includes an iPad for the teacher,  up to 10 for students and various accessories,  including  "an iTunes app voucher,"   according to a memo Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools sent to employees today.

The  "Innovation for Transformation"  grants are part of the push to get all schools using wireless devices for learning in 2012-13.  School administrators have already gotten iPads,  and many teachers have been asking whether they'll get devices supplied by CMS.  I'm trying to track down how much money CMS plans to spend on the classroom grants and where it's coming from.

"In order for the learning environments of today to effectively meet the needs of the 21st century digital learner, a transformation must occur,"  the CMS memo states, promising "a transformational journey filled with innovative professional development, digital resources, and effective student engagement."

I got a glimpse of what CMS'  "bring your own technology" environment might look like when I visited the private Providence Day School for an upcoming story.  Josh Cannon, a 26-year-old chemistry teacher,  welcomes smart phones and other devices in his class.  When he did a demonstration that sent flames shooting out of a five-gallon water keg,  one student shot photos on his iPhone.  When Cannon talked about needing a dry day to do some outdoor explosions, half a dozen students whipped out their phones to check the forecast.  When students broke up to do individual work,  one used his phone as a calculator while working on a laptop.  Several popped in ear buds so they could listen to music while reading.  Students say they use their phones to keep up with when assignments are due,  which they track on Google calendars.

Also on the tech front,  Saturday's National College Fair will use bar codes to save students and families some paperwork.  CMS reports that students can fill in their information once,  then get a code that each college booth can scan,  saving the time of repeatedly writing down personal information. Read more about the fair here.