By Ann Doss Helms
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com

One day before they're slated to forge consensus on student-assignment goals, members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board aired deep differences on diversity, magnets and neighborhood schools.

Those differences reflect community views, according to reports from three public forums held last week.

On Monday night, about 200 people turned out for the final public forum at Hopewell High in Huntersville. They voiced concerns about illogical boundaries and the need for more options in suburbs.

About 90 people packed into the discussion on magnets , with the rest in much smaller groups to discuss six other subjects. Speakers encouraged CMS to protect and expand magnets.

One broad point of agreement in the public forums - and among board members - is that improving academic performance at all schools would eliminate many of the rifts.

"I'm getting the impression that trumps all other issues," Chair Eric Davis said Monday.

But Vice Chair Tom Tate, who's been on the board since 2005, noted that school-to-school excellence is easier said than done: "We've been trying to do that. Forever. We still don't have it."

Board members couldn't agree on how to define diversity, let alone what role it should play in student assignment. The board's current guiding principle says that: "We believe that a diverse educational environment enhances learning. Therefore, diversity should be fostered, although it should not be forced."

Said Tim Morgan: "We probably have nine different definitions of what 'diversity' is."

Kaye McGarry and Rhonda Lennon, who are white, talked about diversity of individuals and academic programs as their main goal. "I think if we look at people as people first, it doesn't have to be about race," McGarry said.

Meanwhile, Joyce Waddell and Richard McElrath, the only African Americans on the nine-member board, talked about schools where most students are black and poor. "We force segregation, especially when we draw boundary lines that we know are going to create a segregated school," McElrath said. "If you're not going to force integration, you have no business forcing segregation."

Besides the need for consistently good schools, the broadest agreement was about CMS's problems, according to summaries of public forums presented by staff. Most speakers seemed to agree that the current assignment policy and magnet lottery are confusing and unfair. They also wanted clearer, simpler rules for how CMS draws boundaries and decides when schools are too crowded.

Other issues brought strongly mixed opinions, staffers said.

Some people love magnets, while others argued that they undermine neighborhood schools.

Some think an extensive, free system of busing is essential, while others want to see it scaled back, possibly with fees for families who want longer rides for magnets and special assignments.

The board is scheduled to meet from 1-5 p.m. today at the Education Center, 701 E. Martin Luther King Blvd. They hope to emerge from that meeting with a list of new guiding principles ranked by priority, to help staff draw up plans for school closings and other changes in 2011-12.
 

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