The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board is doing a good job in a financially challenging situation, board Chair Eric Davis told a group of parents and educators Saturday.

Speaking at an education forum at Johnson C. Smith University, Davis defended the board's decision to spend millions developing a teacher-evaluation system at a time when the district is projecting drastic cuts in other areas - including in teaching positions.

"The [money] we are investing in evaluation systems of teacher performance and student outcomes directly relates to what parents wanted in our school system," Davis said.

Despite ongoing cuts, Davis said, CMS has done more than any of the nation's other urban school districts to close the achievement gap that largely affects poor and minority students.

The forum, sponsored by the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists, was meant to give CMS parents and teachers an opportunity to discuss how looming cuts in the upcoming budget may impact student performance, especially in poor and minority schools.

In the last two years, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has cut or redirected $170 million in operating costs, much of it through teacher layoffs, and next year's budget deficit may exceed $100 million.

Davis opened the Saturday discussion by saying he is concerned about the cumulative effect of budget cutting year after year. But county funding for CMS, he said, has been reduced by more than $50 million.

Think about it and translate that to the number of teachers," he said. ".We didn't choose to make these cuts; we are being required."

School board member Richard McElrath, who also attended the event, said he, too, worried about the long-term impact of cutting funding for schools.

"Somewhere down the line," he said, "you are going to pay far more."

Some in the audience questioned the school board's spending priorities.

CMS parent Tammy Hill questioned why the board would spend $2.9 million on a teacher-evaluation system when schools are being closed and teachers are being laid off.

"Something is wrong with this process," she said.

Davis said the evaluation system will help district leaders identify, recruit and retain the best teachers. Next to principals, he said, teachers are most important components of education -- not buildings.

Mary McCrae, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, also questioned the board's spending priorities. She said the district's $1 billion budget should be enough to avert drastic cuts.

"I feel like we do have enough money," she said, contending that previous CMS superintendents had done more with less money.

Some who attended the event praised the board, including Davis, for showing a willingness to listen to and meet with parents.

Davis said parental involvement is key, and he encouraged the audience to make their frustrations about school funding known to Mecklenburg commissioners and state legislators - the two elected bodies that most directly impact CMS budgets.

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