WEBVTT - EXCLUSIVE: Rep Willis Talks Breaking Up CMS 0:00:23.710 --> 0:00:32.489 Let's go. Oh, let's go. Oh, let's go. Oh, let's go. 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:37.160 Welcome back to Charles News Talk 107.9 FM WBT. Brett 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.300 Jensen here with you on this very active Wednesday night 0:00:40.340 --> 0:00:43.140 edition of Breaking with Brett Jensen. We are going up 0:00:43.220 --> 0:00:46.120 until 7 o'clock tonight. 704-570-1079 is the telephone number. That 0:00:46.140 --> 0:00:52.029 is also the WBT text line. driven, of course, by 0:00:52.110 --> 0:00:58.310 Keffer Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, the family store. And over 0:00:58.390 --> 0:01:00.450 four and a half years, I've been telling you, you 0:01:00.590 --> 0:01:03.810 really need to follow me on X. And I always 0:01:03.850 --> 0:01:05.810 give you perfect examples of why you need to follow 0:01:05.830 --> 0:01:08.530 me on X, and today's another perfect example. You need 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.610 to follow me on X at Brett underscore Jensen for 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:13.940 all the latest and breaking news in and around the 0:01:13.980 --> 0:01:14.720 Charlotte area. 0:01:15.780 --> 0:01:16.619 And here's the thing. 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.259 If you follow me on X, then you would know 0:01:20.890 --> 0:01:25.110 The exclusive, exclusive, exclusive statewide exclusive that we're going to 0:01:25.150 --> 0:01:25.610 have tonight. 0:01:26.230 --> 0:01:29.020 So earlier today, word broke out. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.940 Charlotte Ledger put it out there that David Willis, friend 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:36.500 of the show, is putting together a bill. And by 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:40.080 the way, the people in Raleigh convene next week. State Senate, 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:44.550 State House. They convene next week. That David Willis, representative 0:01:44.630 --> 0:01:48.310 out of Union County, who's also chair of the Education Committee, 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:52.020 to put together a bill to break up CMS into 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:56.360 multiple districts, also do what's called a recall election, where 0:01:56.900 --> 0:02:00.410 you can vote to have someone removed from office. They 0:02:00.470 --> 0:02:02.770 are in an election by themselves. It would be just 0:02:02.830 --> 0:02:05.430 Brett Jensen on the ballot. Should Brett Jensen stay in office? 0:02:05.650 --> 0:02:07.250 Yes or no. That's the vote. 0:02:07.910 --> 0:02:12.070 And if you say no, then that means that there's 0:02:12.110 --> 0:02:14.530 a new election for that position. And all nine school 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.320 board members would have to undergo this. So.... 0:02:19.470 --> 0:02:22.690 I reached out to David, obviously, to talk to him 0:02:22.750 --> 0:02:23.209 about this. 0:02:24.350 --> 0:02:29.380 And I caught him, luckily, just purely by luck, that 0:02:29.419 --> 0:02:31.940 I got him because he has been extremely busy, as 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:34.119 one might imagine, and on the phone all day with 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:37.450 lawmakers and a lot of other people. So the interview 0:02:37.490 --> 0:02:40.510 that you're about to hear took place earlier today. It's 0:02:40.590 --> 0:02:43.530 not a live interview. It happened about, oh, three hours 0:02:43.590 --> 0:02:47.330 or so ago, about then. So this is my exclusive 0:02:47.830 --> 0:02:51.030 interview with David Willis about filing a bill to break 0:02:51.130 --> 0:02:54.360 up CMS. Yesterday, members of your staff started calling the 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:57.419 members of the CMS school board, asking for their feedback 0:02:57.580 --> 0:03:02.000 and input about potentially breaking up CMS and also potentially 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:02.859 about having. 0:03:02.660 --> 0:03:03.540 A recall election. 0:03:04.220 --> 0:03:06.639 What was some of the feedback that you got from 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:08.280 the school boards, if any? 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.490 Well, we didn't really get much feedback at this point. 0:03:12.530 --> 0:03:15.310 We offered my email address and a week and a 0:03:15.350 --> 0:03:18.490 half for them to provide some comments or some feedback 0:03:18.550 --> 0:03:19.989 on it. We felt like it was important as we 0:03:20.030 --> 0:03:22.670 move forward with this that they at least be given 0:03:22.690 --> 0:03:25.950 an opportunity to provide their thoughts and input on it. 0:03:26.650 --> 0:03:30.049 Speak with North Carolina State Representative David Willis. So what 0:03:30.110 --> 0:03:33.830 kind of feedback did you get today from the public, 0:03:34.230 --> 0:03:37.160 people that have children that go to CMS, your colleagues 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:38.000 up in Raleigh? 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.120 So what kind of feedback. 0:03:39.740 --> 0:03:41.680 Have you received today, now that the cat is out 0:03:41.700 --> 0:03:43.920 of the bag, that started transpiring yesterday? 0:03:44.830 --> 0:03:47.810 Well, there's a lot of questions. I'd say there's, you know, 0:03:48.010 --> 0:03:50.309 I've had obviously a ton of phone calls today, some 0:03:50.330 --> 0:03:53.170 with concern about what's happening and how quickly it's going 0:03:53.190 --> 0:03:56.310 to happen, and then others saying it's about time, it's 0:03:56.330 --> 0:03:59.330 long overdue. You know, families have been concerned about the 0:03:59.350 --> 0:04:02.170 size of CMS and mismanagement for years. I mean, you know, 0:04:02.210 --> 0:04:04.970 I've been in Charlotte, the greater Charlotte area, for over 0:04:04.970 --> 0:04:07.910 30 years, and really I don't remember a time where 0:04:07.950 --> 0:04:12.170 there wasn't a discussion about changing boards or changing superintendents, 0:04:12.310 --> 0:04:15.420 and so there's a stability issue. and CMS are not 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.300 often in a sentence together. And so I think it's 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.580 long overdue for us to have some of these conversations. 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.350 And I think the board continues to show an inability 0:04:24.410 --> 0:04:28.270 to understand the seriousness of what's happening when you've got 0:04:28.330 --> 0:04:33.360 the DOJ, the FBI, the SBI, the state auditor, You know, 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:38.290 every possible agency under the sun out there investigating them simultaneously, 0:04:38.310 --> 0:04:43.510 the seriousness of this and, you know, just what I've read, 0:04:43.630 --> 0:04:45.950 and I don't really have any behind the scenes information 0:04:45.970 --> 0:04:48.500 more than anybody else, but the accusations that have been 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.280 made publicly from all the reporting that's been out there 0:04:51.300 --> 0:04:54.940 over the last several months, is highly concerning. And you've 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:55.760 got to look at it at the end of the 0:04:55.779 --> 0:04:58.240 day and say, who's standing up for the parents? Who's 0:04:58.260 --> 0:05:00.470 standing up for these students and fighting for the teachers 0:05:00.490 --> 0:05:02.969 and the staff at the schools? And it's time for 0:05:03.010 --> 0:05:05.650 us to move forward and to do whatever we can 0:05:05.670 --> 0:05:07.630 to right the ship. I mean, it's the largest school 0:05:07.670 --> 0:05:11.109 district in the state. I mean, it's four times larger 0:05:11.150 --> 0:05:15.690 than Union County just next door. And we've seen a 0:05:15.830 --> 0:05:19.020 ton of issues over the years and a ton of accusations, 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:21.660 but never to this level. And I'm concerned that if 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.130 something doesn't happen soon, much sooner rather than later, that 0:05:25.230 --> 0:05:27.710 it's just going to continue. And the only ones hurting 0:05:27.730 --> 0:05:28.770 at the end of the day are our students, and 0:05:28.790 --> 0:05:29.630 we can't let that happen. 0:05:30.670 --> 0:05:33.990 Speaking exclusively with North Carolina State Representative David Willis here 0:05:34.070 --> 0:05:35.210 on Breaking with Brett Jensen. 0:05:35.730 --> 0:05:37.430 He's in the process of trying. 0:05:37.210 --> 0:05:39.570 To put a bill together that would break up CMS 0:05:39.610 --> 0:05:43.010 into multiple districts, as well as do a recall election 0:05:43.270 --> 0:05:45.120 for all nine members of the school board. 0:05:45.460 --> 0:05:47.440 You mentioned earlier the investigations. 0:05:47.540 --> 0:05:50.860 How much has that played into you looking into breaking 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:52.779 up CMS and doing a recall election? 0:05:53.460 --> 0:05:56.160 It was significantly, quite honestly. I mean, it's, you know, 0:05:56.180 --> 0:05:59.750 the conversations around breaking up CMS are not new. You know, 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:01.510 there have been groups that have even studied this over 0:06:01.550 --> 0:06:04.490 the years. And, you know, when you talk about, you know, 0:06:04.550 --> 0:06:07.770 a geographic area as large as, you know, Cornelius and 0:06:07.810 --> 0:06:11.270 Huntersville all the way down to Steel Creek or Ballantyne or, 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:16.120 you know, Matthews, it's a huge geographic area. And the 0:06:16.180 --> 0:06:20.279 ability to effectively manage that, a system that large and 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.940 that geographically different. We've seen issues with storms, whether it's 0:06:23.980 --> 0:06:27.390 winter storms or hurricane damage or other things where parts 0:06:27.430 --> 0:06:29.470 of the school district needed to close. We've got to 0:06:29.490 --> 0:06:31.750 close the entire district, right? And so there are a 0:06:31.750 --> 0:06:35.090 number of different instances of things happening. And I think 0:06:35.210 --> 0:06:37.610 once you get that large, too, you lose sight of 0:06:38.230 --> 0:06:40.050 of your ability to really be able to manage the 0:06:40.070 --> 0:06:43.360 day-to-day operations and for anyone to really know what's happening 0:06:43.380 --> 0:06:45.940 at the ground level. And I think there is a 0:06:46.020 --> 0:06:50.200 too-big-to-succeed model out there, and we found it. And so 0:06:50.220 --> 0:06:53.000 I think it's long overdue that we have serious discussions. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.540 And I think with the investigations that are going on, 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:58.169 there's never been a better time to really have a real, 0:06:58.310 --> 0:06:59.630 honest dialogue about this. 0:06:59.690 --> 0:07:00.910 And I think it's time we move forward, Brett. 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.920 So now looking at breaking up CMS into multiple districts, 0:07:05.380 --> 0:07:07.260 what can you tell us about this? I know it's very, 0:07:07.300 --> 0:07:09.600 very early in the process, but are you looking at 0:07:09.660 --> 0:07:12.800 maybe just breaking it into two districts or three districts 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:15.000 or even four districts? What can you tell us about 0:07:15.060 --> 0:07:17.000 breaking up CMS district-wise? 0:07:17.940 --> 0:07:20.660 Well, I think it's way too early to talk about 0:07:20.700 --> 0:07:22.800 specifics like that. I mean, I think you're talking a 0:07:22.820 --> 0:07:26.030 multi-year process, really, where we're going to have to pull 0:07:26.050 --> 0:07:31.090 stakeholders together, local, state, from the educational system, from the 0:07:31.590 --> 0:07:35.540 communities themselves. We need key stakeholders at the table across 0:07:35.580 --> 0:07:38.100 the board on this and looking at and studying what 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.500 are the optimal sizes, what are the best operating systems 0:07:41.540 --> 0:07:44.030 across the state. I mentioned Union County right next door. 0:07:44.050 --> 0:07:49.490 I mean, we're roughly one-fourth of CMS. And so what 0:07:49.550 --> 0:07:51.250 is the right size? I don't think that we know 0:07:51.310 --> 0:07:54.460 that yet. necessarily, but we've got some ideas of what's 0:07:54.500 --> 0:07:57.920 been successful, what size school districts are working well, and 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.440 we can certainly use that as a barometer. But I 0:08:01.460 --> 0:08:03.320 think we've got a lot of discussions, a lot of 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:05.190 folks that need to be at the table for that, 0:08:05.230 --> 0:08:07.730 and that's not something that's going to come overnight. So 0:08:07.790 --> 0:08:09.570 anybody that's hearing this and thinking about, oh, my gosh, 0:08:09.590 --> 0:08:11.310 the school's going to get broken up, where are we 0:08:11.330 --> 0:08:13.070 going to be, or they're freaking out about that, I 0:08:13.090 --> 0:08:15.130 would just say relax. This is going to be a 0:08:15.150 --> 0:08:19.460 multi-year approach, and for us to be successful at it, 0:08:19.500 --> 0:08:21.200 we've got to make sure that we take the time 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:23.860 and do it right and have the key people, the 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:27.240 right people at the table for these discussions. And that, 0:08:27.300 --> 0:08:30.420 I'm hoping, will allow us to at least start identifying 0:08:30.460 --> 0:08:33.870 some of those key individuals sooner rather than later and 0:08:34.070 --> 0:08:36.530 start some discussions, hopefully before the end of the year. 0:08:38.490 --> 0:08:40.730 All right, so that is part one of my interview 0:08:40.770 --> 0:08:43.990 with North Carolina State Legislator David Willis, who represents parts 0:08:44.030 --> 0:08:46.589 of Union County but is also chair of the Education Committee, 0:08:47.210 --> 0:08:51.130 who's drafting a bill that would break up CMS into 0:08:51.210 --> 0:08:54.050 multiple districts and also do a recall vote on the 0:08:54.110 --> 0:08:55.790 people that are currently on the school board. 0:08:56.450 --> 0:08:57.190 When we come. 0:08:57.050 --> 0:08:59.340 Back with part two, we're going to talk about the 0:08:59.390 --> 0:09:01.620 recall vote and as well as a couple other things, 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.699 including the finances of CMS and how the state might 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:22.370 take that over as well. Welcome back to Breaking with 0:09:22.410 --> 0:09:25.630 Brett Jensen here on this Wednesday night. Okay, so in 0:09:25.650 --> 0:09:30.160 this exclusive interview, exclusive, exclusive interview, you won't hear David 0:09:30.179 --> 0:09:33.160 Willis representative speaking to anyone else in the entire state. 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.900 So here's the thing. He's putting forth a bill to 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:37.940 break up CMS. 0:09:37.980 --> 0:09:40.800 He's chair of the Education Committee up in Raleigh, and 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.329 he also wants to do a recall election for all 0:09:43.370 --> 0:09:45.750 the nine members of the CMS school board. So now 0:09:45.790 --> 0:09:48.770 we're continuing part two of my interview with David Willis. 0:09:48.910 --> 0:09:52.410 Speaking with North Carolina State Representative David Willis, who represents 0:09:52.450 --> 0:09:55.030 parts of Union County, he's also chair of the Education 0:09:55.050 --> 0:09:58.190 Committee on the House side, who's looking to put together 0:09:58.210 --> 0:10:01.459 a bill that would break up CMS into multiple districts, 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.760 as well as do a recall election for all nine 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:07.980 members of the CMS school board. One of the things 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.040 that has been talked about for a very long time 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:13.620 is the state taking over control of the finances like you. 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.480 Guys have with other school districts. 0:10:15.940 --> 0:10:19.610 So is that a possibility, even though the CMS came 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.230 out this morning and said, hey, we're hiring this new 0:10:22.270 --> 0:10:26.550 consulting firm to handle our finances and also to guide 0:10:26.630 --> 0:10:29.589 us in transition of trying to find a new CFO? 0:10:29.950 --> 0:10:31.770 So is there a possibility that the state could take 0:10:31.830 --> 0:10:32.650 over the finances? 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.500 Well, first and foremost, I would very much approve of 0:10:38.540 --> 0:10:41.260 the state stepping in and taking over financial control immediately. 0:10:42.179 --> 0:10:46.350 There are some questions and concerns about that, and what 0:10:46.390 --> 0:10:47.990 would that look like? I mean, obviously, we did that 0:10:48.010 --> 0:10:53.030 in Winston-Salem recently, and so there's certainly precedent there for 0:10:53.050 --> 0:10:55.360 that to happen. I think, you know, from what I'm 0:10:55.390 --> 0:10:57.460 hearing on the CMS side, this goes much deeper than 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:02.520 the issues that we had in Winston-Salem, and so... I 0:11:02.700 --> 0:11:06.099 think the urgency would be even greater to take a 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.000 look at CMS and taking them over in the short term. 0:11:09.090 --> 0:11:11.250 And I think the fact that they've posted something that 0:11:12.010 --> 0:11:15.010 indicates that they're willing to spend even more money on 0:11:15.030 --> 0:11:18.610 a CFO, I mean, I guess I would question where's 0:11:18.650 --> 0:11:21.370 the current CFO and what is the job that they're 0:11:21.410 --> 0:11:24.410 doing and why are they willing to go spend hundreds or, 0:11:24.580 --> 0:11:33.989 you know, Real understanding of the seriousness of this and 0:11:34.190 --> 0:11:36.110 the fact that they're willing to waste even more money 0:11:37.870 --> 0:11:39.750 doing the job that they've been hired and elected to 0:11:39.809 --> 0:11:43.150 do is even more concerning, Brett. And so I think 0:11:43.190 --> 0:11:45.710 we need to move as quickly as possible. We need 0:11:45.730 --> 0:11:48.290 to make sure that there aren't any conflicts of interest. Obviously, 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.319 there's some close connections with the state board and with 0:11:51.380 --> 0:11:54.400 DPI as it relates to CMS. And so we just 0:11:54.420 --> 0:11:56.339 need to make sure we've got the right people in 0:11:56.380 --> 0:11:59.320 place and there are no real conflicts of interest and 0:11:59.340 --> 0:12:02.420 that we've got true transparency and clarity as to what's 0:12:02.460 --> 0:12:03.500 happening within the system. 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.560 What can you tell me about a potential recall vote? 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.500 So I think, you know, it's something I think where, 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:15.760 you know, we've clearly lost a public trust in the 0:12:15.780 --> 0:12:18.309 school board. And I think, you know, even with the 0:12:19.830 --> 0:12:23.730 The news earlier about hiring a new CFO potentially or 0:12:23.770 --> 0:12:26.780 outsourcing that, I think, just continues to show their lack 0:12:26.820 --> 0:12:29.620 of understanding of the seriousness of where they're at. I 0:12:29.860 --> 0:12:32.900 think last night at the school board meeting, they announced 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:36.840 an interim committee made up of themselves to put proper 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:40.290 governance and oversight in place as they think about the 0:12:40.309 --> 0:12:43.250 CFO and the governance process going forward. And I think 0:12:43.270 --> 0:12:46.489 that just shows a lack of real understanding and appreciation 0:12:46.570 --> 0:12:49.750 for how bad the system is being run right now. 0:12:49.850 --> 0:12:52.990 And so I think starting over, giving the parents an 0:12:53.010 --> 0:12:57.590 ability to elect new school board members to really right 0:12:57.630 --> 0:13:00.459 the ship and put the right leaders at the table 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.600 when we need them most is critically important. And so 0:13:03.620 --> 0:13:05.020 I think we've got to go back and look at 0:13:05.700 --> 0:13:07.700 all of our options and how quickly we can make 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.359 that happen and give that back to the voters and 0:13:10.540 --> 0:13:12.610 let them decide. Because, you know, again, it comes back 0:13:12.620 --> 0:13:14.830 to the students and the parents. And if they don't 0:13:14.870 --> 0:13:17.970 have trust in those that are leading their school system, 0:13:19.350 --> 0:13:21.490 you know, then we just need to scratch it and 0:13:21.530 --> 0:13:22.010 start all over. 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.420 Last couple of moments here with North Carolina State Representative 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.000 David Willis, who is the chair of the Education Committee 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.040 on the House side, who also represents parts of Union County, 0:13:31.460 --> 0:13:34.479 and is looking to put together a bill that would 0:13:34.580 --> 0:13:38.020 break up CMS into multiple districts, as well as do 0:13:38.070 --> 0:13:41.610 a recall election for the members of the school board. 0:13:41.790 --> 0:13:44.190 So what kind of message do you have to parents 0:13:44.690 --> 0:13:49.069 that have students at CMS or are involved within CMS? 0:13:49.170 --> 0:13:50.729 What do you have to say to the people of 0:13:50.790 --> 0:13:52.860 Mecklenburg County about CMS? 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.760 I think this is an opportunity for parents and even 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.929 the students and the staff across the board to really 0:14:01.030 --> 0:14:04.270 speak up and provide some input and be vocal about 0:14:04.350 --> 0:14:06.290 what they want. Reach out to your local leaders, your 0:14:06.330 --> 0:14:10.390 local elected officials, your state representatives, and let them know. 0:14:11.410 --> 0:14:12.030 This is something. 0:14:12.890 --> 0:14:15.170 Like I said, it's been talked about for years about 0:14:15.190 --> 0:14:18.190 possibly breaking up the system. Is it too big to 0:14:18.290 --> 0:14:25.229 operate effectively, whether it's busing issues or school reassignments or construction? 0:14:25.250 --> 0:14:27.230 I mean, obviously, there's been a number of issues that 0:14:27.270 --> 0:14:29.630 have been heavily debated over the years, and I think 0:14:29.650 --> 0:14:33.410 we've seen serious concerns about mismanagement in the past. But 0:14:33.460 --> 0:14:35.390 a lot of that really had to do with timeliness issues. 0:14:35.630 --> 0:14:39.440 maybe in the ability to make decisions that were most 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.720 effective and kind of keep politics to the side. What 0:14:42.740 --> 0:14:45.950 we're seeing really now goes well beyond that. And we know, 0:14:45.970 --> 0:14:48.530 you know, based on the information, at least that's been 0:14:48.590 --> 0:14:52.090 provided publicly, that, you know, there are serious concerns. Like 0:14:52.110 --> 0:14:54.070 you said, I mean, you've got the DOJ, the FBI, 0:14:54.090 --> 0:14:57.840 the FBI involved as well as others. I mean, if 0:14:57.860 --> 0:14:59.640 there were ever going to be a time where, to 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:03.220 break up CMS. Now is that time. So what does 0:15:03.260 --> 0:15:05.700 that look like? What support is there? If you do 0:15:05.740 --> 0:15:08.170 support that idea, then let us know about it. Let 0:15:08.230 --> 0:15:10.550 us hear it with your local officials, your state officials 0:15:10.610 --> 0:15:13.570 hear about it, because this isn't going to be something 0:15:13.610 --> 0:15:16.790 that I go do on my own and in a silo. 0:15:17.070 --> 0:15:18.950 This is going to take the whole community. But I 0:15:18.970 --> 0:15:21.620 think it's an opportunity for the community to come together 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.100 and really have a voice in what they want the 0:15:24.140 --> 0:15:26.340 future of CMS to be. And now is the time 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:26.820 to speak up. 0:15:27.550 --> 0:15:30.670 North Carolina State Representative David Willis, who's also chair of 0:15:30.690 --> 0:15:33.470 the Education Committee up on the House side up in 0:15:33.510 --> 0:15:35.730 Raleigh and who also represents parts of Union County. 0:15:36.110 --> 0:15:37.730 I really do appreciate you joining us tonight. 0:15:38.410 --> 0:15:39.750 Thanks, Brett. Thank you for covering this. 0:15:40.730 --> 0:15:41.150 All right. 0:15:41.170 --> 0:15:43.350 So once again, that is North Carolina State Representative David 0:15:43.370 --> 0:15:46.010 Willis out of Union County. He's also co-chair of the 0:15:46.130 --> 0:15:49.830 Education Committee on the House side and putting forth a 0:15:49.910 --> 0:15:52.730 bill that would break up CMS into multiple districts as 0:15:52.790 --> 0:15:55.270 well as do a recall election for all nine school 0:15:55.320 --> 0:16:05.470 board members. Welcome back to Breaking with Brent Jensen here 0:16:05.790 --> 0:16:11.170 on this Wednesday night. So we just had statewide exclusive 0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:15.760 North Carolina State Representative David Willis on the show to 0:16:15.820 --> 0:16:20.700 talk about the bill he's crafting to put together that 0:16:20.820 --> 0:16:25.120 would break up CMS into multiple districts. Now you also need, 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:26.950 and he said this during the interview, and by the way, 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:32.830 if you missed the interview, Somewhere between... Let's just say 0:16:32.830 --> 0:16:34.350 7.45 to be on the safe side. 0:16:34.350 --> 0:16:34.790 7.45, 8 o'clock. 0:16:35.670 --> 0:16:39.070 The entire interview will be posted online. And you just 0:16:39.090 --> 0:16:41.130 go to WBT.com. You can go to my show page, 0:16:41.180 --> 0:16:44.260 podcast page, whatever. Up in the menu section in the upper... 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:45.800 I believe upper left-hand corner. 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:47.930 But.... 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:53.620 If CMS were to be broken up... Here's how that 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:59.700 would happen. They would have to agree... To form a committee. 0:17:00.820 --> 0:17:06.739 To study the best way to break it up. Some 0:17:06.780 --> 0:17:09.320 people think there would be a north, a middle, and 0:17:09.340 --> 0:17:13.830 a south. Which seems to make the most sense. Because 0:17:13.869 --> 0:17:16.830 by doing it that way, it would be about the 0:17:16.890 --> 0:17:19.490 same size as other school districts that are surrounding it. 0:17:19.510 --> 0:17:21.930 Whether it's Iredell County, Gaston County, Union County. They'd be 0:17:21.970 --> 0:17:24.230 about the same size. Cabarrus County. They'd all be about 0:17:24.260 --> 0:17:28.090 the same size. Each school district. Now, obviously, then you'd 0:17:28.109 --> 0:17:30.170 have to figure it out, because let's be honest. Let's 0:17:30.210 --> 0:17:31.570 be real for a second, okay? 0:17:33.550 --> 0:17:38.450 West Charlotte is not the same as Ardrick Hill High School. 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:47.320 So in order to make things close to being equal 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.400 in terms of the students. 0:17:52.970 --> 0:17:55.550 It wouldn't be just a straight line across. There would 0:17:55.570 --> 0:17:58.449 probably be a zigzag line. So obviously, Myers Park would 0:17:58.470 --> 0:18:02.600 be in the middle section. You might have Providence in 0:18:02.619 --> 0:18:07.379 the middle section. But you might have South Meck in 0:18:07.420 --> 0:18:10.639 the south section, even though it's way before Highway 51. 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:14.060 It really, you know, maybe even belong in the middle section. 0:18:15.100 --> 0:18:17.480 And then you'd have to do things up north. Where 0:18:17.510 --> 0:18:20.210 would East Meck fall? We know North Meck would be 0:18:20.230 --> 0:18:23.990 in the north section. What about Mallard Creek? Or, you know, Butler, 0:18:24.030 --> 0:18:28.140 excuse me, stuff like that, right? So there's a lot 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:30.879 of things that would have to go into. So you 0:18:30.900 --> 0:18:33.119 got to try and make sure the student population is 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:38.730 relatively the same. What schools, specifically high schools, would be 0:18:38.830 --> 0:18:44.869 in what districts? And then, you know, also feeder schools. 0:18:45.070 --> 0:18:48.290 What about feeder schools? So there's a lot that would 0:18:48.330 --> 0:18:52.920 go into this. And it would probably be a two-year process, 0:18:53.340 --> 0:18:57.210 not before it got passed, but before it actually became 0:18:57.250 --> 0:19:01.290 into place. So let's say in January they decide to 0:19:01.330 --> 0:19:05.649 form a committee. The committee would spend, looking. 0:19:05.430 --> 0:19:08.570 At it, all of 2027. 0:19:10.190 --> 0:19:14.800 Beginning of 2028. You also got to remember the governments 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.520 tend to be slow. So then in 2028, they would 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.860 vote on whether or not to break up CMS. 0:19:24.300 --> 0:19:25.919 And when would that start? 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.320 Because you have to have elections for school board and 0:19:29.340 --> 0:19:32.960 you got to have superintendents. Like you just can't have 0:19:32.980 --> 0:19:35.080 a new schools district. You got to have all that 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:41.710 stuff in place. So you would probably be looking, maybe 0:19:41.830 --> 0:19:45.630 if you're lucky, the beginning of the 2028 school year, 0:19:45.630 --> 0:19:49.970 18 months, if you're lucky, but maybe there's a real 0:19:50.100 --> 0:19:53.330 real chance it would be the beginning of the 2020 0:19:53.330 --> 0:19:59.070 2029 school year right because 2027 would be all the 0:19:59.430 --> 0:20:04.990 planning and looking into it passing it in 2028 you 0:20:05.010 --> 0:20:07.409 got to have elections so maybe if you're lucky the 0:20:07.430 --> 0:20:08.510 beginning of the 28 29 school year maybe. 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:12.700 But not before then. 0:20:14.420 --> 0:20:17.580 So you're looking at 20 months down the road. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:19.820 Right? 0:20:22.060 --> 0:20:28.000 Now, the recall election, that could happen before March. And 0:20:28.020 --> 0:20:30.720 you could have the recall election in March. Or you 0:20:30.740 --> 0:20:32.810 could actually have it in February if you wanted. 0:20:36.170 --> 0:20:37.450 And you have to see how that goes. 0:20:37.490 --> 0:20:39.949 And that way, if board members are kicked out or 0:20:39.990 --> 0:20:43.840 board members resign, because they don't want to be part 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:47.680 of the recall election, well, then you've got your primaries 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.850 and you'd have everything else like that. And then you've 0:20:50.869 --> 0:20:53.189 also got, so that could happen, that could happen quickly 0:20:54.290 --> 0:20:56.250 in the next couple of months, next few months, I 0:20:56.290 --> 0:21:00.030 should say. And then after that, what about the state 0:21:00.070 --> 0:21:02.649 taking over the finances like they've done with Wake County 0:21:02.670 --> 0:21:04.810 and maybe one other school district? 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:08.040 Okay, well, that's really possible. 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:14.450 And that could happen, that could happen That could actually 0:21:14.510 --> 0:21:19.060 happen soon. The recall election could be voted on actually 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:23.000 in November or December. It could actually be voted on 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:29.669 in November or December easily. And it could happen ASAP. 0:21:30.270 --> 0:21:33.510 End of January, early February, they could literally happen that quickly. 0:21:34.390 --> 0:21:37.889 Same thing about the state taking over all the finances, 0:21:38.330 --> 0:21:42.810 regardless of CMS suspending Potentially hundreds and hundreds of thousands 0:21:42.830 --> 0:21:45.370 of dollars. I think maybe they said they would spend 0:21:45.430 --> 0:21:51.310 up to $ 900, 000. I think I have that number correct. 0:21:51.750 --> 0:21:56.810 For a consulting firm to take over the finances. By 0:21:56.850 --> 0:21:59.070 the way, all points bulletin. Has anyone seen or heard 0:21:59.090 --> 0:22:01.790 from Kelly Klutz in APB? We need to put out 0:22:01.830 --> 0:22:05.840 an APB on Kelly Klutz. Has anyone seen or heard 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:06.119 from her? 0:22:06.980 --> 0:22:13.380 Okay. Her last day is December 31st. Has she already 0:22:13.420 --> 0:22:13.899 checked out? 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:17.620