PHOTO | PAUL WILLIAMS III

Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board chair Arthur Griffin makes a point opposing HB 514 Tuesday at Little Rock AME Zion Church.

Arthur Griffin had no choice other than attend segregated Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

He doesn’t want that for his grandchildren.

Griffin, a 1969 graduate of all-black Second Ward High School, was among four former CMS board chairs to publicly voice opposition Tuesday against a bill that would give Mecklenburg County’s towns authority to build and staff publicly-funded charter schools. HB 514, which passed the state House Wednesday to become law, would allow Mint Hill, Matthews, Huntersville and Cornelius to fund their own campuses. All four towns are majority white, ranging from Mint Hill at 73 percent to Cornelius’ 85 percent. Admission would exclude students from outside communities, which opponents say guarantees disproportionately white enrollment in a county where they’re 58 percent of the population according to the Census Bureau.

“While growing up in Charlotte, my parents didn’t have the resources and political standing to  fight institutional racism associated with the Pearsall Plan,” Griffin said, referring to a 1957 state law that attempted to circumvent the  U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous 1954  Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing racial segregation in tax-supported schools.

“But in 2018, I do. You do. We do, and we need to stand up to institutional racism. We need to stand up and let our legislators know we’re not going to sit down and take it.”

AME Zion Church Bishop George Battle,  a former school board chair, agreed, as did former chairs Wilhelmenia Rembert and Ericka Ellis-Stewart, who attended the press conference at Littler Rock AME Zion.

“I don’t think the good and decent people of North Carolina would want us to go backward,” Battle said.

HB514, opponents contend, violates the state constitution’s Article IX, Section 2, which mandates a uniform public school system that provides equal opportunity to all students. Giving towns the authority to build and staff their own schools would also add another layer of taxation to residents who already fund CMS. The school district’s superintendent, Clayton Wilcox, and current chair, Mary McCray also oppose the bill, sponsored by Rep. Bill Brawley of Matthews.

“There are so many unintended consequences that could happen with this bill,” said Amy Hawn Nelson, a Charlotte resident and University of Pennsylvania professor who conducts research on education equity. “It’ll definitely increase segregation. We know it will increase taxes on towns, which will drive some people out of those towns because of displacement.”

“The passing of House Bill 514 would be detrimental to the students of Charlotte-Mecklenburg; it does not provide equal access to education," said Sen. Joyce Waddell, a Charlotte Democrat. “We should not want legislation that would create racial division in our schools. Instead of creating more charter schools, we need the community to support and help increase resources for Charlotte-Mecklenburg System public schools. House Bill 514 opens the door to a more segregated community and closes the door to access and opportunities for those in need. House Bill 514 drastically affects the future of CMS public schools while placing a deeper tax burden on Mecklenburg County’s working class and those of North Carolina.”

The North Carolina NAACP weighed in Monday, pledging to sue the state if HB 514 becomes law. Because the bill is local, it can't be vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

“We understand that too many North Carolina legislators are intent upon destroying public desegregated schools, but we rise to say that this effort will not succeed without an all-out fight from the North Carolina NAACP,” state chapter President Rev. T. Anthony Spearman said. “If HB 514 becomes law in North Carolina, it will serve as a model for other towns and cities to create 'Jim Crow' independent school districts.”

The law marks a return to 1950s policies in which gives municipalities built and maintained school districts. CMS was formed in 1959 when three Mecklenburg districts asked for a merger with Charlotte’s district. HB 514 will return the financial burden to towns, who’ll have the authority to raise taxes for schools and their employees.

“Nobody knows what that will look like,” Nelson said. “CMS would almost certainly have to figure out some sort of leasing structure with the towns. Some of the school buildings will have to be repurposed [because] the towns certainly can’t afford to build schools, which is millions and millions of dollars  depending on the age range of the school and the grade structure. There’s no way those towns could take on that debt.”

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