http://66.225.205.104/SO20090514.mp3
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School board approved an across the board pay cut of a half percent through June 30. In exchange, employees will have 10 hours of vacation time. WFAE's Simone Orendain reports: Superintendent Peter Gorman says trimming .5 percent from salaries saves around $3.8 million. But Gorman says timing is essential because some employees have just one paycheck coming before the school year ends. "You feel it more. But you also feel it more when you're a teacher and you know that it's the last paycheck you're going to get for two months. So it's a particularly tough time," he says. The state recently ordered the district to return an additional $3.8 million, on top of the $5.3 million that CMS returned to the state last fall. County government meanwhile, has also ordered CMS to give back $5 million from this year's budget. The mandates come as state and county budget planners grapple with significant shortfalls for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.