90+ Charlotte parents to speak on plan to move CMS school boundaries

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ board of education is about to get an earful when it comes to changing boundaries in the southern part of the district.

Tuesday night is the public hearing on the proposal the superintendent laid out earlier this month.

That new plan set to impact thousands of families centers around new schools being built for the growing district.

Related: Charlotte families brace for shake-up as CMS prepares for new schools

The new high school along Community House Road in Ballantyne is in the middle of construction. It won’t open until the fall of 2024 and will relieve overcrowding at South Mecklenburg and Ardrey Kell high schools.

Some students now at those two high schools will end up going to the new high school when it opens.

Rising seniors will be able to stay at their current school, as will rising juniors, although they won’t be provided transportation.

There are also plans for a new middle school but that won’t open until fall of 2025.

Both of these new schools means that CMS had to redraw school boundaries to redistribute students.

Among the top priorities are:

• Cutting down on travel time between home and school
• Creating socio-economically diverse schools
• Getting the most use out of buildings
• Keeping feeder patterns from elementary, middle and high schools together

So far, the response to Tuesday night’s public hearing has been overwhelming, with 96 people currently on the list.

Normally, speakers get three minutes but because there are so many people on the list, the board has reduced the time to two minutes. Still, that’s well over three hours and the list is expected to grow.

The board is expected to vote on the boundary changes on June 6.

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