CMS revises plan to shift school boundaries in southern Mecklenburg County
Parents across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District had the chance to get answers on the plan to shift the county’s school boundaries.
CMS released a second draft of the plan Wednesday. Channel 9 education reporter Jonathan Lowe broke down the new plan and why parents are still frustrated.
“I will kindly ask, how do you justify harming these students? Harming their study time?” one parent asked during a meeting held about the issue.
School officials held a community engagement session regarding the second draft map showing how boundary changes would be set by a new high, middle, and elementary school in the southern part of the county.
“You are inequitably impacting these Olde Providence students,” one parent said.
Most of the concerns parents expressed were about how the socioeconomic status of those schools might be impacted.
“I think there’s still some SES tweaking that needs to go around. And some changing that needs to go around from different elementary schools that might enable many different high schools to achieve a more balanced situation,” parent Heidi Carney said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hundreds attend CMS meeting on proposal that could move thousands of students
Carney, who has a 9th grader at Ardrey Kell High School, also expressed concern about her child being uprooted in the middle of their high school career.
“They have told me that they are actively talking about trying to keep the legacy of both juniors and seniors but actively talking about it and the practicality of it happening are two different things” Carney expressed. “The draft 2 scenario is a total overhaul with a different lens.”
CMS Executive Director for Facilities and Real Estate Planning Dennis Lacaria said staff took more than 21,000 survey responses on draft one when coming up with the basis for draft two.
“SES diversity primarily and then utilization because in the other scenario, we made some determinations where some of the schools were a little more underutilized,” Lacaria said.
Lacaria also said this remains a process that will include a lot of give and take.
“What we’re bound by is taking into consideration what’s best for all kids. So we have to start with the 146,000 students that we’re charged with being responsible to,” Lacaria explained.
You can get a closer look at the full plan from CMS on boundary changes here.
VIDEO: Hundreds of parents attend CMS meeting on setting new boundaries in southern Meck County
