Three of CMS’ 2023 bond projects could finish next year. See where your school falls
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Tuesday released projected timelines for the first 12 of 30 projects approved as part of November’s $2.5 billion bond referendum, the largest of its kind in state history.
Billingsville Elementary, Marie G. Davis Montessori Secondary and Sedgefield Elementary are slated to be finished as early as August 2025. The latest projects on the list, including the new Second Ward Medical and Technology High School, are expected to be finished in August 2028, according to a report the CMS school board received Tuesday.
A timeline for the remaining 18 approved projects has not yet been announced. While some include renovation and reconstruction, others will only include design work.
The first three projects — Billingsville, Marie G. Davis and Sedgefield — will be renovated and converted into Montessori magnet programs to replace those at the older Chantilly Montessori and J.T. Williams and move a program from Park Road Montessori. Chantilly is slated to be demolished. J.T. Williams will be used for alternative education.
The first 12 projects with projected completion dates account for roughly $907 million of the total $2.5 billion bond package.
The full list of projects and their completion dates include:
Billingsville Montessori - August 2025
Cotswald Elementary School - August 2027
Dilworth Elementary School - August 2027
First Ward Middle School - August 2026
Marie G. Davis Montessori Secondary - August 2025
New Middle School #1 - August 2026
New Second Ward Medical and Technology High School - August 2028
North Mecklenburg High School - August 2028
Northwest School of the Arts - August 2026
Park Road Elementary School - August 2026
Sedgefield Montessori - August 2025
South Mecklenburg High School - August 2027
Superintendent Crystal Hill and staff on Tuesday also recommended partnering with firms LeChase, Jacobs and Leeper as managers for the entire set of bond projects. CMS Chief Operation Officer Brian Schultz said LeChase and Leeper have been involved with the district as project managers for over 25 years, including the district’s previous 2017 bond projects.
The recommendation is notable because the Black Political Caucus, an influential political group in Charlotte, said it would endorse the bond referendum if CMS committed to rewarding a minimum of 30% of the total bond package’s contracts to minority-owned businesses. Part of the group, R.J. Lepper is a well-known Black-owned construction firm in Charlotte.
Board members, such as Vice Chair Dee Rankin, called on the district to be intentional about bringing in minority-owned businesses as vendors for the various projects.
“Since we do need new schools, my hope would be that we could come up with a strategy to increase the number of companies, especially minority-owned businesses, locally and nationally, that we could work with on this,” said Rankin.
The board will vote on the manager recommendation at its next regular meeting on Feb. 27.
