CMS eyes shake-up of south Charlotte school boundaries (free version)
Special report: The school district has started quietly crafting boundary lines to accommodate a new high school, which is likely to set off a contentious debate
Good morning! Today is Friday, November 11, 2022. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying members went out 15 minutes ago.
It included a context-filled report about a hot topic🔥 our readers have been begging us to update them on — what’s the latest thinking on where south Charlotte high school boundaries will be drawn once the new south Charlotte high school opens?
We’ve also rounded up some other schools-related plans that are on the drawing board, and a link to our latest Charlotte Ledger podcast with Claire Schuch, who heads up planning for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
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CMS has 4 draft plans — blue, yellow, orange and violet — that call for overhauling Myers Park, Ardrey Kell and South Meck attendance zones
The new high school under construction in the Ballantyne area will lead to new school assignments in south Charlotte. CMS has drawn up four draft assignment scenarios and is refining them, before a public release of the plans and an expected school board vote in February. (Photo by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
by Tony Mecia and Cristina Bolling
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials have started quietly circulating four draft plans for assigning students to the new high school under construction in south Charlotte, which will soon set off a contentious debate that newly elected school board members will face in the next few months.
At issue is how the school system will populate a new 100-classroom high school designed for up to 2,500 students near the corner of Johnston and Community House roads in the Ballantyne area. It is expected to open in 2024.
CMS opens new schools and shifts boundaries and feeder patterns all the time. But this school reassignment decision is especially notable because it will involve the county’s three largest high schools — Myers Park, Ardrey Kell and South Meck, which combined have more than 10,000 students — in addition to thousands more students at about two dozen elementary and middle schools. South Charlotte is known to be, shall we say, heavily interested and engaged in school assignment decisions, which can affect neighborhoods’ housing markets and property values.
Confidential ‘scenarios’: CMS has developed four potential plans for assigning students to the new high school, each referred to as a color: “blue,” “orange,” “yellow” and “violet.” The district’s planning services department started circulating them last month to small groups of parents and administrators at affected schools, as well as to a parent advisory committee. People who have seen the draft plans, which CMS calls “scenarios,” are reluctant to speak publicly about them because they were told CMS considers them to be confidential.
CMS’ director of planning services, Claire Schuch, told The Ledger via email this week that CMS is “revising the blue, orange, yellow and violet scenarios” based on feedback to create two new plans — “red” and “brown” — and intends to begin sharing “around 3” of the leading scenarios to bigger groups next week. The tentative schedule calls for an in-person public hearing in January and a board vote in February.
Conceptually, according to people familiar with recent discussion on the plans, momentum seems to be building toward a scenario in which the new high school, located near the border of the South Meck and Ardrey Kell attendance zones, draws students from
💭What do you think? We want to hear what thoughts or questions you have about what school boundary lines should look like in south Charlotte. Feel free to drop us a line.
Related Ledger articles:
“New details on Myers Park/South Meck student reassignment proposal; some parents ‘flabbergasted’” (May 21, 2021)
“South Charlotte parents swing into action to combat school assignment proposal” (May 24, 2021)
“A delay on hotly contested proposal on south Charlotte school assignment” (May 26, 2021)
“Quotable: CMS board member on south Charlotte ‘privilege and entitlement’” (May 26, 2021)
“CMS unveils proposed south Charlotte student assignment maps” (April 8, 2022)
Rumblings of CMS bond projects of the future: Changes in Dilworth, new high school language magnet near East Meck?
As Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools begins work toward its list of proposed “capital investment plan” projects that will be tied into the 2023 Mecklenburg County school bond vote, scenarios and surveys are rolling out in communities about what may lie ahead.
Two crossed our desks in the last week:
Related Ledger article:
Listen up 🎧: Get to know Claire Schuch, CMS director of planning services, in the latest Charlotte Ledger Podcast
When Claire Schuch reported for duty at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools last spring, she inherited a department with plenty on its plate.
Schuch leads the district’s planning services department, which is responsible for tasks ranging from drawing boundaries for new schools to devising plans to accommodate growth and shifting populations.
She sat down recently with Ledger managing editor Cristina Bolling for the latest edition of the Charlotte Ledger Podcast to talk about her background, the mission behind her department, how she approaches situations where she can’t make everyone happy, and what’s ahead for school growth in south Charlotte.
Here are a few nuggets of the conversation, but you’ll hear more when you give it a listen!
◼️ On navigating the fact that when you draw or change school boundary lines, you can’t make everyone happy: This is the hardest part of my job. Especially emotionally, because I do want to make everyone happy, and I want people to be happy with CMS and the education that they’re getting for the child. You can never blame a parent for wanting the best education for their child, and even other concerns that people have about [things like] property values. … And there’s not always going to be a scenario where everyone is happy. …Change is really hard, especially [when] we've just gone through Covid, and I think all of us in public education and parents and students have been going through so much transition, and then introducing another transition is really, really hard. People have generally invested a lot in their public schools … they’ve really worked hard to create that strong school community. And so I completely understand that creating then another shift or a transition is very difficult. But people also adjust pretty well. And especially young people, especially students, they are very good at adapting.
◼️ On why it’s important to engage in the community: One of the favorite parts of my job is when I actually get to go to schools and neighborhoods. … And I love it when I get an invite to go to school or to walk with someone through their neighborhood or just to get to see things on the ground. I think it’s really important to get that perspective. Because if you’re just looking at a map, and you’re just looking at the data, you don’t always get that. And I think that’s also why it’s so important for the public to communicate with the district. Because you all bring very unique perspectives and expertise in your own communities and your own schools.
◼️ On building trust: I think that a lot of times there’s distrust for large institutions. And in some cases, that is very valid. And I think we really need to be as transparent as possible in terms of how these processes function and how these decisions are made. And the more we can build trust with the public, I think, the better. And I think it’s great when people are willing to open up and share these things with us. And we can regain some of the trust that maybe has been lost over time.
◼️ On the timeline for deciding the boundaries for the new south Charlotte high school: It's hard to predict exactly how it’s going to go because it's such an iterative process. And because we don't know exactly what it’s going to look like, it’s possible that we come to an agreement or some type of scenario that could potentially work and meets the board criteria sooner rather than later. Or it could be something that's in the final hour (the board is expected to vote on boundaries in February), where we’re still going back and forth between two or potentially even three options.
School officials investigate antisemitic marks on Providence High School bathroom stall
Antisemitic graffiti including words and a swastika were scratched into a boys’ bathroom stall at Providence High School last week, according to a message sent to parents Monday by Principal Tracey Harrill.
The graffiti was buffed out of the stall, and officials were viewing surveillance camera footage and interviewing students, Harrill’s message said.
She continued:
At Providence and in CMS, we do not condone anti-Semitic speech or hate speech of any kind. This situation is very upsetting to us. We work to create an inclusive environment for all students, teachers and community. I ask that you talk to your child about this situation. If they know any information that would help us in the investigation, they can email me or see their counselor or assigned Assistant Principal. Everyone deserves to come to school in a welcoming, accepting environment!
The incident prompted leaders of Temple Beth El to send a message about the graffiti to families with children enrolled in the temple’s after-school Hebrew High education program, which made clergy available during a Hebrew High session to discuss the antisemitic incident or similar experiences. — CB
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
2023 CLT Aviation Academy, application period runs now through Mon., Nov. 14. Classes meet weekly for 8 weeks (January - March). At Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Applications are being accepted for the CLT Aviation Academy, an 8-week program providing an in-depth look at the inner workings of CLT and its impact on the region. Open to the community and public/private leaders. Scholarships available for community members. $350-$500.
Wednesday: 2022 Election Recap Meeting + Networking Reception, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Innovation Barn, Charlotte. Join the Chamber Public Policy Committee for a full overview of the 2022 election. Dr. Michael Bitzer and Bryan Holladay will recap and review local, statewide and national results and what they mean for the city’s businesses and residents. Free.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
Arboretum movie theater closes: The Regal Cinebarre movie theater at the Arboretum was set to close Thursday night, following last month’s closure of Regal’s theater at Phillips Place in SouthPark. The theater chain is in bankruptcy protection. The Arboretum theater opened in 1993. (Observer)
Microsoft data centers: Microsoft plans to build four data centers in Catawba County, totaling $1B in investment over 10 years, the county’s economic development corporation said. The move will create at least 50 jobs. Catawba County and the towns of Hickory, Maiden and Conover agreed to offer economic incentives.
Interim CMS superintendent to leave: Interim Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh says he plans to leave his post early, at the end of December, instead of in June as planned. At the CMS board meeting on Wednesday, Hattabaugh said he will move back to Florida and that his 98-year-old father is ill. His father lives in Indiana. Board members released a statement saying they wished Hattabaugh could stay on the job longer. (WFAE)
Protest at private jet terminal: Several climate protestors chained themselves to the private jet terminal at Charlotte’s airport on Thursday morning. One of the protestors, a NASA astrophysicist, called for banning private jets and “ramping down aviation.” Four people were charged with trespassing. (WFAE)
Cantina’s tax bill: The Internal Revenue Service says the parent company of Cantina 1511 owes $978,000 in tax debts for the years 2016 to 2022, according to court documents. Cantina’s parent company, Quantum Development Charlotte, has filed for bankruptcy protection. It operates restaurants at Park Road Shopping Center, the Ballantyne area and in Mooresville. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Affordable housing shortfall: Eleven developers who received $23M from Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund to build nearly 900 affordable homes now say they need an additional $32M to finish the job because of rising construction costs and interest rates. The City Council is expected to discuss the issue on Monday. (Axios Charlotte)
School calendar: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved a calendar for the 2023-24 school year. (WFAE)
Sweet treat: Chick-fil-A says its seasonal peppermint chip milkshake will be available starting Monday.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project