MONROE, N.C. — The Union County Board of Education met Thursday night to discuss plans to alleviate overcrowding, including redistricting. More than 650 parents packed the auditorium at Monroe High School but weren't allowed to talk at the meeting.
They still made their views known: there were boos and cheers.
The boos were for any plan that would move kids to different schools, while the cheers were for alternate plans to alleviate overcrowding, like mobile classrooms.
"Children are emotionally affected by the impact of uprooting and changing schools before it's time," Terez Biancardi said.
Parents told Eyewitness News they were desperate to let board members know they do not want redistricting to happen.
"It just looks as though they have a rubber stamp on this already," parent Heath Lord said. "This is moving too quickly."
The superintendent talked about other options, ideas like having students go to school in shifts.
"Tonight had a lot of interesting ideas, a couple of different things I hadn't seen," Chairman Richard Yercheck said.
The superintendent told the board sending kids in shifts is very pricey and moving students to different schools would cost taxpayers little to nothing.
"A lot of people seem to think we can pull a million-dollar rabbit out of a hat. I'm telling you, I got no rabbits," Superintendent Mary Ellis said.
But many parents are pushing against the idea of redistricting.
Board members will vote on a plan to reduce overcrowding in April.
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