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Youth council hosts meeting on safety at CMS schools

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A meeting was hosted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council Tuesday night to address school safety.

The meeting was already scheduled, but earlier in the day a gun was said to be at two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district campuses.

“I don’t think anybody in our community can ignore that we have some real issues,” CMS board member Elyse Dashew said.

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CMS Superintendent Clayton Wilcox, the CMS police chief, other school board members and city leaders also attended the meeting.

The goal was to hear from students and what they need to help keep them safe.

“And hearing from them, they’re saying they want more counselors, they want to create a safe space,” Charlotte City Councilwoman Lawana Mayfield said.

“There’s a whole committee but students aren’t there,” youth council president Righteous Keitt said. “We want to make sure our opinions are being valued just as much as anyone else’s.”

Students told leaders it is important to keep weapons out of school, but there also needs to be a bigger focus on why a student would ever think to bring a weapon.

“One of the main causes that we’ve noticed, that we’ve seen is bullying,” Keitt said. “And instead of actually talking about the solution, they turn to violence.”

They also said one conversation won't fix the problem, but it’s a start.

“It’s necessary,” Keitt said.

Wilcox told students they should expect to hear from him about safety improvements in the next couple days.

He also told them if they feel like he got it wrong to let him know.

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