Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Need 60 New Buildings Over Next Ten Years

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools are looking for ways to keep up with growth and save money. They think they'll have to build 60 new schools over the next ten years.

On Jan. 23, a special school board subcommittee presented 75 recommendations on how to cut construction costs. One idea is causing controversy; not building football stadiums at new high schools anymore. The idea is to have them share with other new schools, with one stadium for every three or four schools.

Subcommittee co-chairman Denis Lacaria said, "the fields themselves provide the single biggest potential savings in the construction of a new high school -- $4-5 million per stadium. By simply eliminating ten, you've built a high school for free."

Some parents like the idea of cutting athletics, not academics. Kelly Cooper says, "if they can't afford each school to have its own field, then they have regional fields. That makes sense."

Others prefer cuts elsewhere, especially when some schools, like Ardrey Kell High School, have their own state-of-the-art stadiums.

Jaimie Thorpe says, "I think it's important for morale for kids to be playing on their own fields."

Superintendent Peter Gorman says that raises issues of fairness which is a concern. Gorman says, "It's easy for individuals to say, 'oh, just build a stripped down bare bones box of a school,' but, then, how do we give kids fairness? How do we have equity?"

The school board is expected to make decisions within the next few weeks.