CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Celeste Hart considers herself lucky. Each day, she can drive her daughter to Harding University High School, which is a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools magnet program.
But not every magnet student is as fortunate.
"A lot of these children aren't from this area," Hart said. "They're coming from all over … all over Charlotte."
In a proposal to save money, CMS leaders suggested cutting magnet transportation as an option. The move would save the district $10 million in transportation costs.
Students who couldn't get a ride to their magnet program each day would have to go a neighborhood school.
Fewer students at magnet schools would mean fewer teachers, as well.
"If you have fewer students, you have to make decisions about staffing and, sometimes, that can impact a program very dramatically," Jeff Linker, the director of CMS magnet programs, said.
Superintendent Peter Gorman will make his first budget cut recommendations to the board next week. On Wednesday, he wouldn't say what he will recommend regarding busing but said he wants the board to make a decision by Jan. 25.
The lottery to get into a magnet program starts in early February.
"Whether we would end it or keep it, we should make a decision on that soon so families know and give them as many possible options," Gorman said.