CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Officials at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools asked the school board to consider closing 12 schools and consolidating others.
The move is part of a sweeping, district-wide review of CMS that's intended to both save money and boost academic performance. Earlier this month, CMS released a list of 37 schools that it recommended undergo some type of change. Closing or consolidating was an option for 14 of those 37 schools.
That list has now been narrowed further. The latest plans were outlined at a Tuesday afternoon workshop. (Click here to read the report from today's workshop.)
Schools Recommended To Close: • Amay James Pre-K (Relocate students to Pre-K-8 home schools) • Bishop Spaugh Middle School (Pre-K-8 programs created at feeder elementary schools) • Chantilly Elementary School (Relocate to Oakhurst facility) • Davidson IB Middle School (Relocate to Alexander Middle School) • Highland Mill Elementary School (Relocate to Oakhurst facility) • Irwin Avenue Elementary School (Divide attendance boundary among home schools in proximity) • J.T. Williams Middle School (Pre-K-8 programs created at feeder elementary schools) • Pawtuckett Elementary School (Consolidate at Whitewater Academy) • Smith K-8 (Relocate to E.E. Waddell High School) • University Park Elementary School (Consolidate at First Ward Creative Arts year-round) • Villa Heights Elementary School (Relocate to Elizabeth Elementary School facility) • Wilson Middle School (Reassign attendance boundary to Kennedy Middle School and Whitewater Middle School
Schools Recommended To Consolidate: • Pawtuckett Elementary School and Whitewater Academy (Close Pawtuckett)
In addition, the plans call for students and teachers at Irwin Avenue Elementary to move, but the building would remain in use for CMS personnel.
The district is also considering shifting Cochrane Middle School from a standard middle school with sixth through eighth grades to a high school with sixth through 12th grades. District officials said the change would alleviate overcrowding at nearby Garinger High School.
The change would mean that students at Devonshire Elementary and Hickory Grove Elementary would make the jump from fifth grade to a school with high-school-age students.
Parents of students at Cochrane Middle School didn't seem to mind the idea, but parents of students at Devonshire Elementary had a different reaction, saying the age difference is too great.
"It's not dangerous for me to have my son, (who is) 10 years old, with my 26-year-old son. It's not dangerous. But it is going to be dangerous if he's mixed with the older ones I don't know," parent Anabel Montes said.
School Board Chairman Eric Davis said he knows the latest plans will create controversy.
"Some (people) will see these as, ‘That's exactly what we need to do. I'm on board, let's go.' Others will say this is exactly the wrong thing," Davis said.
Still, he said, the board is working to keep students' best interests in mind.
"Always in your mind, (think) ‘What's the impact on the individual student?' Realize that any change is going to have some impact that we would prefer not to have," Davis said.
There will be a series of public forums held before any of the changes are implemented. The district said it hopes to have dates for those forums sets by the end of the week.
The board will adopt its final plan on Nov. 9.
View CMS School Recommendations in a larger map
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