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Charter school in Cabarrus County holds open house despite dispute over $8M property

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — A new charter school in Cabarrus County was scheduled to open in the fall of 2022 in a Kannapolis building.

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However, Cabarrus County leaders said they want to possess the property after the school signed a purchase agreement for $8 million.

“A week later we received a letter of condemnation, which I found out was the first step in the eminent domain process,” said Lisa Matthews, board member with Dogwood Classical Academy. “The county decided to use this route to seize a building, and now we’re caught in the middle.”

Despite that announcement last week, school officials at Dogwood Elementary planned an open house Thursday night.

There were 240 families who already signed up to attend the new school.

In the video at the top of this webpage, reporter Tina Terry speaks with a family who hopes the dispute does not affect plans to open the school.

(Watch video below: Cabarrus County leaders, charter school fight over $8M property)