Cabarrus Co. school board make final decision on redistricting plan

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Cabarrus County School Board members voted 6-1 Monday night to pass the high school and middle school changes regarding a realignment plan.

[PAST COVERAGE: Cabarrus Co. leaders to hear final recommendations on redistricting plan]

School leaders have been working on a redistricting plan that would move boundaries and force some students to change schools.

[LINK: Realignment Presentation]

The district is opening two new schools next fall, Hickory Ridge Elementary in Harrisburg and the new West Cabarrus High School.

The plan would impact more than 4,000 students, which is 15 percent of the student population.

They broke up the vote into three different parts --one for each level; elementary, middle and high school.

They made a few modifications for transportation and capacity, but the board chair said those were based on committee recommendation

As for elementary schools, the board broke out a separate motion for Skybrook.

They voted to keep Skybrook students at Cox Mill, which is what many parents wanted.

The board later went into closed session.

Redistricting plan breakdown:  

• High school: 2,300 students would shift with nearly 1,600 students attending the new West Cabarrus High School
• Middle school: A little more than 500 students will be moved with most changes in the Cox Mill and Odell areas.
• Elementary school: About 1,200 students would shift with 700 of them attending the new Hickory Ridge Elementary School

Beverly Hills Elementary will close temporarily until district leaders decide if it will be renovated or rebuilt.

The changes would go into effect in the fall of 2020.

Parent Steve Foster said he carefully decided on a Concord neighborhood that fed into ODell Elementary School and eventually, Cox Mill High School.

"The week my wife got pregnant, I started driving around for locations that would filter into the exact schools," Foster said.

Foster said instead of Cox Mill, the proposal places their neighborhood at Northwest Cabarrus High School, eventually separating them from the neighboring children they're growing up with.

"I mean a good kid with a lot of support is gonna do great anywhere, but at the same token, kids are very social, losing their social life, losing their familiarity," Foster said.

Foster said he understands the district is growing rapidly, but he hoped it would be handled differently.

"Let people who've started the school system and have gone from beginning steps finish out what they intended," Foster said.

Monday, the district told Channel 9's Education Reporter Elsa Gillis living in a growing community with new schools opening in 2020, they need to be good stewards of tax payer money and use schools effectively.

"Additionally, it is our responsibility to provide students with safe and engaging learning environments. Balancing out the enrollment in our schools is one way we can make that happen," the district said.

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