CMS says costly approach to sports facilities comes from public demand

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ $3 billion bond plan, which the district hopes to put before voters in November, includes almost $114 million to build a regional sports complex in west Charlotte. The plan also calls for replacing athletic facilities at North and South Mecklenburg High Schools, which adds $17 million to $20 million to the renovation cost at each school.

At a weekend meeting on school bonds, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell posed a question: “If there’s going to be a transition to regional athletics (facilities), why would we spend millions of dollars upgrading current schools?”

The two boards are trying to hash out a plan that balances the burden on taxpayers with the need to build new CMS facilities and update aging schools. Mecklenburg voters will get the final say in November on whether to approve school bonds — in other words, to give commissioners authority to borrow money that will be repaid with property tax revenue. County officials say that will cause taxes to rise significantly.

CMS construction consultant Dennis LaCaria says the school system has been talking about shifting to regional sports complexes for more than 15 years. When the district laid out a 10-year list of needs in May, the focus was on building regional complexes instead of replacing and upgrading sports facilities at each high school, LaCaria told commissioners.

He said regional complexes would be big enough to host playoffs, tournaments and graduation ceremonies. And he described the transition as “future-proofing.”

“At some point — and it might be 20 years from now, it might be 50 years from now — somebody who’s doing this job might need an elementary school on Highway 51 and it might be Providence’s football field is the only place to go,” LaCaria said Saturday.

But LaCaria told Rodriguez-McDowell that when district staff held public meetings to talk about construction plans, they consistently heard that people wanted to ensure all high schools had up-to-date competition facilities. They also endorsed a move toward building regional complexes, he said.

“So we approached it as a both/and,” he said. “We could have just done two or three or five regional athletic facilities. We heard from the community: They appreciate the approach. They understand the need. But in the meantime, they want upgraded facilities on each one of their school sites.”

Tough choices likely lie ahead. At Saturday’s meeting, the county’s chief financial officer said it’s likely that CMS will need to trim at least half a billion dollars from its plan. If commissioners agree, CMS leaders must decide whether to scale back on sports facilities or classrooms.