The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board voted 7-2 Tuesday night for the superintendent’s plan for southern school boundaries. The vote came in a five-hour meeting that capped more than a year of work.
In two hours of public comments, the board heard some thank-yous for the work they’ve done to craft boundaries for a new middle and high school in south Charlotte. But they heard a lot more complaints.
Students pleaded not to be forced to switch schools or be separated from friends.
“This plan feels like a punishment, and we didn’t do anything to deserve it,” said Charlie Neal, a sixth-grader at Alexander Graham Middle School who will go to South Mecklenburg High under the new plan, while many of his classmates go to nearby Myers Park High.
Families from the Polo Ridge Elementary zone turned out wearing green, with a new proposal in hand. They say they were blindsided when the 15th and final version of the plan switched their high school assignment from Ardrey Kell High to the new school being built on Community House Road. They’ll also be sent to a new middle school that’s expected to open in 2025.
Parents fear new schools won’t offer strong PTAs and extracurricular activities right away.
“Let me make one thing clear: We don’t care about fancy buildings and the new desks. What truly matters to us is a proven record of excellence, which those new schools simply cannot offer,” said Grace Han from the Polo Ridge group.
The plan will change boundaries and/or feeder patterns at 27 schools in southern Mecklenburg County, with about 3,500 students facing possible reassignment. The board voted down a couple of proposed small changes, then urged parents to rally behind their schools even if they’re disappointed.
“All the participants in this long-running boundary discussion have poured their hearts into it. I’ve seen it at every turn in this long journey. I ask you now to keep pouring your hearts into CMS,” said Lisa Cline, who represents south Charlotte and Matthews.
She concluded by saying that “I will support this plan, and I ask you to support it too.”
But minutes later Cline joined Summer Nunn, who represents parts of south and southwest Charlotte and Pineville, in voting no.