The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education has taken a step toward creating a long-planned “educator community,” a roughly 100-unit affordable housing development for CMS educators.
CMS has discussed the idea since at least 2024, with officials touting it as part of a broader recruitment strategy. At times, the proposal has drawn pushback from teachers who have described it as a Band-Aid solution to low pay.
Board member Shamaiye Haynes said the project would not replace efforts to push for higher salaries.
“I just want people to understand that this is a both-and kind of a situation,” Haynes said.
She and other board members framed the effort as the board’s way to address Charlotte’s growing affordable housing crisis while meeting teachers' needs.
On Tuesday, the board unanimously approved an agreement with the nonprofit developer Innovative Housing Solutions Foundation, giving the organization the option to lease a seven-acre parcel of land next to Garinger High School. As WFAE has reported, CMS has been looking at the Garinger parcel since last year and voted to declare the land surplus last June.
The foundation must still secure fundraising for the project and has until June 2027 to do so. The city of Charlotte has provided $1 million in pre-construction funding. IHSF has until December 2027 to execute the lease.
The agreement approved Tuesday outlines terms lease that would have a term of 99 years and ask IHSF for a rent of $100. CMS says the project will cost nothing from its budget. And officials said on Tuesday the final product is expected to include a mixture of multifamily buildings, four-unit buildings and townhomes, as well as a mix of unit sizes – ranging from studios to three-bedrooms.
It would have a mix of rents based on Charlotte’s area median income.
“The reason it’s a diverse set of rental opportunities is because we’re working to create a community feel and ensure that this first project is attractive to educators wherever they are – whether they’re single, whether they’re living with a roommate, whether they have a family,” said Amanda Cahn, CMS executive director of Retention and Rewards. “This is a place for all of them to find a home.”
Board Chair Stephanie Sneed described the educator housing development as a pilot program.
Since announcing its At Home at CMS initiative in 2024, CMS has pursued multiple affordable housing opportunities, including by partnering with developers to allot affordable units for teachers.
The CMS Board also recently voted to sell the vacant Smith Family Center, next to the Collinswood Language Academy in south Charlotte, to the county, so the county can build affordable housing that would include 20% of the units for teachers.
