Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is preparing to redraw attendance boundaries to accommodate two schools that will open in the 2028-29 school year.
The district plans to create new attendance zones for a middle school under construction on Stumptown Road and for Elbert Edwin Waddell High School, which will be converted into a comprehensive high school serving a traditional attendance area.
The new middle school is being funded through the district's 2023 bond package. Elbert Edwin Waddell High School already exists but for now serves students enrolled in CMS' Virtual School and PACE program for recently arrived immigrants. Under the district's plan, the school will transition into a full comprehensive high school with its own attendance boundary.
CMS has not yet proposed specific attendance boundaries. District officials plan to gather community feedback before they present a draft plan to the school board in October. The board is expected to vote on the proposal in December.
The district plans to make calls and send emails and letters to affected families. It will also host community engagement sessions at school sites across the district.
Five additional schools are scheduled to open in the 2028-29 school year as part of the 2023 bond package: the new Beverly Woods Elementary School; Huntersville Elementary School; and Second Ward, North Mecklenburg and Berryhill high schools. District officials say those projects will replace existing schools and are not expected to require new attendance boundaries.
This would be the board's second major change to district programming this year. In August, it voted to overhaul the district's magnet programs. It held off on one change — combining the district's International Baccalaureate and Learning Immersion/Talent Development magnet programs. CMS says it will revisit that in December.
Both changes are in response to the district's 2024 comprehensive review, when the board culled data on enrollment, facilities and demographics.