Possible CMS school closings (Charlotte, Huntersville: home, find a job, buy)

[Charlotteborn]

Am I reading this correctly? The cost per pupil per year is $8000 - $32,000 at many of these schools?

Unbelievable! We should/could send these kids to private schools!!!

[chicagomichauds]

News tonight mentioned that the list is of schools being investigated due to potential issues, such as high population growth: not just schools that will be closing.

I have heard in the past that often, unfortunately, the lower performing schools tend to spend the most money per student. Parent involvement is more of an indicator of test improvement scores more so than throwing money at the school.

Still don't feel we have enough information as to what this all means, and it is very frustrating as a parent.

[lowercountry]

These kinds of political games are one of the main reasons I am very leery of CMS. I don't understand why they just don't open up neighborhood schools, let their respective communities take "ownership", and get out of their way; instead, this smells like social engineering under the guise of "restructuring."

[lumbollo]

IMO, it's all a scam to get people ready to endure another property tax increase for the school system.

It's a tried and true way of government administrators to get more money. First set up a scenario where doom and disaster is coming. Oh, but if you give us X number of million dollars, the problem goes away.

I have an answer. Lets get rid of 50% of the non teaching jobs in CMS and put a salary cap on the rest. No more $100K+/year office jobs in CMS.

[uk2nc]

I live next door to Elon Park Elem school and basically, we have 5 Elem schools in the area (Elon, Ballantyne, Hawk Ridge, Polo Ridge and Endhaven).

Yet only 1 middle school and 1 high school.


Did these fools never look to the big picture and figure that these Elem School kids actually grow up and need to go on to MS and HS.

My daughter attended CHMS when there was a 5th, 6th and 7th grade only so she was the first of the 8th grade classes over there. I know this school has grown and grown.

The same problem is now happening over at AK where class sizes are anything from 30 - 50+

Why build so many Elem Schools and only 1 MS and HS.
No wonder, our current MS and HS are bursting.

[ex-burgher]

It is quite normal for their to be multiple elementary schools per number of middle and high schools. Not only are middle and high school larger, but they also have less grades in them.

[ex-burgher]

The news articles were misleadingly headlines. The list of schools were schools with issues including overcrowding. They are open for discussion on how to solve these issues - not necessarily by closing them.

[RoadTraveler]

Originally Posted by coastalgirl

I'm equally confused by the overcrowding excuse. If their objective is to get me to watch the WCNC news at 11, it's working.

That is their sole agenda.

I tend to tune out these "teasers" as the stories that you eventually get to see are usually a disappointment with not much more information. Better off to get it the next day online.

On another note:
And why close overcrowded schools?

Isn't that what they try to do with prisons?

Don't get me started on CMS. I have family that has or have worked for them and it is not pretty. Bigger is not better. This system needs to be split up in two or three independent districts. Large districts do not lead to quality but rather to mediocrity.

[lowercountry]

Originally Posted by lumbollo

I have an answer. Lets get rid of 50% of the non teaching jobs in CMS and put a salary cap on the rest. No more $100K+/year office jobs in CMS.

I have to disagree with you here and here's why. First of all, putting a salary cap on individuals will drive the best and the brightest from the profession. Why, for example, would a person with a bright math mind decide to go into teaching (if even for altruistic reasons) if they know that there's a specific cap on what they could ever make as they progress through their career? No one goes into teaching to become wealthy necessarily, but it is counter-intuitive to say we want professionals with great potential, only to limit them economically with a pre-determined cap. Eventually your "best and brightest" will leave for the private sector. Teaching would become only a place to start but never finish if you wish to move up the economic ladder.
To the point of the $100K salaries, the same point applies. For example, if one has a PhD. with 15 to 25 years experience he or she probably deserves a high salary. A PhD. is an expensive degree, one for which one should be compensated. Admittedly it looks bad on paper to see high salaries but once you look at the percentage of the salaries that fall into that category vs. the budget for salaries it isn't high at all.
Not to say that you fall into this category because you most likely do not (I'm generalizing here and not addressing you), but I am amazed at the numbers of parents who rail against the price of paying educators but think nothing of buying the most expensive cars and clothes for that child. They want the best money can buy for material goods but want to be cheap when it comes to the most important thing they can ever give a child - a good education.

For the record, I am not in CMS nor have I ever been.

[schmaz08]

I hope Community House on the list means that the overcrowding will be addressed....and not that it is being considerd for closure!
I have a kids at Community House Middle, Elon Park Elem and Ardrey Kell HS. Every one of these schools sees high growth with every year. There is NO WAY they could ever justify closing CH...there is simply no where to move 1550 students to. I can see redistricting to taking kids from huge Elon to underfilled Ballantyne....those 2 schools are around the corner from each other.