CMS walks back student reassignment plans over parents’ concerns about overcrowding

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill on Tuesday changed a school assignment plan that would lead to overcrowding at Dilworth Elementary after community opposition.

The school board has discussed the superintendent’s recommendation for student assignment changes at magnet schools that include moving several programs, adding grades nine and 10 to the district’s current middle colleges and converting Davidson K-8 into an elementary school. Middle school students at Davidson K-8 will move to nearby Bailey Middle.

Part of the original plan Hill proposed Aug. 13 involved moving around 100 students from Marie G. Davis IB World School in southwest Charlotte to Dilworth Elementary School. It would make room for new students at Marie G. Davis, which will become a Montessori magnet and take on students currently at J.T. Williams Montessori.

There was one problem: Dilworth Elementary is already over capacity.

Parents urged the board at its meeting Sept. 10 to delay the change until after Dilworth’s new campus is finished in August 2026.

“Dilworth Elementary School is currently overcrowded,” said Roberta Fox, parent of a third grader at the school. “We’re making the best of it, but it’s not ideal. We don’t have enough campus parking for teachers. Our art teacher’s classroom is on the stage in the gym.”

Hill on Tuesday recommended delaying the Montessori magnet student shuffle until the 2026-27 school year.

“Based on current enrollment, facility limitations and the planned opening of a relief school located on Park Road, I am amending my recommendation,” Hill told the board Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to approve the plan.

“I really believe this is in the best interest at this time for all of the schools involved, the students and the families,” said board member Lenora Shipp. “And I’m pleased that we got to this recommendation.”

Some community members previously voiced concerns about adding grades to the district’s four middle colleges — which have 11th and 12th graders. However, Hill said the plan would allow more students to benefit from the program while still allowing some students the opportunity to transfer in at 11th grade.

“No one loses anything in this model,” Hill said.

The board did not pass the early/middle college proposal by a vote of 4-5.