CMS superintendent discusses, previews upcoming school year

CHARLOTTE ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is getting ready to start its new school year with students returning to class next Monday.

CMS has 38 bus driver vacancies, which they expect to be filled by around Thanksgiving, and 293 teacher vacancies which is lower than last year.

The district says they’re constantly hiring but have asked each school to prepare to fill in the gaps with the teachers they currently have in case they aren’t able to hire more.

“Here in Charlotte and across the country, we’ve come to grips with there probably will be a teacher shortage this is not going away, it probably will get worse before it gets better,” said Dr. Hill.

If you have a middle or high schooler, CMS is asking you not to send your child to school with a three-ring binder or a backpack that has metal in it.

Officials say those are setting off the body scanners giving false positives and slowing down the process to get into school.

CMS is also working to get students who ride the bus to school and home faster by working on what they call consolidated stops for parents participating in express bus stops.

“They complete a form and say we would like to recommend this stop, it’s a little bit more convenient, it’s closer to our house and then we take a look and see if there are other students that maybe would be able to take advantage of that stop and create additional stops,” said Dr. Hill.

Knights View Elementary and Ballantyne Ridge High School are the new schools pulling students from other schools to relieve overcrowding. Bruns Avenue Elementary is also a new school that will be a replacement for the old elementary school.

Speaking Tuesday from Knights View Elementary school officials including Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill said the new elementary school will have 525 students pre-k through 4th grade. CMS said the school cost $60 million to build and was built from funds from the passing of the 2017 bond referendum. The students here will be coming from Elon Park, Hawk Ridge, and Polo Ridge. The school has 45 classrooms.

As for the new Ballantyne Ridge High School, CMS says it cost $160 million to build and that students will be coming from South Meck, Ardrey Kell, and Myers Park high schools

“We are committed to ensuring endless possibilities for our students by creating inclusive learning environments that foster creativity, critical thinking, and personal growth,” Dr. Hill said Tuesday.

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