Charlotte-Meck schools report ‘smooth’ start to the 2024-25 school year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — CMS students entered into classrooms across Mecklenburg County in, what is being described by CMS leaders, as a smooth start to the school year.

Early numbers on the first day of school detailed that around 105,000 students road on the 839 buses in service with 50 bus drivers still needed.

There was also a decrease in teacher vacancies when compared to the start of the 2023-2024 school year; 271 teacher positions still need to be filled with 342 substitutes filling in for the first day of school.

Queen City News has not been notified by parents or students of any issues with bus routes on the first day of school.

CMS COO Tim Ivey explained that it would take 30 to 60 minutes more this first week for after-school drop-offs as drivers learn their routes.

He also explained that there would be daily debriefs after school concludes to iron out transposition hiccups that may occur.

Queen City News also learned that a student reportedly was found with a knife in their backpack.

It was discovered during a security point and dealt with.

A spokesperson for CMS explained that: “the knife was confiscated at a security scan point. Only school personnel saw the weapon. The student was unaware that it was in the backpack.  No messaging was sent to families. During her remarks about safety, Dr. Hill stated that families should check their backpacks as things that should not be brought to school are often forgotten in bags.”

Along with these conversations, CMS Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill explained that some students did not show up for the first day of school.

Social workers, along with a third-party consultant, will spend the next two weeks going to these homes to see why students did not show up and address the issues there.

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