Temporary overcrowding in CMS superintendent plans for Bailey Middle, Dilworth Elementary

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A north Mecklenburg County middle school could soon see a burst in enrollment before relief comes its way.

At the Aug. 27 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education meeting, officials reported that Bailey Middle School in Cornelius would be over capacity by more than 500 students starting in 2025-26 until a new school nearby. This is because Davidson K-8 is changing to a Pre-K-5 school, and the middle school students are zoned for Bailey.

Bailey is regularly rated as one of the top middle schools in CMS, and has a projected enrolment of 1,290 for the new school year. But once it takes on the Davidson students, it’s expected to have 1,704 students in 2025-26 for a campus built for 1,240.

The plan is part of Phase I of Superintendent Crytal Hill’s recommendations for student programs, planning and placement projects.

CMS facilities consultant Dennis LaCaria noted the enrollment concerns to CMS board members.

“There are capacity concerns with the brick and mortar, but we could bring in modulars,” he said, noting unused 10-unit structures and single mobile classrooms.

He said the school could also gain capacity through floating teachers.

Davidson K-8 would go from 1,191 students to 777. It was a K-5 school until 2019.

CMS plans to build a new middle school on Stumptown Road in 2028, which LaCaria says would draw from Bailey, Francis Bradley and JM Alexander middle schools. It is unlikely that there would be students moving from Davidson K-8 to Bailey then to the new school, he said.

Middle Colleges being eliminated

Also part of Phase 1, CMS is planning to elevate its middle colleges to early college status.

The middle colleges include programs at Central Piedmont Community College’s Cato, Harper, Levine, Merancas campuses. Those will transition to early colleges, adding ninth and 10th grade students to all programs.

Hill’s staff believes adding the grades “provides a more robust model that creates a cohesive framework with a strong college-culture and career development opportunities.”

It would allow all students in Mecklenburg County timely access for the early college programs, the district believes. Students in the program can graduate high school with an associate degree.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction supports the change.

Montessori program expansion

Montessori students at Marie G. Davis IB World School may end up at one of two schools that once shared the same name.

Under the superintendent’s plan, K-5 students at Marie G. Davis fall under the Dilworth Elementary enrollment boundary, while 6-8 would be changed to Sedgefield Middle’s.

Students may continue in another IB program, participate in the lottery or transfer process, or attend newly assigned home school.

The changes mean that Dilworth Elementary would grow from 639 students in 2024-25 to 740 in 2025-26. Its capacity is 560, and LaCaria said there isn’t room for further growth since the gym is on the second floor and a park is next door.

Sedgefield Middle would go from 484 students this year to 521. The number is still far from the campus’s capacity of 1,125.

The work to convert and renovate Dilworth is scheduled to be completed in August 2027. This is subsequent to the construction of a new, 45 classroom school on the Park Road Elementary site to accommodate Dilworth’s spillover; this facility is slated to open in August 2026.

Marie G. Davis would go back to its intended purpose, CMS leaders said, accommodating a secondary high school program for grades 7-12. The Montessori program currently in the J.T. Williams Secondary Montessori would relocate here.

Part of the changes will be the demolition of the former Kennedy Middle School located behind Marie G. Davis.

CMS presented timing options for the changes. They could take place in either 2025-26, or 2026-27.

The school expansions and renovations fall under the 2023 $2.5 billion bond.

What’s next?

There will be a public hearing for the proposals at the Sept. 10 Board of Education meeting. The board is scheduled to vote on the topic Sept. 24.

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