Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is rezoning school boundaries in the South Charlotte area to alleviate overcrowding at the high schools and shift students into a new relief middle and high school.On March 23, 2023, CMS released a draft proposal that rezones Olde Providence Elementary students to South Charlotte Middle School and Providence High School, among other boundary and feeder pattern changes, rather than to the originally proposed Carmel Middle School and South Meck High School. This change has far-reaching negative impacts on the entire South Charlotte school community, including:

1. Under-utilization at Carmel Middle School (from 117% to 76%), which means reduced funding and loss of faculty and staff.
2. Overcrowding at South Charlotte Middle school (from 103% to 131%) until their school buildings can be replaced in 3-4 years if the bond funding is approved in Nov. 2023 vote.
3. Unbalanced socioeconomic status (SES) among the South Charlotte high schools, with more low SES at South Meck than ALL 4 high schools combined; Quail and Carmel Middle will also have
   significantly more low SES than the other 6 middle schools.

To correct these negative impacts, we’re asking you to support the following changes that will help keep ALL South Charlotte schools strong and equitable, while adhering to the four guiding principles from the CMS Planning Department – Balanced Socioeconomic Status, Optimized Building Utilization, School Proximity to Home, and Intact Feeder Patterns.

1. Send Olde Providence Elementary to Carmel Middle School to stabilize SES and restore optimal utilization and funding for our middle schools.
2. Send all of Carmel to South Meck High School to improve SES at South Meck High School and balance SES across all South Charlotte high schools.
3. Send Sterling Elementary School to the Relief High School to balance SES across all South Charlotte high schools.
4. Ensure student and parent involvement and investment by
   a. Letting current 9th graders stay at their high school through graduation.
   b. Giving current 8th graders the option to either begin and finish high school at their currently zoned high school OR start at their newly rezoned high school in Fall 2023, so no student has to switch after starting at a high school.
5. Consider letting South Meck be one of the schools that feed into the Myers Park IB program, if the Myers Park IB program opens as a magnet to other schools.

We recognize that various housing developments surround some schools leave little room to achieve balanced diversity while maintaining contiguous boundaries. Therefore, we believe the CMS Planning Department must do it's best to achieve balance where possible within this South Charlotte community.

Together we can strengthen the health and sustainability of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in South Charlotte, benefiting the needs of the broader community. Ensuring equity across schools during this rezoning process will help elevate all students, not just some, with the best educational opportunities possible.

When signing the petition, please add a comment with your school affiliation. Thank you for your support of these proposed changes to the Phase II Draft 1 Scenario for South County Relief. Also, submit the simple CMS feedback form as this is the official record CMS is using to hear our voices:
[Updated link for Draft 2 feedback]

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdo7hNLXxBAxPWEGKRYZlzCxUW9tQvI6a2Lbfa6brBTPwJ4DQ/viewform

In appreciation,
South Charlotte citizens in support of equitable schools