We, the undersigned, hereby request that the NC State Legislature create a Pilot Program that divides Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) into three smaller, locally controlled school districts.   Each district would have its own taxing authority and an enrollment cap.  This is not another taxing authority level; rather, it removes approximately 50% of Mecklenburg County's taxing authority.  The County has been simply a pass-through on allocating property taxes to CMS.

The new districts in this Pilot Program would be North, Central and South.  The North District would be the Townships of Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson, and the Mt Island Community.  The South District would be anchored by the Steele Creek Community on the west and Mint Hill on the east, to include all Towns and Communities in between.  The Central District would be comprised of all other areas, with slight adjustments based on enrollment figures.

By implementing this Pilot Program and moving CMS from a 141,000+ student district, with 18,000+ employees, covering some 500 square miles, the following benefits will result:

• Lower overall per pupil cost 
• Higher levels of accountability for voters and taxpayers 
• Local control of schools back to the voters/taxpayers/parents in each of the new, smaller districts 
• Increased percentage of monies spent in the classroom 
• Smaller, more responsive administration 
• Improved academic performance and graduation rates