From The Charlotte Observer: Hundreds of indignant parents and students turned out at a forum to berate they Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) district for what they called an ill-considered, last-minute consolidation plan that would spare Waddell High School and close Harding University High instead. As word emerged Monday afternoon of new plans to close Harding, angry parents accused the district of blindsiding them. School officials had proposed shutting Waddell and moving students from Smith Academy, a language-immersion magnet, into the building. But when the district sent out a news release at 4 p.m. announcing plans to close Harding instead of Waddell, Harding parents and chanting, sign-waving students flooded the meeting.
EARLIER From From The Charlotte Observer: As national experts laud the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) school district’s success with low-income and black students, some local families are accusing officials of shortchanging those very children. A proposal to close eight urban schools, where less than 10 percent of the total enrollment is white, has state and local NAACP leaders accusing the district of racism while crowds stand and cheer. The Charlotte Observer: About 25 schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) school district would see "huge change" if the board accepts a suggestion to close about 10 buildings and relocate the students. The overall list of schools potentially facing change in 2011-12 would grow from 59 to 63.
The Charlotte Observer: Fourteen schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) district are candidates for closure or consolidation under a list of options presented during a school board workshop. In that same meeting, the district added five more names to a list of schools - now 37 - that are of concern for reasons that include crowding, being under capacity or having low academic achievement. The candidates for closure were derived from that list. Included among the 14 are one pre-kindergarten, eight elementary and five middle schools.
EARLIER...from The Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) district has released a list of 32 schools that are candidates for expansion, downsizing or even closing. The 32 campuses were cited for one or more problems with student populations that are too small or too large, low student proficiency or a high per-student cost of operation.
