CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools held a virtual meeting Monday to get feedback from parents about plans to relocate one of its most popular magnet schools.
As part of the recently passed $2.5 billion school bond, the Park Road Montessori building would be torn down and replaced with a new building.
"I can tell you that the community seemed very excited about the upcoming changes," CMS Board of Education member-at-large Jennifer De La Jara said. "Most of the community members that were directly affected knew what was going to be happening and were happy with it."
WCNC Charlotte got community input from a CMS board member after parents who signed up to speak didn’t make it on time.
As the district works to tear down Park Road Montessori and replace it with a brand new 45-classroom building, there will be a lot of moving parts. The plan includes moving students to Sedgefield Elementary next fall, which is also paired with Dilworth Elementary after redistricting years back.
"The campuses are divided into two, one campus is kindergarten through second grade and the other campus 3rd grade through 5th," De La Jara said. "They're consolidating the campuses into one building and then making the Montessori changes."
The district is planning to make renovations to Sedgefield over the summer to prepare for bigger crowds. After that, all the kids from both Sedgefield and Park Road will go to Dilworth Elementary until the new building opens.
"Our CMS staff worked really hard with the community to get the best options on the table and we obviously got a lot of support for it," De La Jara said.
The project is estimated to cost about $89.5 million, and once the new building is finished, the district plans to move all elementary students to the new neighborhood school.
Dilworth School will become a magnet middle school.
CMS leaders are prepared to approve or deny at their next board meeting, which takes place on Dec. 12.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram