Overcrowding issues/news

[Scoop]

Most Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members showed little enthusiasm for capping school poverty levels or forcing students to leave crowded schools, as they took their first stab at a vision for student assignment Wednesday.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/charlotte+mecklenburg+schools/SIG=13ie3kj9t/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krcharlotte/20050203/lo_krcharlotte/cmsschoolboardwaryofshufflingkids

[S_Charlottean]

http://huntersvilleherald.com/articles/2005/02/03/news/local/local02.txt

Friday, February 4, 2005

North Meck plans for at least 3,000 students

By Tucker Mitchell

Eventually, a new high school will open in the Mallard Creek area -- current Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) estimates say it will happen in time for the start of the 2007-08 school year -- and that will bring much-needed relief to overcrowded North Mecklenburg High.

But that's two years away and, before that school opens, CMS planners say North's enrollment will top 3,000 students an, given CMS' track record on north end forecaasting, perhaps even threaten the 4,000 mark.

"Actually, we'll probably pass 3,000 next year," says North Meck Principal Jimmy Poole. "I think that will work out alright. What I'm really worried about is two years from now when we might have 3,500 or so. Now that will cause some problems."

The 52-year-old campus at North has been expanded several times during its history and now has a listed capacity of close to 2,000 students. The current enrollment, the largest of any high school in the state, is more than 2,700.

Can the school really work at 175 percent, maybe even 200 percent, of its capacity?

Poole says school planners met last week to discuss just that. They picked out sites for 20 new mobile classrooms (that will push the school's total past 50) and even discussed what Poole calls "some very different scheduling."

He declined to be more specific but is doubtless talking about flex or shift scheduling in which some students would attend school in the morning and some would do so in the afternoon.

CMS officials say such plans aren't likely, but add that North will be severely stressed with that many students.

Poole says that even next year the school's common areas will be severely taxed.

"With some additional mobiles, we can probably get everyone into a classroom," Poole says, "but some of the other areas will be difficult. We'll have to go with four lunches, which some (high) schools already do. What you don't like about that is you lose the transition time. We'd have to, though. We can get about 600 inside the cafeteria at one time, so you can do the math. Even at four (lunches) not everyone gets in. And then of course you have the halls and walkways and all during class changes. It will be tight."

Poole says some extra staff would help. Schools are afforded staff on a per capita basis, but under current guidelines, high school staffing is capped once a school reaches 1,800 students. The guideline authors never imagined a 3,000-student school in the system, however.

"I've asked for more security, secretaries and another assistant principal," says Poole. "I know some schools have more than others. There is more security right now at Bradley (Middle) and West Charlotte (High). That's fine. I'm sure it (the extra staff) is where it's needed, but we're going to have some needs next year."

Asked if he could use an extra School Resource Officer -- a regular police officer assigned to the school -- Poole said, "It might not be the first thing I'd want, but any help would be good. If they offered me one I'd certainly take it. I'm sure they could help with traffic if nothing else."

Oh, yes. Traffic. How will that work with an extra 400 to 800 students?

"I don't even want to think about it," Poole says.

-- Tucker Mitchell

[NoKidsYetConcerned]

This is ridiculous. We've got schools in the suburbs way over capacity, manwhile we have inner-city schools that are half empty. Disgusting.

Later,

[Scoop]

Huntersville, NC -- An elementary school scheduled to open in Charlotte-Mecklenburg this fall is already overcrowded! Construction on the new Ranson Road Elementary School in Huntersville should be finished this fall.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/charlotte+mecklenburg+schools/SIG=11i84mkv2/*http%3A//www.wsoctv.com/news/4218488/detail.html

[Staff]

Posted on Sat, Apr. 09, 2005 _krdDartInc++; document.write(''); http://m3.doubleclick.net/viewad/963587/1464_normancdj_040405_300x250.gif (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v3%7C3255%7C0%7C0%7C%2a%7Cw;12544357;0-0;1;7940603;255-0%7C0;9694557%7C9712453%7C2;;%7Esscs=%3fhttp://www.lakenormanchrysler.com) http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/charlotte.living/education;kw=center6;c2=education;c3=education_hom epage;pos=center6;group=rectangle;ord=111305701491 6? ("")
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Union's school question: How do we pay for this?

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Commissioners are told children are coming, but will the money?
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JEN ARONOFF
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Staff Writer
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RICHBURG, S.C. - Nine new elementary schools. Three new middle schools. Four new high schools.

As Union County, N.C., commissioners learned Friday at their annual planning retreat, the schools all add up to one big problem: How on earth do we pay for this?

The county's schools have submitted a $521 million five-year capital improvement plan, and most of it would go toward new schools.

Building them isn't optional, county staff told commissioners.

"You've got children coming," said Finance Director Kai Nelson, who presented commissioners with financial information all day. "You need the schools."

District enrollment now stands at 28,670 and is projected to rise to 40,223 by the 2010-11 school year.

Even with two new schools opening, 16 of the county's 23 elementary schools are expected to be over capacity next fall. All but two of the remaining elementary schools are expected to face a similar crunch down the road, and the problem is similar in the district's middle and high schools.


http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/education/11351278.htm

[Staff]

Posted on Thu, Apr. 14, 2005
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N. Meck not applauding Pughsley plan

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Principal, parents not told about proposal before public found out
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ANN DOSS HELMS
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Staff Writer
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North Mecklenburg High School's biggest backers aren't cheering this week's news that Superintendent James Pughsley is willing to spend more than $3 million to relieve crowding there.

Parent leaders and Principal Jimmy Poole said Wednesday they don't want next year's freshmen moved to a satellite campus or bused downtown, and weren't told about Pughsley's plan before he went public with it.

"He created World War Three," Tom Davis, a North Meck parent who chairs the school leadership team, said of Pughsley's proposal, which Davis learned of when his phone started ringing early Tuesday morning.


Read more...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/11389191.htm

[Scoop]

Study: Too costly to make schools out of `big boxes' Don't expect to see Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools open Moviehouse Middle School or Kmart High any time soon.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/charlotte+mecklenburg+schools/SIG=121jnc4ml/*http%3A//www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/11409474.htm

[Staff]

CMS still doesn't get the communication thing

Sometimes you wonder if the right hand knows what the left is doing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. How else to explain why CMS Superintendent James Pughsley suggested options for relieving crowded North Mecklenburg High School without discussing them with the North Meck school leadership team that was, uh, having talks with CMS staff about relieving crowding.

Parents and others on the leadership team said they weren't told about the superintendent's proposal before he went public with it. Among other things, he suggested a modular satellite campus for freshmen to accommodate growth until another school is finished in 2007. Parents and school leaders prefer adding more mobiles.

The superintendent also suggested adding mobiles. But that got lost in the hubbub over the idea of a satellite campus. The parents were dead set against splitting freshmen from the rest of the school and justifiably upset that the idea had not been mentioned.

Here's the thing about the right hand not knowing what the left is up to: Sometimes one of them will slap you in the face.


http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/11409652.htm
No writer is credited for this piece of work

[Staff]

Board OKs addition to Butler High

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MATTHEWS

Though Butler High will have a permanent addition by 2007, that doesn't mean all the temporary classrooms on campus will be gone.

Town commissioners last week approved Butler's proposal to build a two-story, 25-classroom building, add a greenhouse and expand the stadium.

The proposal also includes a 10-classroom modular building to be used while the permanent building is under construction. That's in addition to the 19 trailers already on campus.

Construction on the permanent building will start in late summer or early fall and be finished by late 2006 or early 2007.

Commissioner Kress Query said that when the new building is done, he wants the modular building and all 19 trailers removed.

But Principal Joel Ritchie said he couldn't promise that, since enrollment continues to increase each year. He said full removal probably wouldn't happen until a new school is approved by county commissioners -- and built.


Read more...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/11415901.htm

[Scoop]

Emergency plans to cope with crowded schools will dominate tonight's Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board agenda, as new projections for 2005-06 show "mobile villages" booming around many crowded suburban schools.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/charlotte+mecklenburg+schools/SIG=13fgvp4rt/*http%3A//www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/education/11489601.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_education

[Christine]

CMS to discuss school overcrowding Tuesday night http://www.wcnc.com/bi/images/video_icon.gif 09:01 PM EDT on Tuesday, April 26, 2005

By ANNA CROWLEY / 6NEWS

More trailers like these could be headed to five Mecklenburg County schools.

Overcrowding and discipline are top concerns at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for parents and teachers alike.

The overcrowding is so bad that some schools have twice as many students as their school buildings were designed to hold.

At Tuesday night’s board meeting, the board will vote on whether more mobile classrooms are the answer.

The superintendent’s plan is a $2.7 million proposal that calls for more mobile and modular classrooms for five schools that are in an overcrowding crisis.

If the bill passes, one of the schools on the list to get more trailers is Lake Wylie Elementary School. In fact, their entire fifth grade class is educated in mobile classrooms.

Tuesday the fifth graders read the life story and challenges of a young woman who found herself in a brand new environment.

The story line is strangely relevant to what students at Lake Wylie face: learning in trailers instead of traditional class rooms.

“It is definitely an issue and we are trying to keep up with it the best we can,” said fifth grade teacher Scott Hartman.

One of the strategies is organization and vocabulary. The trailers are known at the school as learning cottages. Their location is in a place the students call “Treasure Island.”

Lake Wylie Elementary School Principal Beverly Newsome pointed to lunchtime as the school's most significant measure of overcrowding. Instead of holding physical education classes, the school gym is used as a second cafeteria.
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When students are eating in the gym, teachers make use of the parking lot for gym class along with a ball field. But even it is about to be gobbled up by more trailers.

“What we've been talking with downtown is to put the trailers in the area of one of the ball fields. This will alleviate one of the other fields so we can cut down on our PE areas," Newsome said.

As bad as things are at Lake Wylie now, if the board votes yes to Dr. James Pughsley’s plan, more trailers will be delivered to Lake Wylie, North Mecklenburg High School, Alexander Middle School, Steele Creek Elementary and Coulwood Middle School.

As for the students at Lake Wylie they are following their teacher's lead... rolling with the punches and becoming very organized.

If the bill passes, Lake Wylie will have a total of 40 education trailers.

Tuesday’s meeting is open to the public, but no public comments will be heard.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-042605-jmn-CMS_overcrowding.216b1da02.html


CMS approves millions to relieve overcrowding http://www.wcnc.com/bi/images/video_icon.gif 08:33 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 27, 2005

By TONY BURBECK / 6NEWS

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Several area schools will get new mobile classrooms to help relieve overcrowding.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board approved $2.7 million to help the school system’s most overcrowded schools.

6NEWS took a look at what some of the $2.7 million will buy taxpayers at local schools.

At one local high school the problem is over crowding and the money will enlarge the cafeteria and add 20 mobile classrooms at the cost of $453,000.

“They’re going to exceed 3,000 students this year, I’m certain,” said Guy Chamberlain of CMS.

"This is just kind of a nice sweetening of a large problem, and I think we still need more up there,” said Larry Gauvreau of the CMS school board.
At Alexander Middle School the money will add six extra mobiles, a modular lunchroom and extra parking at a cost of $732,000.

At Lake Wylie Elementary School, which is at nearly double its initial capacity, the money will provide five more mobiles and a modular dining room at $462,000.

Similar problems exist at Coulwood Middle School. There students will see seven new mobiles at a cost of $432,000.

At least one school board member worries about mobile classrooms becoming permanent classroom space.

“I guess my concern is everything we buy has a life beyond the immediate need, because if we don’t, we could be pouring money down a hole,” said George Dunlap, another CMS school board member.

With the increase in mobiles there is also some worry about mold.

“This is an ongoing fight we have. We do constant surveillance,” said Chamberland.

All of those mobiles, lunchrooms and parking spots will be in place by the start of the next school year.

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http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-0427-jmn-School_board_funds.21aaf9cfb.html

[Staff]

Suggestions from NMHS parents draw little response By Tucker Mitchell





A campaign by parent leaders at North Mecklenburg High to bring relief for overcrowding and related problems to the school next year ran into a school system stone wall last week.

Members of the NMHS School Leadership Team met with top Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) personnel to address concerns outlined in a letter drafted by the SLT last month. The letter asked CMS to consider some fairly drastic measures to battle the rising student tide at the state’s largest high school.Those measures included alternative schedules and satellite campuses.Parents also asked for additional school resource officers to help handle the crowds already on the school’s Huntersville campus.

What they learned is that CMS is projecting about a 200-student increase for next year North, up to 3,140 students, but that CMS administrators don’t believe that merits any extra steps. Instead, CMS officials basically told the parent group (some school staff is on the SLT as well) that an additional security officer would be assigned to the school part-time, that the system was considering a scheduling change for all of its high schools and that as far as crowds go, well, the folks in Vikingland just need to hold on for one more year.

The new Mallard Creek high school is set to open in time for the 2007-08 school year.It will provide relief at North, dropping the school’s enrollment less than 2,000 students that year. “That (hold on) wasn’t what they said in so many words,” says North Meck Principal Joey Burch,“but I think that’s the message.And,based on all the data, that does seem to be the best way to handle it. … I told them (the parents) ‘I may be dumb, or I may be cocky, but I believe we can do it.’”

The meeting was the SLT’s regular monthly meeting,but the special guests on hand — CMS High School Director Ann Clark, CMS Assistant Supterintendent for Auxilary Services Guy Chamberlain and CMS planner Scott McCulley — were anything but. Burch had invited them to the meeting after the SLT attempted to send a letter to CMS Interim Superintendent Frances Haithcock.

Burch and Clark short-circuited that effort,saying it didn’t use the proper channels,and scheduled last week’s meeting instead, ostensibly so that decisions could be made with the proper data in hand.

Clark chastised the parents during the meeting for attempting to recommend actions without data. But once the data was supplied — essentially, McCulley’s projections of 200 more students — some parents still disagreed with CMS’ assessment.

SLT member Tom Davis says, “They said we’re going to have 200 more students. I don’t know if that’s right or not. I’d guess it will be at least that. But even if it’s only 200 more, you can’t just say, ‘oh,that’s fine.We can handle that.’ It’s already a problem.Two hundred more isn’t going to help.”
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Burch says classroom space woes, both for this year and next, will soon improve when installation of a new 10- classroom modular unit is completed. That unit is being set up adjacent and just south of E hall next to the administration building. As part of last week’s meeting,CMS officials also told the SLT that the system is pondering a change to “single block” schedules for high schools next year. In that system, students attend every class every day,but only take four classes per semester.For example,a student might take Algebra I first semester and the follow-on math,Geometry, second semester.With longer class periods, year-long courses can be completed in a semester. It’s not entirely clear how much this will impact overcrowding, although it is true that a handful students may finish high school requirements one semester early because of the semester plan.

http://huntersvilleherald.com/articles/2005/12/22/schools/schools01.txt