Background:

2007 Bonds for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Bond Referendum is for a total of $516 million and includes:

$290 MILLION FOR NEW SCHOOLS

• Eight elementary schools
• Two middle schools
• Two high schools

$196 MILLION FOR SCHOOL RENOVATIONS

• Eleven schools receive major repairs and renovations including fixing roofs, repairing heating and cooling systems, renovating plumbing and electrical systems and paving
• Three schools receive classroom additions to relieve overcrowding

$30 MILLION FOR LAND NEEDS

• Purchase land sites for future schools to accommodate overwhelming growth

The students of CMS need and deserve appropriate facilities in which to learn. The CMS bond package contains a prioritized list of 40 renovation and new construction projects:

67% OF OUR REQUEST RELIEVES OVERCROWDING
32% TARGETS REPAIRS AND RENOVATIONS

Growth/overcrowding and renovations are the most pressing construction issues facing CMS. We need to build news schools for our booming enrollment and repair our older schools. The $516 million (includes inflation) represents only a portion of our most urgent construction needs, which total about $1.4 billion in today's dollars. Our long-term needs are substantial, too--$2.5 billion in today's dollars during the next 10 years.

Overcrowding

• More than 25,000 students attend classes in 1,248 mobile units. That's equivalent to more than 30 elementary schools.
• The bonds would add 704 classrooms and provide relief to 25 of the district's most overcrowded schools.

Growth

• CMS is among the 25 largest school districts in the country, with about 138,000 students expected in 2007-2008. That number includes pre-kindergarten students.
• The district is expected to add more than 50,000 students-the equivalent of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth county school district-in the next decade at a rate of about 5,000 students a year. That would put CMS' student population in 2016-2017 at 190,201.
• By 2017, CMS must build 41 elementary schools, 14 middle schools and 13 high schools to accommodate growth and eliminate portable (mobile) classrooms.

1% OF OUR REQUEST IS FOR DISTRICT-WIDE PROJECTS

• Projects include asbestos removal and fire alarm upgrades for compliance with federal laws and regulations. 

PRIORITIZING PROJECTS