CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Almost a dozen Charlotte Mecklenburg School buildings will soon be vacant, but for the school district, selling them is not the best option.
Instead, they are trying to lease them to community groups.
Dennis Lacaria, a planning specialist for CMS, is giving tours to potential tenants who want to rent out schools like Double Oaks Pre-K Center.
Channel 9 has followed the process step-by-step since November, when the school board voted to close 11 schools.
VIDEO: CMS To Lease Vacant School Buildings
Lacaria said there's a cost to maintain every building, even if it's empty.
"You've got to still condition it so the pipes don't freeze in the winter and the mold doesn't grow in the summer and you got to send a custodian by," said Lacaria.
CMS scrapped the idea of demolishing them and said leasing the buildings could actually bring in money.
That's because they could shift the costs to community groups like the Bethlehem Center, who toured on Wednesday.
Jared Keaton is the director of Head Start and said this is the perfect opportunity to consolidate and possibly expand, especially as the county slashes Bright Beginnings prekindergarten programs.
"We have such a rich and long standing partnership with CMS, we want to be able to maintain services at whatever level we can," said Keaton.
The payment CMS would get could boost the general fund, money CMS could use to save teacher jobs.
On the other hand, if they sold the buildings that money would go into the capital fund, which can't be spent in the classrooms.
The groups are not yet talking price or the length of the lease. They include church groups, other prekindergarten programs and charter schools.
Interested groups have until May 13 to make a bid.
Just last week, Superintendent Peter Gorman formally presented the budget to the school board.
A worst-case scenario would cut $118 million, which would include eliminating nearly 600 teaching jobs and increase class sizes.
WSOC
