MATTHEWS, N.C. — The town of Matthews and Charlotte-Mecklenburg School leaders came together for a heated discussion Tuesday night.
It was the first time these two entities have been together all in the same room, trying to find some common ground.
As the CMS Board of Education created its new student assignment plan in the last couple years, the town of Matthews started a task force to explore spitting from the district.
Then, House Bill 514 was filed in the state Legislature. It would allow Matthews and Mint Hill to operate their own charter schools, which would be separate from CMS.
Matthews town leaders said they're worried about overcrowding and children being sent to schools too far from home.
CMS leaders made it clear that every Matthews child has the option to go to a school in or close to the town.
CMS officials admitted that overcrowding is a problem countywide, but Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said that, if Matthews leaves CMS, it would hurt the overall system.
"What we’re trying to do right now is create great educational outcomes for everybody and that means that we have to have a nice mix of population," Wilcox said.
Regardless, parents have mixed feelings about the potential breakup.
"I think choice is always a good thing," a parent said.
"If everyone sort of supported public schools, they could be terrific," another parent said.