HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — After months of studying, a special commission recommended the town of Huntersville split away from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and create its own district.
The Huntersville Education Options Study Commission presented its report Monday night. It recommended pursuing the creation of a Lake Norman/North Mecklenburg school district.
It said the idea was the greatest opportunity to address capacity needs. The report also recommended pursuing a municipal charter school and partnering with existing charter schools.
“We are recommending we join with Davidson, Cornelius and perhaps Mooresville to form a more reasonably sized school system,” said Jim Puckett, a member of the commission.
[ALSO READ: CMS parents discuss charter schools in Huntersville]
The county commissioners said Huntersville's population is expected to increase 34% in 2020 and CMS' plans do not include enough classrooms to address the growth.
Other towns, like Matthews, have also talked about pulling out of CMS. The district, however, warned the towns that the decision would further segregate CMS and hurt students.
Channel 9 spoke to the mayor of Matthews Monday night and he said the town has formed an education advisory committee to “improve educational opportunities for kids in Matthews.”
He said he doesn’t anticipate Matthews looking into creating a charter school anytime in the near future.
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Huntersville officials said it could be years before a new school district is created.
They said the next step for the town is to apply for the charter and start working to partner with existing charter schools.
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