CMS has three new boundary proposals for the new Mint Hill high school, though staff and school board members acknowledged earlier this week they still don't think they've come up with the final assignment plan.
Click here to see the latest street-level maps.
The new school, set to open in 2010-11, would relieve crowding at Butler, East Meck and Independence.
The district has spent months on the maps, seeking feedback from the public and school board members. Some of the changes in the new maps appear to reflect concerns raised in recent weeks. For example, the third map would reassign families in the Sardis Forest neighborhood to Butler High, a move some parents spoke in favor of at Tuesday's board meeting.
But none of the new proposals appear to come close to an attendance plan crafted earlier this spring by Mint Hill leaders, who worried that too few of the town's students would be able to attend the school under a previous boundary recommended by CMS staff. The Mint Hill proposal would have sent students living in the zone for the town's three elementary schools -- Bain, Clear Creek and Lebanon Road -- to the new high school. The school board rejected that plan in June.
The three new options -- like all of the other proposals posted so far on the CMS Web site -- would send a portion of the Clear Creek zone to the new high school. And part of the Bain zone would feed to the school under a plan originally backed by CMS staff.
But it doesn't appear that a large portion, if any, of residents living in the Bain and Lebanon Road zones would go to the new high school under any of the three scenarios released this week.
The school board is expected to vote on a boundary plan Aug. 11, and district leaders plan to continue hashing through ideas in the coming weeks. See the other plans considered so far here.
Want to weigh in? Contact the district's planning and student assignment office at planning@cms.k12.nc.us or the members of the school board. - April Bethea
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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70 comments:
Are you kidding me? They (CMS) is changing their mind AGAIN? I live about a mile from Butler and now my kids are going to be bused to Independence... Get me out of here!! (CMS)
The Oaks at Oxfordshire are in the same situation. About a mile from Mint Hill High School. Yet the kids will go to Independence. CMS had the summer to work on this and all they could come up with was this. Sad...Very sad.
Cry me a river!!! Everybody can't have their way. I like these three plans better. At least all of the Mint Hill kids will get to stay together.
What's the problem with Independance. Kids are bused all over place. Seems like the residents have talked themselves out of a new school, by complaining so much.
Whining A$$$ Spoiled people...LOL Trying their best to control things and make it a "Perfect Situation" for who?? If it's Mint Hill High....then why not all the three Elementary schools in Mint Hill to Feed it?? Or did I read that wrong. Too many chiefs......and the Punks in CMS are allowing the people in the community to weigh in just a little too much. No one was concerned when they built Berry Academy right across the street from Harding High. WC nor Harding were overcrowded at the time. So why are they concerned NOW??? We alllll know why....LOL
Trying to Please EVERYBODY. What ever plan they come up with, it won't Please EVERYBODY. Somebody will complain. They should know this. Why are they trying sooooo hard to please EVERYBODY...??
I just think that schools should be centered in their attendence zone (regardless of town boundaries). Butler is my community school and I would like to have my kids go there. So that makes me a 'whiney a**?'. What CMS is doing now is just socio-economic gerrymandering and that is not part of their published 'Guiding Principles' when it comes to attendence zones.
CMS is so A_ _ backwards it is not even funny! They have guiding principles for boundaries yet fail to follow them.
At one point, the BOE was so concerned about building utilization but now they are going to open Indy at either 120% or 129% and it will have the Bain area in it which they have told us already is one of the fastest growing areas. So basically the school will be guaranteed to open with trailers.
Hey BOE....I thought the whole point was to NOT open with trailers!
So basically we are flipping schools and kids around with the kids from Indy with the kids in the Mint Hill area. The BOE is giving the so called "poor" kids the new school and the so called "rich" kids the old school. Yeah that makes total sense.
All the kids that live right near the new school are bused to Indy. Oh wait, isn't that a guiding principle to minimize transportation expenses and travel time. What was I thnking...not like we are in dire economic constraints!
Another guiding principle..."while diversity should be foster it should not be FORCED."
Looks like FORCE to me folks!!
Maybe the name of the school should be changed from Mint Hill HS to something more generic or regional - Clear Creek HS perhaps. Then the BOE can play with the boundaries to its hearts content now and in the future. Of course the BOE will not remember any of this battle when Huntersville gets its own HS..... they always seem to get their way up I77.
All the stated schools are fairly close so keeping a concern for ALL the schools is a good idea. It is ridiculous to call any of these plans busing. I see most of the complaints are coming from Butler people but you still have far and away the lowest free and reduced lunch. CMS, do what is best for the majority and stick with these three plans. Don't be intimidated by the wealthy and affluent. They still have the best situation, this just evens out the playing field a bit.
Let's be clear about something here. 85% of Mint Hill was fine with the "original" staff recommendation. Unfortunately, the Mayor and the other 15% of Mint Hill made such a big stink about Mint Hill having one school and pissing off the BOE as well that the BOE basically stuck it to not only the rest of Mint Hill but the entire area!
Now we all have to suffer the consequences.
So are you saying that poor people are not as smart as the so called wealthy people? What exactly are we evening out to make it a level playing field?
Busing? Sending kids who live right next to the school to another school is NOT busing? Really? Looks like busing to me!
Do poor kids need so called affluent to learn? They can't learn without us so called affluent kids? They are already getting the best principals and teachers pulled from other schools to the lower performing schools. So why can't they perform better?
I'll tell you the answer....It's called the PARENTS!
The new school is going to be no different than what Indy is right now. The numbers are almost the same except the BOE gave them the new school and BUSED everyone near it out of it. That is busing any way you look at it. There are people one mile from the new school but the BOE is BUSING them to Indy.
That is no way to save money in transportation or travel time. The guiding principles list these things but the BOE is only interested in socioeconomic gerrymandering as usual.
OH by the way....wait and see...they will so being calling this school MINT HILL HIGH...just to stick it to Mint Hill even more.
What a joke CMS is. This is bussing in disguise. Kids that live 2 miles from Bulter are to be bussed to Independence? God forbid any school be too white...that is what this is all about.
Amen brother! That is exactly what this is all about!
The only way to stop this crap is to break up CMS. Mint hill, Matthews and the surrounding towns in Meck need their own school system. The problem is that CMS is so power hungry, just like our federal government, and will never give up their power. I hope all of the mayors get together and get out of CMS. Pathetic!
This vote should be postponed until after the school board elections. Serval have dropped out of the race, and now we have the most liberal of board members running the show. Molly Griffin the architect of this fiasco. She should be ashamed of her self, and the other board members should also look in the mirror...hello Tom Tate and James Ross.
To all of thise Mint Hill parents who moved to Mint Hill in order to attend a top 100 school (Butler)...get out there, and call out Molly Griffin. Do not let these fools runi your kids education.
The worst part of this whole thing is that CMS is ruining Mecklenburg county. I know people getting out of Meck County because CMS is screwing it up and no one will want to move here anymore.
To the 15% of Mint Hill who formed One school for Mint Hill...this is from the 85% who were going to go to Butler.
Thanks! Your desire to live in Old Sycamore, on a gold course, at a lower cost, then complain about going to the new high school without the rest of Mint Hill...I hope you are all happy now. You happy Markey boy?
Hey Molly....where do your kids go to school?? Wanna bet it isn't the new school!
That's correct...Molly Griffin, Tom Tate, and James Ross are behind this entire thing. Joe White will do whatever is best for his 13 or whatever number grandkids and Kimberey Walker has no thought of her own and follows whatever James Ross votes for. And Trent Merchant...I can only assume you are right up there with Tom Tate and the other circus clowns.
Ken, Kaye, and Larry...are the only ones actually abiding by the guiding principles that they are all suppose to follow.
Everyone should visit mollygriffin.org. Check out the issues section. Molly talks about open and collaborative communication, yet these new plans came out of no where after the last meeting and before the vote. She also discusses effective and responsible use of tax dollars. Is busing kids to schools 7, 8 or 9 miles away a responsible choice when a school is 2 miles away?
Molly is up for re-election...what a surprise!
Still waiting to hear what "evening out the playing field" means?
Anyone??
Mint Hill Mayor, Ted Biggers is up for re-election. Now, Teddie seems to have made a tactical error. Teddie decided to back the 15% of Mint Hill who did not want to go to the new school without the rest of mint hill...mostly because they felt it would hurt their property values. Now the 85% of Mint Hill that Teddie dissed is not too happy. Looks like Teddie will be out.
Moral of story...choose wisely! Teddie choose very, very poorly.
I think the 15% and 85% is completely backwards. 15% were satisfied with the proposed plan and 85% were not. The neighborhood right off Idlewild and 485 are the ones that fought to stay in Butler and when their neighborhood was included backed out of the fight completely with the, 'It's not my problem anymore..we've got what we want'.
Then new plan isn't the best but it is far better than the one that the BOE proposed initially.
I agree with the folks here that are stating the 'one high school for mint hill' crowd kind of ruined everything. They did NOT speak for the majority of Mint Hill as they claim - and now, partially, becaue of their efforts, we are all in a worse position. And its kind of ironic that Ted Biggers (the mayor) is on the board of the charter school (Queens Grant) that is in Mint Hill and is isolated from all this crap
These new plans are slightly better than the last set, but still suck compared to the plan offered by the town of MH. Anyone bashing Mayor Ted is dead wrong on this point. He did do the right thing, and is continuing to do the right thing. He's in a tough spot, but I don't think his life ambition was to be Mayor of Mint Hill anyway.
Anon July 30, 2009 3:56 PM
Yes, I am one of the folks from that neighborhood. Sorry that I am looking out for my family. Tell you what - you fight for what is best for you and I will fight for what is the best for mine.
Actually because of the OneHighSchool crowd, we are now better off. Maybe you're not, be we are personally - sorry, but deal with it.
There is no issue looking out for your family. The problem is that the One School for Mint Hill spoke as if they did represent all of Mint Hill...they did not.
I would agree that it was more like 85% against and 15% for the original plan. Mayor Biggers is not stupid - he wouldn't take a that type of stand if he only had 15% support. That's a stupid statement. If CMS has any sense at all they will reconsider the Town's plan. Otherwise they will have created a fractured mess.
I'm another from THAT neighborhood. I got news for ya...all your friends from the south end of Lawyers Rd who were slated to be sent to Butler, were secretly emailing the BOE behind your back so you would not be angry with them.
Don't believe me...I have emails stating and I saved them all!!
We are going to do what is best for our family as what I would expect you to do as well.
As far as our good Mayor Teddy goes....he screwed all of us the minute he let that school be built where it is.
That school was suppose to be built behind the old Harris Teeter in town center but that great Mayor of ours decided that the tax revenue from retail that the town would lose was more important than our childrens education.
So before you go thinking the Mayor is all that great...think again. He screwed ALL of us in the area. He will not be getting my vote in November.
The 15% and 85% are not wrong. The area near Idlewild is heavily populated as are ares off Thompson Rd.
IF so many people were for the Mint Hill Plan, than why did you not see mass amounts of people from other neighborhoods at the Boe meetings and such. It was mostly those folks who lived north of Lawyers Rd and mainly Old Sycamore. I have the dvd of the June BOE meeting when they were suppose to vote...would you like to come watch and together we can count the number of people who were from Old Sycamore and those from south of Lawyers Rd. I will guarantee you, you will very few from south of Lawyers Rd.
Your wrong.
I think the majority of Mint Hill disliked the BOE plan not 15%. I think the majority will accept this even though it isn't ideal. I would venture to say most of these negative comments on here are the same 2 or 3 people. The mayor did a good job looking out for the the town as a whole and it will reflect come November.
Well, it would appear that the Davis Tracers just didn't have the "juice" that they though they did. If you really had 85% support for the original plan, you must been exceptionally inept to have not gotten your way.
Stop the whining Mint Hill. You asked for ONE HIGH SCHOOL FOR MINT HILL and now you get it and now you don't like it. What gives. All of Mint Hill will be together with the new plans its just not where you want it to be. Let's just call this the way it was 10 yrs ago all of Mint Hill at Indy before Butler opened. It will be a good school and your children will stay together since that was your biggest complaint. Go bIg. We welcome you.
Guess what? The only ones that got their way was the BOE and the socioeconomic gerrymandering that goes on with CMS.
No public feedback was taken into account here. No abiding by the guiding principals was done as they are suppose to be.
Indy will have trailers when they open. They are opening at 120-129% with the Bain area growing exponentially. The BOE had stated this was something they were looking at seriously...REALLY??
I think we can agree that everyone was doing what they thought was best for their family. The problem is that the Mayor sided with a small portion of the town and disregarded what was best for the majority of the town. There is no way you can say that the original staff recommendation that sent 85% of Mint Hill to Butler was not the best thing for a majority of the town?
If your family was in our position, you would not have fought the original staff recommendation and I would not have expected you to. BUT, saying that all of Mint Hill is against the original staff recommendation and then marketing it to the BOE and the media that way is just unethical and wrong. I would have fought for my family like you did but would not have gone about it in this way.
I think there were a few teachers and staff at Independence pulling some strings to get a few more "resources" pulled into their school. This will probably make their scores look better. I think they are behind a lot of this trouble.
Again, the entire Mint Hill area was not all for us being in one school. That was the marketing done by those on the onehighschoolforminthill site.
I think you are missing the point. What we wanted was a school like we bought into...like the current Butler. This is not what we are getting. This is why we are whining.
As far as I'm concerned, those who opposed the original staff plan were smart enough to create a situation that improved their outcome. It may not be ideal, but it is an improvement. I'll call that a minor victory. Also, the opposition was not just from Olde Sycamore, it was widespread and much higher than 15%. That's just plain stupid.
Indy may look better on paper with this new plan, but those kids not performing will still not perform. Having us so called "rich" kids will not make them miraculously perform. That stems from good parenting folks.
I got my kids reading before they even entered kindergarten; I make sure the homework is done and go over it with them; etc, etc...
It has nothing to do with whether I was poor or rich. It's called parenting and wanting good things for your kids and working with them to do their best in school. Any parent, whether rich or poor can do the same. Teaching your child at home doesn't cost money.
Those kids failing will continue to fail with or without us so called "rich" kids there.
I think all this was part of the CMS divide and conquer tactics. Give people so many options that there was no majority backing for any single one of them. Then pick the one that meets your social engineering agenda.
I don't live in Mint Hill but I live just on the other side of Albemarle Rd. Now, my children are assigned to a low income school and I have all of two weeks to view the options and respond. This has been very poorly handled.
Well that is the CMS style...do things at the last minute and let people know as little as possible so they have no time to respond or do anything about it.
If you are a District 3 person..you need to rally the troops and vote James Ross out of there come November.
If you live on the other side of Albemarle road, you were pretty much going to a low income school anyway you cut it. Except for the MH Town plan. Where have you been, this thing has been going down for 2 or 3 months now?
I agree. James Ross gotta go. Along with several others.
Well, we got our "One High School" and it's Indy. What a great day for Mint Hill!!! (sarcasm) The BOE flipped the script on everyone. The first staff recommendation was the most palatable compared to these 3 new options.
We got what the so called "majority" of Mint Hill wanted and it sucks. Go Bulldogs!! I meant Patriots.
If people want an excellent educational opportunity with many experienced quality teachers and an energetic new principal, along with strong athletics, music programs, journalism, dozens of community service opportunities, and a truly international student body, they should consider East Mecklenburg High.
bIg teachers are probably jumping for joy. Keep fighting - there's still a chance to get it changed again.
Since Indy will get most of Mint Hill what is the problem? The only thing different is the building the students go to. I sense some hostility from the Matthews/Butler folks. This is not a football game, it is serious business. These new plans give us the most balance among the four schools. Sorry Matthews and Butler, you can't have it all.
"These new plans give us the most balance among the four schools."
Balance of what?
Don't even put the idea into sending Mint Hill area kids to EM...this BOE is so messed up they may just do that and send the EM kids to Garinger and the Garinger kids to Buter....that makes sense right??
After all, the BOE only does things that make sense.
Anon July 30, 2009 4:57 PM. "the new plan gives us the most balance". Well, from a a global/socialistic view point, you are right. Now the schols will be more or less blended in equal socio-economic/race allocations. But ...oh..never mind. Whatever I say will sound snobbish/racist to some of you - and I will admit, I am guilty of some of that. But I guarantee you - what is now a high-performing school, will suffer. And there will be no school in this mix that will replace it
Balance of free and reduced lunch. Raleigh uses that as a measure and they beat CMS hands down.
Butler folks, you still got it good. In 1997, you said you wanted a Matthews school. You know have that. Mint Hil will for the most part have a school...Indy. The new school will have the geographic area near it. School board, pick from the three. This is the best plan. Much better than the June plans.
So mixing poor kids with middle class kids makes poor kids perform better? Is that right? And how exactly does that work? That makes no sense whatsoever. It may make the school numbers look better, but it is not making the poor kids perform better.
That is just a disguise.
Why don't we track the performance of the poor kids...kid by kid and really see if the poor kids did any better with the middle class kids in school with them. I doubt it. They are looking at the overall school and not each child individually...big difference.
Anonymous July 30 4:24 pm:
It's laughable to believe that teachers at the Big I have any power or influence to "pull strings" for "more resources."
By the way, the scores there are downright respectable with the "resources" they have.
Have you looked at these 3 plans? How is the new school having the geographic area going to it exactly?
Clear Creek West and East are right next to the school and two of the options put them at Indy. There are Mint Hill kids that live less than 1 mile, some right down the road from the new school, and they are going to Indy as well.
But JW Grier and Reedy Creek are no where near the new school and they go to the near school.
Are you still going to say that the new school has kids geographical close to it going there?
Don't think so!
The current scores for Indy are fine so why does our BOE feel compelled to change things so drastically?
They could have left JW Grier and Reedy Creek and Lebanon Rd in Indy as they were and worked around the other schools like other options did that they rejected. But they didnt. They chose to change Indy and Butler the most when they didnt have to.
Hey Mint Hill. What are you belly aching for. You'll be getting another new high school in your area in 10 years. So you'll then have 2 high schools for your community. Share the wealth, why would you need three, when the kids that are in kindergarten grade now will have another choice.
Is it just me or does the wording from CMS (we don't think we have the final plan) sound like it is giving itself something to fall back on if their is widespread disapproval? CMS should pass the best plan. It should not come down to the most powerful parents raising the most caine to get their way. High poverty parents don't attend school board meetings. Keep that in mind school board. These 3 new plans balance the schools the best!
(sigh)- I am SO leaving CMS. They are more concerned with social engineering and political correctness than providing quality education. These three plans will eliminate a Newsweek-rated top 100 high-school (Butler). Just more 'dumming down'
Butler still gets Matthews, stop being greedy and think of all 4 schools!
Is it fair to open Independence at 120-129% building utilization when the school will have the Bain area going there? The Bain area is projected for very high growth. If you open Indy at these high percentages, that school will surely open with trailers by 2010. The whole point of these boundary changes was to alleviate overcrowding. That is NOT what these three plans are doing.
How is that fair to Independence in 2010 and beyond?
Sign me up as a plaintif in the Law suit!!!!!!! CMS is ruining our property vaules. Flip flopping on there promises ... who do they think they are, John Kerry?
Why do you Mint Hill parents think your kids are better? It's about time the school board used some common sense. Get a grip Mint Hill parents. Here's a news FLASH "Your kid isn't any better than any other kid". And, that goes for you too, Julie Andrews. I say go ahead, pull your kids out. Sign them up for charter and private schools. We need more room for the other really good and deserving children. Thank you School Board - It's been a long time coming.....
Hi were are these low income school areas of mint hill ?
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