Ch…Ch…Changes | Myers Park versus East Meck High Classroom Showdown

September 17th, 2009 categories: Great Neighborhoods

Well all heck has not quite broken out yet, but it’s brewing! Two of Charlotte’s venerable high schools may soon be pitted against each other as result of Charlotte’s continuing growth and evolution. As with any growing city Charlotte’s neighborhoods are changing and the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System (CMS) is scrambling to keep up.  Most recently CMS was faced with the unpopular but ultimately defensible? decision to have Mint Hill kids attend Independence High School versus the newly minted (sorry) Mint Hill HS – again few were happy but such is the byproduct of growth!

Change is brewing (listen) now in the heart of Charlotte, in the legacy neighborhoods that define our city, Myers Park, Cotswold, Eastover, Dilworth and Lansdowne. Whether or not YOU live in one of those neighborhoods you know this is going to impact you, it’s going to impact all of us as Charlotteans! The argument goes….Myers Park (I am a Myers Park grad ‘79) high school has too may kids and East Mecklenburg not enough – but clearly it is NOT that simple.

The impact of this one will undoubtedly be more than simply realigning some student assignments – there’s talk that the immensely popular and successful International Baccalaureate (IB) program might even move from Myers Park to East Mecklenburg – sounds draconian to me but it’s on the table! As the Charlotte Observer said today.. As soon as the plans went online “Parents in the Dilworth neighborhood began organizing within the hour” – the Observer has a good story on this today the first of MANY to come I’m sure. And her’s a link to the actual CMS proposals with maps so you can see for yourself the impact this is going to have.

So what does this mean for homeowners who live in the affected neighborhoods? It depends of course on what happens and when but it does not look good for some home values. Like it or not (and it is always subjective) but homes in the Myers Park district tend to sell better then those in the East Meck district or for that matter other districts — that goes too for South Mecklenburg which shares boundary lines with Myers Park. I like to think this is more due to Myers Park preeminence as opposed to South or East’s performance – in fact both of those High Schools have enjoyed a resurgence the past few years and it wasn’t long ago East Meck was a shining star for CMS! BUT the reality is for now home values and saleability may be impacted and if you live in or want to live in one these neighborhoods you need to pay close attention and take action as appropriate. I don’t have the answers but would be happy to talk with you and or neighbors about the situation and to offer options.

For now my hope is that two of Charlotte’s grandest educational institutions will be able to coexist successfully, that the only battles will be on the playing fields and that the freedom and spirit exhibited in their mascots the eagle and the mustang will prevail!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Great Neighborhoods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Spencer Lueders said at September 17th, 2009 at 4:38 pm

   There is certainly debate whether Myers Park HS is overcrowded. MPHS leadership says otherwise, and the school is within acceptable utilization ranges even at 3000 students. East Meck HS is a much smaller school and thus it is incorrect to just look at raw numbers. At the projected new number of 1500 students, EMHS is now back into acceptable utilization ranges from being way over before the Mint Hill rezoning. Some EMHS parents are creating a false crisis with no data to support their position. Don’t be fooled. Lots of damage to many neighborhoods if this quick fix, knee jerk “solution” goes through.

2. Mike Gibbons said at September 17th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

   Spencer good points and yes the impact will be substantial.

3. donna johnston said at September 17th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

   Great Post Michael. It will be interesting to see what happens. South Meck (Myers Park neighbor) is full to capacity this year with the new Science and Math building as well as the magnet program so they can not absorb Myers Park overflow. This may be good for East Meck but must be planned very carefully to not disrupt the education of some very bright children.

4. Larry Bumgarner said at September 17th, 2009 at 6:46 pm

   Mint Hill will be taking legal action after the election in November

5. Charlotte Tax Incentives said at September 21st, 2009 at 1:53 pm

   I say they should wait until the new school is built. There is too much confusion in the system already. Good post!

6. B said at September 30th, 2009 at 10:40 am

   MPHS is grossly overwhelmed – walk on the campus at lunch time. Many people, lots of discussion, but few have been there. Never been to EM, but MP is ridiculous. Kids are bussed in from everywhere thinking the opportunity is better but because of the lack of capacity and overwhelming student to teacher ratio – it just can’t keep up at this pace.

7. Celeste said at October 26th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

   Earlier it was stated MP has 3000 students. If that is accurate or even close then “YES” it is overcrowded. If it’s not, then what is? 3000 students at one high school (the size of MP)is the capacity of two combined high schools. I’ve been to MP school and the amount of students currently enrolled is ridiculous. Of course MPHS Leadership is going to say differently but go to the school, visit the campus at lunch, sit or stick your head in the classrooms and see for yourself.
   The comment made about ‘bright students being disrupted if not carefully planned’…what are you implying exactly? If a student is bright, they will excel regardless if they are at MP or East Meck. The students are not being replaced or sent to live with strangers they are all going to school to learn with their peers.
   Diversity is vital for all students and will be something they each will have to adapt to when they go to college.

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