Why a state rep. wants to break up Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A North Carolina state representative says he wants to start discussions about breaking up Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools into smaller districts, citing concerns he has heard from parents, teachers and staff.

Republican Rep. David Willis said those community members have told him they have lost faith in the district and its board.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools serves nearly 140,000 students, and is the second-largest school district in the state.

“The conversation has been happening for decades here in Charlotte, and we think it’s time to have that conversation,” Willis said. “And I think, put a good faith effort into breaking it up and looking at what smaller districts within Mecklenburg County would look like.”

Previous efforts to break up the district have fizzled amid questions about funding, staffing and inequities.

In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly allowed Matthews and other towns to establish charter schools independent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, but nothing came to fruition.

Willis was not able to say how his proposal would differ from previous attempts.

“I think we’ve got an opportunity to remove some of the politics from this and have an open, honest discussion about what those districts could look like, what they should look like, and what would be fair and equitable to all of the districts, however many that may be,” Willis said.

The district has faced scrutiny in recent months following the investigation and firing of its superintendent and several investigations involving the board.

“Obviously they’re having issues from a management and a governance perspective, and it’s just time to have this conversation,” Willis said.

Willis also said he is looking into forcing a recall vote for current school district board members. Board members said Willis notified them of his plans earlier in the week.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board member Anna London, who chairs the superintendent search committee, said breaking up the district would be harmful and could create and increase inequities.

Willis said questions about equity and other potential impacts would be carefully explored through studies and input from community stakeholders before any legislation is created. He said the process could take years.

“And so we’ve got to do what’s right for these families, for these students, and we don’t need to delay any longer,” Rep. Willis said.

Charlotte City Schools and Mecklenburg County Schools previously operated as separate districts before merging to combine resources.

Historian Tom Hanchett said the idea was that a unified district would produce better outcomes.

“And indeed, Charlotte is known as one of the places that has better scores, test scores, graduation rates than most urban districts, because we are a mixture of urban and other areas all working together on the same problem,” Hanchett said.

Rep. Willis said it was unlikely the issue would come up when the North Carolina General Assembly returns for its next session, but it could come up in December.