Matthews Gaining Supporters to Leave CMS

MATTHEWS, NC — The Town of Matthews is moving forward to break away from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and create its own school district.

Now, State Rep. Bill Brawley of District 103 is willing to back them.

He will be speaking at the Ballantyne Hotel during the Breakfast Club meeting Saturday at 9:00 in the morning to explain to parents the hurdles the town will face.

“The problem when breaking up a local education agency is counties and education lotteries buy most buildings,” said Rep. Brawley, (R) District 103.

“That’s paid for outside of the school budget. State funding is per-pupil. That would not change.”

Ray Eschert is part of the Ballantyne Breakfast Club that hosts meetings for many CMS parents. He is one of eight members of the Mayoral Task Force on Education in Matthews.

“This involves legislation. It involves money. It involves a lot of hard work,” said Eschert.

Matthews Town Commissioners voted unanimously two weeks ago to support neighborhood schools. That was after CMS announced it could redraw school boundaries, possibly changing your child’s neighborhood school.

“If they come up with a reasonable plan to better meet the educational needs of their students by splitting CMS apart, I will run the bill,” said Rep. Brawley.

Building its own district isn’t a new concept. It has been a part of the Town of Matthews 20 year vision plan.

Parents WCCB Charlotte spoke with after Mayor Jim Taylor announced the task force say CMS is too big to accommodate the Southeastern part of the county.

For previous report, click here.

“Because of the spread of the county, it’s a very large system to get your hands around effectively,” said Eschert.

CMS board members have yet to return calls to comment on Matthews’ plan.

While Saturday’s meeting is at the Ballantyne Hotel, Eschert says Ballantyne has no plans to join Matthews to break away from CMS.

To see the agenda schedule for this meeting, click here.