In November, Charlotte/Mecklenburg residents will be asked to approve a bond referendum that would finance the first three years of a proposed 10-year, $1.975 billion school construction and renovation plan. In addition to the $427 million requested in this year’s referendum, the plan will require the citizens of Mecklenburg County to approve, at minimum, a $550 million bond issue every two years for the next seven years. But, a policy report by JLF education analyst Terry Stoops, released this week in Charlotte, questions the efficiency of the school system’s construction plans and offers suggestions and alternatives that would help avoid adding to the area’s already high tax burden. In attendance at JLF’s press conference were the Charlotte Observer, WBTV, Fox News Charlotte, and News14 Carolina. Watch the News14 Carolina story, including comments from Stoops, here. Prior to the conference, Stoops and John Hood were guests on WBT-AM’s “Keith Larson Show” and discussed the cost-saving options and how CMS’s costs stack up against Wake and Guilford counties.