Tara Servatius has another must read piece up that tells uncomfortable facts about the Queen City:
Virtually all the growth in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ student population this year was either African-American (2,417) or Hispanic (2,401). The only racial category in which enrollment is declining in our school system is Caucasian. Despite the booming growth in this county and region, the school system lost another 400 white kids this year.
Can you say white flight? No, of course you can’t. This is Charlotte and we never speak bluntly about our problems.
A minor quibble with the piece, however. The explosive growth in Union and Cabarrus that is helping to suck families out of Mecklenburg will be somewhat self-correcting in future years. As experience has shown in hyper-growth counties like Frederick, Maryland and Loudon, Virginia, eventually taxes go up, congestion worsens, and the gaps with closer-in burbs shrink some.
Also, Charlotte has things especially bad in this regard because the 485 access that should’ve opened those counties up to development 10 or 15 years ago has all been compressed in the just the last few years. Pent up demand is a powerful thing. So I’m not certain that Tara is correct to assert the trend of bypassing Mecklenburg will pick up steam in the future. We might be at its apex.
Still, the basic outline is sound. CMS must be fixed before it is broken beyond repair and more of the same old song and dance out of the Ed Center will not do that.
