South Charlotte could welcome two new schools in the next few years

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – South Charlotte could welcome two new schools in the next few years.

One is a high school in the Ballantyne area on Johnston Road, and the other is an elementary school just outside Ballantyne along Ardrey Kell Road.

On Tuesday night, Charlotte City Council approved petitions for both schools but a green light is not yet final.

CMS and Woodfield Development, who proposed these plans, now might be able to build them.

Tonight was a first step in going forward. Though, not everyone is on board with the elementary school.

The biggest reason?

“Ardrey Kell Road is very crowded. In fact, it will come to a stop,” Ronald Maccaroni, a Charlotte resident said.

CMSand Woodfield Development says this elementary school could relieve overcrowding and provide 430 units for families to live in.

“There’s nothing like this in the area where someone can have an affordable place to live, and we’re placing this in walking distance to three schools,” Collin Brown, a petitioner agent said.

But some families in the area say the flip side of that is that what’s already congested will only get worse.

“This whole area becomes a parking lot,” Charlotte resident Robert Marshall said. “Five times a day when Ardrey Kelly School, community house, enter and leave their school days, along with normal evening rush hour traffic.”

Nothing final decided Tuesday night, except that as Charlotte continues to grow, so might your options for where to send your kids to school.

These proposals stay alive for now. They’ll head over to the zoning committee and then possibly back to city council for a final decision.

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