District outlines timeline and survey results for Coltrane Webb STEM boundary; public meeting set

Cabarrus County Schools staff on Nov. 10 updated the board and public on the Coltrane Webb STEM elementary boundary project, walking through guiding criteria, planning‑block analysis, survey results and next steps in a process staff said will result in a December recommendation and vote.

Dr. Jonathan Bower told the board the project’s guiding criteria are utilization, feeder patterns, proximity and demographic balance. He described the planning‑block method the district used to estimate enrollment and shared survey outreach numbers: the district contacted 136 families in the former Beverly Hills Elementary feeder area; 90% of those families received the outreach and staff recorded a 35% response rate. Of respondents, 71% said they would prefer to remain at their current school if their domicile were placed outside a new boundary.

Bower said the district will hold a second community meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. at R. Brown McAllister Elementary School, will post boundary maps online (including an address lookup tool) and expects to bring a formal boundary recommendation to the board Dec. 1. The December timeline will include public comment at the Dec. 8 meeting and a board vote that night, staff said.

Board members pressed staff on communications, the number of students who would be "double‑impacted" (moved twice in a short span), and whether Brown McAllister families would be included; staff said Brown McAllister is not under consideration for this boundary effort because it was recently adjusted.

Next steps: staff will post maps and an online tool for residents to check their address, continue internal review meetings and present a formal recommendation at the Dec. 1 board meeting ahead of the Dec. 8 public comment and vote.