CMS is shifting some teachers into new roles and schools next year. Some are leaving instead
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools raised its student-teacher ratio in some grades next school year but assured teachers that none would lose employment as a result. Educators say they’ve been left in the dark about what’s next.
CMS changed its student allocation in grades 10 through 12 for next year as a cost saving measure — from one teacher per 26.5 students to one teacher per 27.5 students. North Carolina funds teacher positions in grades 10 through 12 at a ratio of one teacher per 29 students. So, even with the change, CMS will allocate more teaching positions than the state formula funds.
“This decision comes in response to a particularly tight budget year following the expiration of over $596 million in federal COVID relief funds,” a CMS spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer.
The change decreases the district’s number of teaching positions by 40 and saves about $3.4 million. There are enough vacancies to absorb the change, meaning no staff would lose a position as a result, district officials say. However, some might have to change roles or schools.
Educators say communication about the change has been inconsistent and unclear, with many still waiting to find out where they’ll be teaching next year. Amid the confusion, at least two have decided to step away from the district entirely.
Three teachers affected by the change spoke to the Observer and were granted anonymity because they feared that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools would retaliate.
One displaced teacher told the Observer her principal said in February she would need to move schools next year and that she would be reassigned by March 15, when the transfer period for teachers began. She wasn’t notified officially by a representative from CMS until March 31. As of mid-April, she still did not have a reassignment.
Mecklenburg County covers over 546 square miles, and she, like other educators, was concerned she would be placed at a school far away from her home. She took a job at a local independent school for next year.
She said a “generic” district email notifying her of her displacement coupled with “no follow-up as to where in a reasonable time frame,” has left her feeling undervalued. She suspects other teachers are leaving for the same reasons.
Another CMS educator said he also made the decision to leave the district next year after repeatedly contacting human resources for more information.
“It was hard to get a real person to talk to,” he said. “I finally got someone on the phone but even they couldn’t tell me definitively what was going on.”
He got his reassignment earlier in April, but by then he’d interviewed at an independent school and gotten an offer. He has been a teacher for over 10 years.
He said his principal has gone to bat for him but he’s still frustrated with the district and feels “cast aside to save a little bit of money.”
Educators say communication has varied by school and principal.
CMS Chief Human Resources Officer Kecia Coln said school principals were responsible for making staffing adjustments in a statement to The Observer.
“Vacancies are posted and employees can voluntarily apply for posted vacancies of interest during the transfer period. If it becomes necessary to reassign staff members from one school to another, the principal would inform the staff and would seek volunteers for reassignment,” she said. “The principal would also redeploy staff within the school if possible and appropriate.”
Another veteran educator said he’s still weighing his options but is leaning toward leaving CMS and that he’s “never felt less valued as an employee in my life.”
When he told his students he’d be leaving next year, they asked what they could do to protest and talked about a walkout at school.
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
