CMS, Veritas request to delay appeal hearing

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Veritas Community School on Tuesday agreed to ask county commissioners to push a hearing over a lease dispute to Dec. 15.

This comes a day after the school board met in an hourlong closed session to get an update from lawyers on the issue.

Commissioners were scheduled to referee the tiff Dec. 1. They’ll have to decide whether to delay the hearing at that meeting, although it’s likely they will grant the request.

Despite signing it three months earlier, the school board voted earlier this month to terminate a lease that would have allowed Veritas to use the vacant Villa Heights elementary school building.

Both parties now want commissioners to delay an appeal hearing as they continue talks about a possible solution, said Nicole Gardner, Veritas’ attorney.

“We’re actively in discussions about whether there are other available buildings that might work for Veritas,” she said, stressing that CMS has not made an official offer for alternative space.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 2:53 PM with the headline "CMS, Veritas request to delay appeal hearing."