{"id":2187,"date":"2026-06-26T05:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T05:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187"},"modified":"2026-06-26T05:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T05:04:49","slug":"cms-wants-to-build-housing-in-front-of-garinger-high-teachers-say-no-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187","title":{"rendered":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Educators at Garinger High School say they\u2019re frustrated about up to 138 rental units<\/u><\/a> for CMS staff being built on the school\u2019s property as part of the \u201cAt Home in CMS\u201d<\/u><\/a> initiative.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Blindsided\u2019: Charlotte church in Ballantyne YMCA was unaware of branch sale plan<\/a><\/p>\n

The 7.32-acre plot, which the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools\u2019 Board of Education leased<\/u><\/a> to Innovative Housing Solutions Foundation at its May 26 meeting, sits between Eastway Drive and Garinger\u2019s front entrance, filled with an array of tall, lush cryptomeria trees.<\/p>\n

Lucy Rice, a social studies teacher at Garinger, said she was aware of the district\u2019s commitment to building homes for educators, given its mention in prior retention surveys. Yet, she felt like Garinger staff received a last-minute notification about the decision.<\/p>\n

CMS leadership met with Garinger staff on May 26, the same night the board voted to lease the school\u2019s land, and again on June 4 \u201cto share information, answer questions and gather feedback,\u201d according to a statement from Tom Miner, CMS\u2019 assistant communications officer. Rice said this gave staff no time to register for public comment at the May 26 board meeting \u2014 public comment sign-ups closed at 5 p.m. the previous day.<\/p>\n

Teachers who spoke to the Observer expressed disapproval with the district\u2019s inability to attend to other ongoing issues at the high school and concern about how this might affect the character of land with a historic landmark designation.<\/p>\n

Lauren Zuppo, another social studies teacher at Garinger, said she worries about how this construction will look to the community and the students. She expressed concern about the \u201coptics\u201d of pushing this plan forward while issues with other \u201cbasic amenities\u201d at the school go unaddressed. Both she and Jen Bourne, an English educator at Garinger, cited malfunctioning air conditioning and heat in classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are coming into a community that is historically protected, which is why some of the things that need to be done on campus have not been done, and you are putting something new in a place where you have not been able to maintain what is already there,\u201d Bourne said.<\/p>\n

An April 2024 document officially proposed<\/u><\/a> a \u201cteacher village,\u201d although no specific schools were offered as potential sites. The proposal stipulated that the \u201cboard must declare property as surplus\u201d before CMS could lease it for the project.<\/p>\n

Garinger was listed<\/u><\/a> as one of four \u201cnarrowed focus sites\u201d in a May 2024 proposal of potential sites. It was described as a \u201clarge site,\u201d meaning it offered more than 7 acres and scored high in access to amenities, including transit, grocery stores and medical offices.<\/p>\n

Other \u201clarge\u201d CMS sites up for final consideration included Julius L. Chambers High School and E.E. Waddell High School, which offered 33.55 and 29.36 acres, respectively. However, Garinger outscored these other two locations in terms of access to amenities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSite selection was based on a combination of factors aligned to educator feedback, including access to amenities, transportation and overall suitability for a residential community,\u201d the statement from Miner said.<\/p>\n

Garinger\u2019s 7-acre plot was designated \u201csurplus\u201d<\/u><\/a> at a June 24, 2025, board meeting. The next day, CMS posted a solicitation document for the project, with Garinger\u2019s address listed as the location, which opened it to bids from construction companies.<\/p>\n

Rice, Bourne and Zuppo all questioned why other CMS surplus properties, especially those with more land, were not chosen for this project.<\/p>\n

Read more The Charlotte Hornets just traded away LaMelo Ball, and I\u2019m all for it<\/a><\/p>\n

Rice worries about the decision to build in \u201ca rapidly gentrifying area.\u201d She said building at Garinger could affect traffic on Eastway Drive and East Sugar Creek Road. The land currently serves as a buffer between the school and the busy Eastway Drive, Bourne added.<\/p>\n

Bourne said she thinks Garinger was chosen because the district views the high school as \u201ca path of least resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December, CMS conducted community engagement work “to better understand educator priorities and perspectives\u201d including six focus groups and more than 100 written responses. According to the statement from Miner, these efforts included representation from Garinger High School.<\/p>\n

Bourne and Rice also expressed concern about building on a historic landmark. Garinger\u2019s land parcel was declared a Mecklenburg County historic landmark<\/u><\/a> in a December 2007 ordinance. The ordinance includes buildings and \u201call original landscape features and the parcel of land listed under Tax Parcel Number 093-042-51<\/u><\/a>.\u201d Renowned architect A. G. Odell, Jr. designed the school in the Modernism style, and some buildings still retain their original character.<\/p>\n

Leasing the surplus land does not remove this 7-acre plot from its inclusion in the historic landmark-designated tax parcel, said John Howard, the historic preservation manager of the Mecklenburg County Historic Landmarks Department. The \u201csurplus\u201d designation also does not affect the process developers must go through to get a permit for construction at historical landmark sites.<\/p>\n

Miner claimed development on these 7 acres \u201cdoes not impact any historic landmark-designated portion of the Garinger campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there is a need for more affordable housing.<\/p>\n

CMS Chair Stephanie Sneed said in May that educators must make about $63,000 to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte; in contrast, CMS\u2019 starting teacher pay is about $48,000. According to a May release, 43% of surveyed CMS educators said housing may impact their decision to continue working for the district.<\/p>\n

Rice and Bourne agreed on the importance of housing assistance for teachers but neither think the teacher village is the solution.<\/p>\n

Data from a survey sent to teachers about housing initiatives shows 57% of respondents are interested in home purchasing<\/u><\/a>. Only 30% displayed interest in home rentals.<\/p>\n

Rice said the project feels more like the district is doing things \u201cto Garinger\u201d and \u201cto teachers\u201d rather than for them. She said doesn\u2019t think the district has thought through how a project like this will impact students, Garinger educators and a historic landmark property.<\/p>\n

In May, Liz Monterrey Duvall acknowledged the outstanding concerns<\/u><\/a> of educators at Garinger. She said the implementation of the teacher village will not negate requests to fix other things around the school.<\/p>\n

Construction mock-ups, fundraising and permitting for the teacher village will take place across this and next year with hopes to break ground in 2027.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC Charlotte is removing one of its most iconic landmarks. It won\u2019t put it back<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The high school\u2019s staff was notified about the selection of their workplace for this project just hours before the board approved the leasing of the land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nCMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The high school\u2019s staff was notified about the selection of their workplace for this project just hours before the board approved the leasing of the land.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187\"},\"wordCount\":1062,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187\",\"name\":\"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2187#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"The high school\u2019s staff was notified about the selection of their workplace for this project just hours before the board approved the leasing of the land.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019","datePublished":"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187"},"wordCount":1062,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187","name":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-26T05:04:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/874b4a10ef00e0078ace31b8f8b957c5.jpg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2187#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CMS wants to build housing in front of Garinger High. Teachers say \u2018no thanks\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}