As concerned citizens, parents and voters we respectfully request that the construction of a new high school in Southwest Charlotte be made a top priority by the school board and board of county commissioners here in Mecklenburg County.

• The latest census report showed that the Steele Creek population had increased by 106%, which is 32% more than the average rate in Mecklenburg County. This pattern of growth is in the Southwest area.
• Around one third of the population in Steele Creek is in the school age range. This means there will be a rapidly growing enrollment at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools in this area.
• The current overcrowding in the Southwest area is an urgent matter, as student enrollment continues to rise. The land is there. The time is now to appropriate the funding.
• Olympic High School is the only high school in the Southwest area. This high school is already over capacity even with its 25 + modular classrooms. It will not be able to sustain the increasing student population growth. We need another option. We want another option.
• 1,000-2,000 new homes and mulit-family units are or have been built with hundreds more planned. We need this high school, NOW, to address the overcrowding in the Southern region of the county!!!

There is already a referendum prepared to be placed on the ballot during the 2016 election cycle. Please, take the steps necessary to secure the new funds necessary for this new school construction now. The neighborhoods in and surrounding the Steele Creek, Ayrsley, and Rivergate communities are growing at a faster rate than in a majority of Mecklenburg County.

Certainly, as voters and parents, we seek and expect your support for capital funding of not just a new high school for our community but new schools where they are needed throughout the county. Our expectation is to work with CMS and the Mecklenburg County Commission where and whenever possible to achieve this goal.