Board Weighs Boundary Shifts for Waddell, Palisades
Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools propose reassigning about 1,000 students as Palisades High School runs at 140% of capacity.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Secondary Education
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The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board presented proposed attendance boundary changes at a work session on Thursday. The options would reassign just over 1,000 students among Waddell, Palisades and Olympic High School as the district plans to reopen Elbert Edwin Waddell High School as a comprehensive high school.
Why it matters
Palisades High School is at 140% of capacity, and the proposals are intended to relieve overused facilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The changes respond to the district's 2024 comprehensive review and would affect where families in the district attend school.
Enrollment figures show Palisades High School at 140% of capacity, Francis Bradley Middle School at 101%, and Bailey Middle School at 162%. Under the first option, Palisades would drop to 96.2% utilization and Olympic to 85.7%, but the final boundaries remain undecided.
The players
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district is the public school system serving Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Elbert Edwin Waddell High School
Elbert Edwin Waddell High School is a Charlotte-area public high school being reopened as a comprehensive high school under the district's plan.
The details
Cropper GIS is being used to draw attendance boundaries based on distance from schools, demographics and building utilization, informed by the district's demographic projections. Officials hope the new schools will relieve Palisades, and the changes would take effect in the 2028-29 school year if approved.
Timeline
2022: Palisades High School opened, with students moved from Olympic.
2024: The district completed a comprehensive review that prompted the proposed changes.
Nov. 10: The board reviews the boundary changes again at its meeting.
November and December: Engagement sessions are held before the vote.
February: The board votes on the boundary changes.
Roadmap
The proposals follow the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 2024 comprehensive review, which identified overused facilities and set the path toward reopening Waddell and opening a new middle school on Stumptown Road. The boundary changes translate that review into specific reassignments for students across Palisades, Olympic and Waddell.
Families in the affected attendance areas could be reassigned to Waddell, Palisades or Olympic High School if a proposal is approved, with changes taking effect in the 2028-29 school year. Parents can follow the November and December engagement sessions to understand how their address could be affected.
The takeaway
Attendance boundaries are typically tied to building utilization and demographic projections, so families watching a proposal can compare their address against the enrollment figures in the district's plan. Keeping track of the November meetings and the February vote gives the clearest picture of when a final decision will be made.
What happens next
The board will review the boundary changes again at its Nov. 10 meeting, hold engagement sessions in November and December, and vote in February.
Further reading
For more on how school districts plan these changes, see Secondary Education coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source.
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