Comparison of School Districts: CMS, Cabarrus, Union, etc? (Charlotte: house, neighborhoods)

[yogamama2005]

Hello!

We've lived in Charlotte for 7 years and are looking to relocate from the University Area to another part of town. We will be starting our home search soon, and the areas of town that we will focus on will primarily be dictated by the schools. We can't afford the neighborhoods in close proximity to uptown (Dilworth, Myers Park, etc.) so we are focusing our search on neighborhoods in the North, NE, NW and West part of Charlotte close to the I-485 loop.

This move is a huge decision for us because we plan on staying in this house for the next 20+ years and we want to make sure we are choosing our location based upon a school district with a lot to offer. Our daughter just turned two, so a lot can change in the next couple of decades between her starting school and graduating, but we'd like to get into an area that has a reputation for good schools and the capacity to maintain that reputation.
We are not opposed to choosing a private school if those are truly so much better than the public schools that they are worth the extra money.

In the time we've lived here I have heard a lot of bad comments about CMS but to be quite honest, other than the overcrowding I don't fully understand all the issues. I hear people say that Union and Cabarrus Counties have much better school districts than CMS but I don't know what those statements are based on. So, can any of you with insight into the good/bad for each district weight in on this? We would greatly appreciate the advice!

Thanks