The struggle in Union and Cabarrus counties to keep up with the growing student enrollment in their schools is a hint of what is to come in Stanly County in the next decade or so. This year there are 9,800 students in 19 schools. Next year 10,100. And so on.
Most schools are overcrowded and at the point where absorbing more students is impossible.
This rate of growth is similar to that in Cabarrus, which is having horrendous problems paying for new schools. The unique problem in Union and Cabarrus is that Mecklenburg's expansion spills across county lines. The thousands of new families who settle in beautiful suburban homes work in Charlotte but send their children to Union or Cabarrus schools. This places a huge financial burden on these neighboring counties. They lack the tax revenue from the industry and office buildings in Charlotte but carry the burden of providing these homeowners with schools, police protection, street maintenance, and a courthouse full of other services.