To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools are preparing to spend millions after voting to close schools next year. The money will be used on construction costs to transform the buildings at Marie G. Davis and Waddell High School to accommodate younger students. Changes will also be made at schools that are expanding to include additional grade levels.

School like Bruns Avenue Elementary will undergo construction as it expands to pre-K through eighth grade.

"For example at the Pre-K 8 conversations, we're having to install science labs and some career and technical education spaces so we can accommodate the middle school curriculum," Dennis LaCaria with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools said.

Some of the projects are as small as adding mobile classrooms to retrofitting buildings to accommodate a new population.

"Then you've got some examples like a Waddell where we've got to accommodate elementary school bodies in a high school," LaCaria said. "Marie G. Davis we're doing the same thing now that it's going to be a K-12 school."

Waddell High School comes with the steepest price tag estimated at around $900,000. The least expensive project is estimated at around $260,000. It quickly adds up to millions.

"To me, I think CMS can justify that because it's a long term investment in these buildings. No matter where some of these kids moved, some adjustments would have to be made," board member Kaye McGarry said.

The actual cost of the construction could be more expensive than the current estimates because of higher gas prices. McGarry says it's a necessary expense to save money down the road.

"[CMS] is doing what's basically needed to be able to have those programs there effectively," said McGarry.

The school board will consider the first round of contracts on Tuesday. Superintendent Dr. Peter Gorman said the construction will not affect student learning. All of the changes are scheduled to be completed before the beginning of the next school year.