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CHARLOTTE – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board finally got a look Tuesday at the much-anticipated report on the impact of recent school closings.

The report was due to be delivered last month but was deferred until the newly-elected board members were sworn-in.

The assessment was requested after recent problems at Harding University High School, where students from West Mecklenburg and Waddell high schools were transferred after Waddell closed.

A look at the suspension data from the affected schools indicates community concerns were not misperceptions. Harding's student enrollment doubled from roughly 900 students to almost 1,800. But suspensions went from 151 to 967, a six-fold increase.

“I think we've learned that we need to look at a wider range of data when we redraw school boundaries. It would've helped us to plan better had we reviewed the discipline data," said CMS Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh.

South Mecklenburg High School also had increased enrollment after Waddell closed and suspensions jumped 58 percent while the student population only grew by 18 percent.