In early 2006 the school found itself threatened with closure by the State of North Carolina, but received backing from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

As of this entry(12/25/2024), Garinger has the state’s worst graduation rate(65%)for traditional public schools with student populations greater than 1000.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks Commission is considering placing Garinger High School on their study list.

Near the center of campus sits a unique circular building with a conical roof, which served as the original library.

[1] The campus was considered state-of-the-art when it first opened, winning many architectural awards for its unique modern buildings.

Garinger was featured in a 1962 edition of National Geographic as Charlotte-Mecklenburg's showplace high school.

While competitive and occasionally successful in basketball, track and field, and golf, the Wildcats have struggled greatly in other sports, most notably football (discussed below).

One of Garinger's historic forms, Charlotte (later Central) High School, was a football powerhouse and used American Legion Memorial Stadium as its home field in its latter days.

In September 2007 the streak reached a staggering 51 games before news broke of violations by North Mecklenburg, Providence, and Vance High Schools.

They went on to end the season with a couple more wins and even made it to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2008 playoffs, the first time in 18 years.

The Garinger Education Foundation was incorporated in February 2014 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is the successor to a scholarship effort begun by the Class of 1963 during their 50th reunion.