HAMLET — The Richmond County Board of Education voted 6-1 to seek bids for school closure studies on Ashley Chapel Education Center, Cordova Middle School, Ellerbe Middle School and West Rockingham Elementary School during its July 29 work session as the district continues addressing declining enrollment and budget challenges.
The studies are expected to cost about $40,000 and will be funded with local money, according to district officials.
Before the vote, Superintendent Joe Ferrell shared the district balanced its budget without touching the fund balance.
“I would say we are one of the very few school districts in this state that was able to add some money back to our fund balance this year based on some very strategic planning that has been done over the course of the last couple of years,” Ferrell said.
Around $25,000 will be added to the school district’s fund balance this year.
“Kudos to everyone for their hard work on that and the sacrifices that we’ve all made in order to make that happen,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell also shared details about upcoming state funding cuts.
“I’ve told you is it seems to us anyway, that every time we find a way to balance our budget, so to speak, we get cut at the state level… We’re losing five and a half teaching or classroom teacher positions. We’re losing $84,000 in central office funding… that totals up to be a little over $700,000.”
Ferrell said those reductions do not include hospitalization and retirement increases included in the state budget, which will create additional costs for the district.
“And so if everything remains the same, that $700,000 would come from where next year? Fund balance. And so we get to a place where we’re adding a little bit of money back to our fund balance. The state cuts us and we’re kind of… I won’t say we’re right back in the situation we were in because we’d be at two million possibly.”
Ferrell said 32 suggestions were submitted following the board’s April meeting, covering topics including energy efficiency, service contracts, transportation, staffing structure, programs, facilities, planning and budgeting.
“Those suggestions were kind of all over the place. And I don’t say that negatively. That just means they covered a lot of different areas.
“All those different options, we realized that we were already doing some of those things. Some of those things were just things that we had already thought of that people would not have known we had thought of necessarily, and so they submitted them. Some of them were just sort of operating procedures,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell said the district has made significant reductions to program enhancements, including art, music and physical education. It has also reduced support staff, including teacher assistants, counselors, social workers and nurses, while “making sure that we have the coverage that our students need but that every school is feeling a little bit of squeeze where that’s concerned.”
The district has also reduced nine mobile classrooms over the past two years and plans to eliminate more.
“Usually, when you’re using a mobile unit, it’s because you’re over capacity. And so I’ve asked the question, if we’re under capacity in our buildings, why are we operating mobile units? Why are we using those? And so we are going to continue to try to eliminate those over the foreseeable future,” Ferrell said.
Staffing reductions have also taken place at both Central Office and schools since the March work session when the closure study was first proposed. The James Building is also in the process of being declared surplus.
“Most all school systems spend the majority of their money on staff. And so if we are at a place where we have reduced about as much staff as we probably are going to be able to reduce with the current number of students that we have. Then the next question is so what’s the next biggest item?… We’re just operating more buildings than we need,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell said Richmond County Schools has lost approximately 1,000 to 1,100 students since the district last closed a school, averaging about 100 students each year.
“If you look at just the average number of students in a building, you would say we have an average of 500 students in a building,” Ferrell said.
“That would be the reduction of two schools. And that’s not saying we need to close two schools,” Ferrell said. “I’m just saying just looking at like big picture, right?”
Ferrell said the studies would examine Ashley Chapel Education Center, Cordova Middle School, Ellerbe Middle School and West Rockingham Elementary School. While the district cannot eliminate Ashley Chapel because it serves as the alternative school, he said it “could be housed somewhere other than in its current building.”
While the board approved moving forward with the closure studies, members also discussed whether one of those schools could instead become a magnet school.
The discussion followed public comments from Debora Quick, who urged the board to consider a magnet school as an alternative to closing EMS.
Quick told the board that Brown Summit Middle School in Guilford County reopened as a magnet school after closing in 2000 and is now one of the top-performing public middle schools in North Carolina.
“A closed school became one of the highest performing schools in the state because leaders chose innovation over closure. Richmond County now stands at a similar crossroads. The 2024 facility studies made our challenges clear— aging buildings, rising operating costs and declining enrollment. Nearly half of our facilities are more than 50 years old. The study identified the problems, but it did not provide the modernization strategy needed to solve them,” Quick said.
Quick said she also recently became aware of a group exploring an agricultural-focused charter school to serve Richmond and Montgomery counties because of an unmet demand for agricultural education.
“If we do not meet that need within our own district, someone else will and they’ll take our students with them. By establishing the Agra Science Magnet, we keep those students, families, and community partnerships within Richmond County Schools,” Quick said.
Quick said the proposal could be supported through grants and estimated it would provide long-term financial benefits while modernizing facilities and increasing enrollment.
Board member Jerry Ethridge later made a motion directing Ferrell to gather more information about turning Ellerbe Middle School into a magnet school.
“I think it would be a great opportunity because, you know, we’re losing students. What can we do as a school system to have students come in? You know, we’re recruiting teachers. Why can’t we recruit students like Marlboro Academy is recruiting their students?
There’s got to be some kind of way we can do something that we just haven’t seen yet. There’s got to be some kind of way we can do it. And I see the magnet school as a positive that really could help Richmond County,” Ethridge said.
Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby agreed the board should explore the possibility of a magnet school.
Chairman Cory Satterfield said his experience working in a district with a magnet school made him hesitant to pursue the idea.
“I’ve been in the system that had a magnet school and the magnet school works for the first couple years because grant money does take over, but then after that grant money’s ended, you’re left with… not having enough students to fill the magnet school,” Satterfield said.
“I just don’t think that we’re in a financial position right now to start a magnet school at this present time,” he said.
Board member Daryl Mason said he liked the idea of a STEM-focused school but wanted more information about how long grant funding would last and whether the concept would be sustainable.
Board member Ronald Tillman said he would also like additional information, including whether grants could cover capital needs and whether Mineral Springs could be expanded into a K-8 school.
Vice Chairman Scotty Baldwin said the board needed to look at all options while remaining transparent with the public.
“I’m glad that we’re looking at… Ashley Chapel Educational Center, Cordova, Ellerbe, West Rockingham, all of it. I think that for transparency to the community, I think you have to look at everything holistically.
With that said, I never see myself voting to close Ellerbe Middle School just because of the distance and time it takes to get to a different middle school,” Baldwin said.
“I don’t want to waste money doing a third-party study on something I know is not going to close, but I also understand that for full transparency, that may be something that has to be done,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin said he believes a magnet school is a “great idea,” but would rather see the district continue rebuilding its fund balance before pursuing another major initiative.
Ormsby also shared that Richmond Community College President Brent Barbee had submitted a letter supporting the magnet school proposal.
The board voted 5-2 to direct Ferrell to gather additional information about a potential magnet school, with Satterfield and Baldwin voting against the motion.
Baldwin then made the motion to seek bids for the closure studies, which passed 6-1, with Ethridge opposing.
Tillman later asked about the cost of the studies. Ferrell estimated they would cost about $40,000, and Finance Officer Dawn Jordan said they would be paid for with local funds.
The board then voted 4-3 to obtain the third-party closure studies before pursuing additional information about a magnet school. Ormsby, Bess Schueler and Ethridge voted against the motion.
“I know these are difficult decisions and I appreciate you all working through them today and giving us some direction,” Ferrell said.