Stacking BCPS budget decisions against the state's pillars

Budget planning season generally falls in January and February, but Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) administrators say they’ve been proactive, reviewing, reducing, and reusing as early as possible.

While district officials comb through cost-savings measures and retention methods, the state’s educational plan specifies strategic purchasing and aligning budget decisions with instructional priorities.

PILLAR 5: Optimize Operational Excellence

Pillar 5 of the state’s plan asks district leaders to home in on improving services, communication, and school system budgeting. Many of the overall themes of the pillar operate at a statewide level and don’t apply as concretely to county districts.

However, the All-In Promise parallels this pillar, highlighting fiscal responsibility and engaging staff in communication strategies.

BCPS Public Relations Officer Cheryl Shuffler explained that the district uses competitive purchasing and state contracts to align with best practices set by the State Board of Education’s academic plan.

“We also consider the long-term value, not just the upfront cost,” Shuffler said, explaining that BCPS is required to develop and adopt an annual balanced budget that they present to county commissioners. “In addition, the district undergoes an independent annual audit and consistently receives ‘no significant findings.’”

While the school district works on circumventing budget declines, they have collected suggestions on cost-savings from their administrators. Some scenarios have already been implemented, such as Daniel Wall, the director of child nutrition, doubling up with the responsibilities of director of transportation in 2025.

The district has also discussed cutting back on advertising through avenues such as billboards and pulling their booth presence from festivals in August and September.

When it comes to communication between staff and their higher-ups, Shuffler said, “Our departments do not operate in silos as we have strong leadership, experienced directors and the right people in the right roles to keep the district running efficiently and aligned.”

BCPS Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan added, “We work collaboratively across departments and with community partners, stakeholders and parents, and our decisions are consistently grounded in what is best for students.”

PILLAR 6: Lead Transformative Change

Pillar 6 emphasizes research and development, education networks, integrated support systems for schools and districts, and accountability and funding reform.

The All-In Promise highlights personalizing professional development and implementing restorative and innovative approaches to student wellness and learning.

Several of the tasks under Pillar 6 focus on improving low-performing schools. When North Carolina school report cards came out in September 2025, BCPS saw a decline in performance overall, with seven schools on the D-list — as compared to 2024’s five schools ranking at D — and proficiency scores across 17 of the 24 schools diminishing.

According to the NCDPI, determining what qualifies as low-performing districts and schools stems from a two-factor analysis of school performance grades and EVAAS (Education Value-Added Assessment System), which measures student growth.

Although school officials in September pointed to a disproportionate ratio of grading — 80% based on proficiency on tests and 20% on student growth — Deputy Superintendent Dr. Karen Auton said BCPS took steps to counteract the low scores.

One of which included pairing instructional coaches with schools and teachers to strengthen classroom instruction and build teacher capacity.

Auton clarified that the district holds monthly “focus school” meetings to review student data and provide feedback. School representatives visit classrooms and provide clear steps for improvement.

“We tailor supports based on each school’s needs,” Auton said. “Examples include expanding our Dual Language program to Forest Hill based on instructional gains at Mountain View Elementary, exploring after-school remediation supports, and designing professional development based on student performance data and teacher needs.”

One of the tasks under Pillar 6 specified exploring strategies on inserting highly effective teachers and principals to work in low-performing schools.

“Our HR team continues to work proactively to recruit and retain high-quality educators,” Auton said. “BCPS has had fewer vacancies this year than in the past five years, and compared to surrounding districts, we are maintaining a lower vacancy rate overall.”

Shuffler explained that the low vacancy rate was based on Day-1 staffing at the beginning of the school year, before discussions of attrition began later in 2025.

She also clarified that BCPS is not under a hiring freeze, and they do maintain critical classroom teaching positions as necessary.

However, in cost-reduction planning, the district has repeatedly pointed to not filling all positions that become vacant following a resignation or retirement. Instead, the responsibilities may be spread across other teachers’ plates.

Some cost-saving suggestions presented by district officials include sharing teachers between classes, and sometimes schools.

“Our goal is always to place the right teacher, with the right skills and strengths, in the right classroom,” Auton said. “BCPS does not take a blanket approach of moving ‘high-performing teachers’ to certain schools. Instead, we work collaboratively with principals to build strong teams at every school and support teachers where they are.”