A $4.5M reckoning for Burke Schools

They say bad things come in threes. The second dropped this week.

After learning that Burke County is now ranked among the most economically distressed counties in North Carolina last week, we returned from Thanksgiving break to discover that Burke County Public Schools is expecting a $4.5 million budget shortfall next school year.

The budget shortfall is more than an accounting problem. It is a test of our community’s values, our willingness to confront difficult truths, and the school district’s commitment to transparency at a moment when families most need clarity.

The numbers are stark. In the last five years, Burke’s enrollment has dropped by 563 students in five years, a decline of more than 4%. That might not seem like much on the surface, but the loss of students is driving the reduction in state funding.

Finance Officer Keith Lawson was to the point: “It’s basic. It’s simple. It’s in the numbers.”

But what happens next is anything but simple. The members of the Burke County Board of Education will have difficult choices ahead of them.

Plugging the multimillion-dollar hole will be painful. With so much of the budget wrapped in teachers and staff, there will likely be no way around cutting teachers and others who work daily with our young people and families the district serves.

Burke Schools currently boasts an average of one teacher per 14.5 students. Studies have repeatedly shown that small class size, particularly 13 to 17 students in early grades, results in better educational outcomes. That bragging point for BCPS may become a thing of the past. Maintaining that ratio with fewer dollars is unrealistic.

Burke’s children could pay the cost. Larger classes mean less one-on-one time, more strain on teachers, and fewer opportunities to intervene early when students struggle.

Superintendent Mike Swan tried to temper anxiety by noting that staff retirements and resignations could absorb some reductions. But attrition alone rarely closes gaps of this size.

Lawson noted that Burke operates 25 schools while a comparable district operates 18, and the upcoming consolidation of Icard and Hildebran Elementary into a new $55 million facility will eventually improve efficiency. But that relief is still two years away, while the financial pressure is immediate.

Burke’s district leaders will eventually have to decide which positions stay and which go, which programs are discontinued, what resources are expendable.

A big-picture question that needs to be answered and addressed is why the school district is losing students. Tuesday’s school board meeting provided some clues.

More than 500 of those students have left for charter or private schools. The state’s expanded voucher system has had an impact. State data shows that 483 students have received more than $1.4 million to go to private schools this school year — that is up from the 415 students the year before.

For Burke parents, the budget shortfall raises difficult questions about confidence in a system that is losing students, losing funding, and potentially losing staff.

The district should not ignore the message embedded in these numbers. Parents are signaling concerns — about class sizes, academic consistency, school climate, or simply the perception that other options may better meet their children’s needs. If BCPS does not address the factors driving families away, the funding spiral will only deepen.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT

When schools lose students, they lose funding. When funding drops, class sizes rise, staff positions vanish, and programs shrink. But the financial crisis facing BCPS is not confined to classrooms or the school district’s balance sheet. It is a countywide concern with long-term economic consequences.

Public schools are among Burke County’s largest employers and most stabilizing institutions. A $4.5 million contraction will ripple outward — affecting payroll, local jobs, economic development, and the overall attractiveness of Burke County as a place to live and work.

School quality influences home values, the confidence of existing residents, and the decisions of young families considering a move. Businesses, too, pay attention. Employers want to locate in communities with strong public schools, stable enrollment, and a reliable future workforce. If BCPS is forced into deep cuts, it weakens one of the county’s most important economic engines.

The district’s financial struggles make it harder for the county to recruit new jobs, and the county’s economic challenges make it harder for the schools to recover. Each system depends on the other — and right now, both are feeling the strain.

If there is one message that must guide the months ahead, it is this: The community deserves full, proactive transparency from BCPS as it navigates this crisis. That means providing explanations of how staffing decisions will be made; honest discussion of whether additional school consolidations are on the table; and a transparent accounting of how enrollment trends are driving state funding losses.

Burke County Public Schools cannot solve this on its own. The district needs the community at the table: parents, teachers, and others who understand that strong schools mean a strong county.

Schools also need the support of elected officials. The Burke County Board of Commissioners has improved its financial support of the district in recent years. They may have to do more. Councilmembers and aldermen will need to step up with their voices if not their dollars.

Smart, energetic, and passionate people need to run for office. Three Burke County Board of Education and two county commissioner seats are on the ballot in 2026. The candidate filing period is now open and closes in just under two weeks.

We encourage candidates to make it absolutely clear where they stand on supporting teachers, protecting students, and rebuilding a school system that families can believe in again.

This budget shortfall is not a temporary inconvenience. It is a turning point. How BCPS responds — and how openly it engages the people it serves — will determine whether our public schools emerge from this moment weakened or rebuilt with purpose.

They say bad things come in threes. Let’s hope the third isn’t looming around the corner.