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Gastonia, NC (WNN) - The Cherryville Mayor and other Cherryville attendees spoke out at last night's Gaston County Board of Education meeting held March 16th, 2026. During the public expression period, Mayor Wade Stroupe, along with five others, spoke about the possible closure of the William Blaine Beam Intermediate School in Cherryville, North Carolina, and its impact. Information was distributed last week in the news media about the possible closure due to a $7 million shortfall from the state, resulting from the reevaluation of county property values. The property reevaluation increased the overall wealth ranking in Gaston County, thereby lowering the "Low Wealth Supplemental" funding. The school system is currently beginning the feasibility stage of moving the 4th-grade students to Cherryville Elementary and the 5th-grade students to Chavis Middle School and reusing Beam Intermediate for High School.
Cherryville Mayor Wade Stroupe spoke during the public expression period, during which each speaker is given 3 minutes. Stroupe stated, "It's hard for me to believe that 20 years ago, we were here addressing an overcrowding situation at the elementary school with Beam Intermediate, and now we're talking about reconfiguring Beam Intermediate and all of that in light of two major home developments that have recently been established in Cherryville. Just last week, a 124-unit apartment complex started being occupied, and it is at capacity with applicants. I'm not sure what the outcome of any discussions or studies may be, but I can assure you the City of Cherryville will be present and heard at any meetings or forums about Beam Intermediate and, furthermore, any issues affecting any of our Cherryville schools."
A common concern from speakers about the possible consolidation was putting 5th graders in the same school as 8th graders. Jamie Sherrill, the current Beam Intermediate PTO President, highlighted this issue: "Fifth grade is a very important year of development emotionally, socially, and academically. They are still very young and still building their confidence. Elementary schools often provide a structure and environment that support growth in ways very different from those in a middle school setting. Moving students into middle school sooner means exposing them earlier to older students in a very different academic and social structure."
Angie Anthony, a concerned parent, echoed, "The developmental gap between a ten-year-old fifth grader and a 14-year-old eighth grader is significant. Placing students of those ages in the same environment raises concerns about maturity, differences, social pressures, and the overall school climate for younger students."
After the public expression was complete, Gaston County Schools Board Chairman Josh Crisp spoke, addressing the concerns. "Thank you to everyone that spoke tonight. And although the board does not typically respond to public comment, I will say that concerns tonight are heard. There is no decision made. It is completely in a research phase at this point. And at any point, we make a decision to close a school. We are required by law to hold a public meeting, so those things will take place as we move forward if those decisions are made," stated Crisp.
After last night's meeting, WNN received a statement from Allen Fraley, Gaston County Commissioner for the Cherryville Township, regarding the potential Cherryville school consolidation.
"Once our board was made aware that the Board of Education had approximately $7 million pulled by the state, the Board of Commissioners helped work out a plan. It gave approximately 3.5 million, and they were able to cover the remaining with their fund balance or take some from other projects or areas to fill the gap. As for the closure of Beam Intermediate School, I'm not sure how that can be the answer with the Cherryville community adding hundreds of new houses and apartments, maybe as many as 1000 when all projects underway are built out. You've got to believe this will bring many more children into our school system. I do believe we need to start some consolidation in areas all over the county as we move into building new schools. I think we are around 56 schools now, and the costs keep climbing to build and maintain these buildings. I'm not sure how many schools surrounding counties have, but I know it's not even close to Gaston. Planning with a purpose regarding land banking and location to combine certain areas only makes economic sense to reduce the total number of schools moving forward, not actually closing existing schools, but combining future ones," stated Fraley.
Approximately 15 people attended last night's meeting to show support for not consolidating the Cherryville schools.
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