Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Gaston County, NC (WNN) - In an interview with Gaston County Commissioner Jim Bailey, he discusses the FY27 county budget vote, during which commissioners approved the budget with an amendment creating a committee to research Gaston County Schools' financial needs. The amendment did not pass unanimously, with Commissioner Jim Bailey casting the dissenting vote.
Mason Beam (WNN): What is it about the FY27 Budget you didn't like?
Commissioner Bailey: The county manager and I spoke about it. And when I got voted into office, you know, I went through line item by line item with the Department of Social Services, or DSS building.
They had a lot of budgets that were overlapping and doing the exact same thing, and he actually cut a lot of that stuff. Some of the funding throughout the county, when Doctor Eagle [the previous county manager] was in office, almost doubled the actual General government. I said that needs to be reduced. My whole thing is cutting the size of government so that we don't have to worry about being in the hole all of the time.
For the last two years, our last two budgets have been terrible. We've got to cut back. And I said, "Why don't we do the cutting back during the year when we see that we don't need things or we have duplicate services?" I told myself I don't want to fire anybody, but you can lose positions or people through attrition.
At the end of the year, if there are savings there, that's stuff you don't have to worry about. Many people support the Gaston County Museum, which is a 501(c)(3). It's a nonprofit. We give them $1 million a year. We don't give any of the other museums any money during the year. Cherryville has a small museum, and we don't give them any money. So why are they so special? This is the money that could go to the schools. My main thing when I came into office was supporting public safety and the schools. Everything else can be cut. And if you look at the numbers, you know, we don't give as much money to schools as other counties do. And if you look, the proficiency ratings speak for themselves. Gaston County's reading proficiency is about 45%. The other counties I compared it to were 53% or above. You look at things like that because if you have put money into the school system (like operating and supplements) and teachers are taking money out of their own pockets to buy supplies, they're making less money than other teachers in other counties.
My daughter is a teacher, and she told me flat out, "Dad, I cannot afford to stay in Gaston County and teach." So she moved to New Hanover County, and she makes good money.
My main concern is downsizing the size of our government and supporting our schools more. I think one girl said at the meeting last night, "Our students are our future. If we don't invest in our students, we are in trouble," and I totally agree.
Mason Beam (WNN): Now, at both the commissioners' meetings and the school board meetings, they keep talking about "county traditions", but they've never explained what those are.
Commissioner Bailey: Well, certain funding items like the county museum. Last year, during the budget talks, they kept saying, "We'll reduce it each year and let them become independent." Well, we haven't reduced our budget. And that is what everyone agreed on. And then, all of a sudden, we're going to stick with them because that is a tradition in Gaston County. If you look at the spending on social services, we are outspending other counties; in some counties, it's double!
You know, I agree with helping people who are down on their luck a little bit, but I don't want to support people who don't want to work. I was raised in Stanley. In a small town. Everybody there worked for a living. My dad built houses. But many people don't want to. They want subsistence rather than learning and achieving. We need more trade programs in schools.
And you know, not everything is perfect. There were some issues when the new school superintendent came in; he's trying to address them all. But it's going to take a while. Some of the things the county commission wants to do are to help the school board and help them spend their money... let me say, we get elected to spend county money. The school board gets elected to spend its money. And I don't see how telling them how to spend is going to help us. I really don't.
The Gaston County Board of Commissioners meeting held on Tuesday, May 26, brought many residents together to voice their concerns about the newly passed FY27 Gaston County Budget.
This list includes several individuals who spoke about the Gaston County education system. If you'd like to review the full meeting, you can watch the video here.
Brittany Elkin Addressing the Board of Commissioners | May 26, 2026
Resident Brittany Elkin stated, "We are not going away," once the Public Hearing session opened. Her goal was to keep showing up and being present, hoping it would get the county commissioners to prioritize school funding. She brought up budget numbers stating that Gaston County allocates 26% of property tax revenue toward education operating expenses. When comparing Gaston County to neighboring counties, she questioned why education funding has not kept pace with theirs.
School Counselor Lindsay Weathers shared her personal financial records showing how much of her own income has gone toward supporting students and classrooms. According to Weathers, 8.9% of her net income went toward educational expenses in both 2025 and 2026, while 21% went toward education in 2024.
Weathers explained that she regularly travels to Classroom Central during rush hour to secure supplies for students and noted that she has raised nearly $3,830 in donations, including $2,248 in 2025 alone. Weathers also stated that she works to save the district around $400 annually.
Diane Bush, another school counselor, says the staff who are left to do the job of a mental health counselor will not be equipped with the proper training. She shared her story of helping a student with suicidal thoughts and questioned what might have happened had she not been present. Bush explained that before RIF, she served 400 students. Now, she is expected to serve two campuses with more than 1,000 students in total.
"That's more than four times the recommended school counselor to student ratio," Bush said.
While other speakers, like Cameron Kyle, used a metaphor to compare the state of the education system to The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, other speakers, like Virginia Hoyle, asked why Gaston County is allocating only 18% of its budget to schools when surrounding counties are funding at least 27%.
4th-grader speaking at the podium during a public hearing. | May 26, 2026
With enough courage, 4th-grader Reynolds spoke at the podium. She expressed that the loss of her school counselor and librarian will have an impact on students. Even a Teacher Assistant who has just earned a degree in education is affected by the Reduction in Forces (RIF). Which, in turn, affects the relationships established by the students who attend McAdenville Elementary School.
"This made me very sad because these staff members are a very important part of our school" - Reynolds, 4th Grader at McAdenville Elementary School
"We hear you," says County Manager Matthew Rhoten, insisting that commissioners are listening to educators and community members, but clarified that the county commission does not control how the school district spends its allocation.
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