Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Gaston County (WNN) - The May 12, 2026, Gaston County Commissioners' work session continued the public outcry for better funding for Gaston County Schools. This meeting was also a special meeting for the FY27 Gaston County Budget, making it especially pertinent to discuss funding issues now. After a round of proclamations, awards, and certifications, Gaston County citizens swiftly took to the podium with a plethora of issues.
While the speakers brought forth many issues their was a general consensus that this is not an isolated incident. Some of the concerned citizens who spoke noted a history of decisions not to allocate the requested additional funding to Gaston County Schools. This combined with the loss of ESSER (COVID) funds and expected state allotments, led to a situation that could’ve been curbed by the county had it been predicted. A direct correlation between school funding and student performance was brought up several times. Higher funding provably lowers crime rates, increases average grades, and encourages students to seek advanced education and employment.
They brought up that Gaston County Schools is currently having trouble keeping many students at grade-level proficiency in math and reading. This could be due to classroom sizes pushing high numbers, which are set to grow with staffing cuts. These will not only be teachers, but nurses, counselors, and librarians. This brings forth the concern that students with specialized medical needs will not be able to receive proper attention during the school day, such as students with type 1 diabetes. Overall, parents echoed that they demand change, or will be trying their hardest to change those in power come the November elections.
The commissioners felt that, as a whole, it is imperative that they find a way to secure additional funding for the GCS system. Commissioner Allen Fraley mentioned that in speaking with Houchard, it was brought forth that the budget as is will critically impair the Gaston County Schools. While speaking, Houchard mentioned that in addition to the 174 cuts this year, under the current budget, another 75 positions will have to be cut in the upcoming school year.
Commissioner Jim Bailey brought forth some numbers he had been researching. He compared Gaston County with peer counties and found that even counties with lower overall income spend more on schools. Based on the ones he reviewed, the average total budget allocation was 33.5%. This is compared to Gaston County’s 19% per his numbers. He also researched this in correlation to average grades. These counties, on average, ranked 15% higher in grading metrics. Bailey admits this is partially on the commissioners, but also feels that with Gaston County’s budget as tight as it is, a reduction in staffing would be necessary to allocate money to areas such as the school system.
"I just feel like in Gaston County we have way too many people getting paid for jobs that maybe we need to look at and reduce the size of government." - Jim Bailey
As it stands, the county will give $54.8 million to Gaston County Schools. Superintendent Houchard did note that, with this, it looks like plenty to allocate, but it isn’t. After only three of their major expenses, this fund has roughly $39 million left to use for operations. Despite a total budget of nearly $498 million, much of it cannot be spent on salaries or staffing. More concerningly, Gaston County Schools has been operating without proper numbers for almost 5 years. According to HIL, a consulting firm working with the school system, many expenses have been uncovered.
Gaston County Schools currently uses an Oracle Solutions accounting system called CherryRoad. Houchard directly stated, “They generally cause more problems than they solve.” He says they constantly charge whenever information needs to be reviewed, leading to expenses totaling $1 million per year. They’ve forced the school system to hand-generate reports, potentially leading to inaccuracies in their numbers. HIL uncovered one expense totaling roughly $800,000 when they reviewed the numbers. Currently, HIL will consult for Gaston County Schools at least until June, but potentially into the future, as the school system lacks a Chief Financial Officer.
Overall, the commissioners felt this issue could not be solved at this meeting. Unfortunately, this does mean facing the upcoming school year without a current solution. However, they are not going forward without a plan. While the budget was passed as is, it included an amendment requiring them to form a committee to research the needs of the school system and to produce accurate reports. However, the vote was not unanimous, with Jim Bailey being the only dissenting vote. They feel that once these requirements are met, they can draw on the fund balance to cover this year's needs. However, the goal of this research would not be to place a bandage on this year, as the issue will persist. They hope a sustainable solution can be brought forth to make sure this issue does not arise again in Gaston County. As such, they pressure voters to vote in favor of moving part of the sales tax income to be spent on schools, as proposed at an earlier meeting. It is also notable that the state has recommended an 8% increase in teacher salaries in its upcoming budget, which will slightly alleviate the issue. While the commissioners, citizens, teachers, and school board all seem to want the same thing, it seems a solution may not be an operable action during 2027 and instead, a future goal.
To read about the feasibility study for Gaston County Schools, click here.
To read about the reduction in force in Gaston County Schools, click here.
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