Randolph County School leaders ask state legislators for help on transportation, technology and principal pay

Superintendent (title shown in meeting record) told four state legislators and county commissioners that the Randolph County School System faces multiple budget pressures that threaten classroom positions and services.

At a January briefing for state legislators and local officials, the superintendent laid out the system’s top concerns — technology funding, special-education and contract service costs, transportation funding, career-and-technical-education staffing, and the state principal salary schedule — and asked legislators to consider fixes in the 2025 budget process.

The superintendent said transportation is “a huge” recurring cost for the district and gave several figures to illustrate the strain: “We spend $16,000 per day on transportation before we pay the first salary for anybody’s transportation,” and “we buy 7,400 gallons of diesel gas every 3 days.” He warned that contract transportation for students in foster care, homeless students and other special circumstances is driving deficits and that the state’s transportation funding formula “works for more urban areas” but not for a geographically large rural county like Randolph.

Marty Trotter, Randolph County School System finance officer, and other staff joined the superintendent in describing rising contract-service spending for therapies and related services. The superintendent said contract services had grown from roughly $1,000,000 to about $2,300,000 over five years, a $1.3 million increase, which the district covers with local dollars when state allotments are insufficient.

On special education (EC) funding the district described a mismatch between need and state allotments. The superintendent said the system currently has 13 non-EC positions working in EC programs because state EC allotments do not cover all required positions. Senator Amy Gailey, chair of the Senate health committee and former education committee chair, said the senate is aware of the problem and that “you'll get a flat amount per child that's not correlated to the needs of the child,” and that lawmakers were discussing how to address that mismatch.

The superintendent also described the fiscal impact of students leaving for charter schools. He said the district loses $1,541 in local funding for each student who enrolls in a charter outside the district and reported $358,000 in Randolph County tax dollars that went to brick-and-mortar charter schools in other counties last year. He said local “charter school growth” funding provided by county commissioners helps blunt some of the effect but does not fully replace lost positions when enrollment declines.

Technology funding was another highlighted shortfall. The superintendent said the district’s state technology allotment fell from earlier levels (examples cited: roughly $645,000 in some prior years) to about $231,000 for the 2024–25 period. He said the system has about 13,371 Chromebooks scheduled to go out of warranty in coming years and that network and connectivity equipment often ages out before devices, creating additional unplanned costs.

Career and technical education (CTE) leaders were cited as both a success and a budget pressure: demand for CTE pathways is high, but the district has used non-CTE dollars to support CTE staffing. The superintendent said roughly 7.5 non-CTE positions have been moved into CTE this year to keep programs running.

A major personnel concern raised at the briefing focused on the state principal salary schedule, which ties portions of a principal’s pay to school performance and “growth” measures. The superintendent and several board members warned the schedule’s structure can produce midyear pay reductions if a school’s placement shifts under the accountability model. They said the schedule’s penalties or loss of pay can drive turnover and make it harder to retain experienced principals; local staff said the district spent money in recent months to hold principals harmless and limit turnover.

On capital and facilities the superintendent reviewed the district’s long-running facilities upgrade plan, which began as a “9-year plan” and has continued with recurring county support for roofs, HVAC, stadiums and other infrastructure. He thanked commissioners for recurring local dollars for facility upgrades and asked legislators to recognize the local capital effort when considering state-level budget decisions.

Board members and legislators asked clarifying questions during and after the presentation. Senator Dave Craven, who chairs the Senate finance committee in the transcript, said he was “looking forward to having a good discussion” and gave legislators’ attention to the district’s financial data. Senator Gailey echoed interest in EC funding reform. No formal votes or binding commitments were recorded during the session; the meeting was framed as information-sharing to inform legislators’ upcoming budget work.

The superintendent closed by reiterating the district’s intent to use any additional funds “wisely,” and asked legislators and commissioners to consider adjustments to transportation funding, EC allotments, technology and principal pay so the district can preserve classroom positions and services.

Ending: Randolph County School System leaders provided legislators with a packet of budget “concerns” and supporting figures and asked state lawmakers to consider targeted fixes; the session concluded without formal action but with multiple legislators indicating these issues would be considered during the legislative budget process.