Board extends Superintendent Chris Houchard’s contract through 2029 and approves 10% raise

The Gaston County Board of Education on June 16 voted to extend Superintendent Dr. Chris Houchard’s employment contract through June 30, 2029, and approved a 10% salary increase for Houchard effective July 1, 2025.

The raise and contract extension were presented as motions during the meeting and carried. A board member later praised Houchard’s leadership: "He has a passion for our school system. He has a passion for change and, innovation," and said the board looked forward to working with him under the new contract. (Remarks attributed to Board member Jeff Ramsey.)

The board also approved multiple administrative contract renewals and extensions during the same meeting, including four‑year assistant principal contract renewals and one‑ and four‑year principal contract renewals, and extensions of associate and assistant superintendents’ contracts to coincide with the superintendent’s contract end date of June 30, 2029. Those personnel actions were approved by board vote as presented.

Why it matters: Extending the superintendent’s contract and approving a salary increase formalizes district leadership for the coming years and aligns other senior administrators’ contracts with the superintendent’s term. The approvals also include renewals for site-level leaders, which affect school leadership stability heading into the 2025–26 school year.

Next steps and implementation: Personnel contract renewals will be processed by Human Resources and the district will implement the salary increase effective July 1, 2025. The board did not discuss specific performance metrics in the public portion of the meeting.