Cabarrus County Board of Education lays out legislative priorities for Raleigh representatives, cites staffing, funding and safety gaps

The Cabarrus County Board of Education on Monday presented a five‑point legislative agenda to state representatives, asking the General Assembly to address teacher pay and licensure barriers, reform the state funding formula, rebalance school accountability measures, allow more calendar and staffing flexibility, and restore or expand funding for school resource officers and building upgrades.

The presentations — led by Superintendent John Capicki and cabinet members — emphasized that local steps are not enough to fill staffing gaps and meet rising student needs. "Competitive pay is a direct reflection of the value we place on education," said Dr. Robert Williams, chief of human resources, urging the legislature to pursue market‑driven compensation, licensure reciprocity and fully fund the state’s advanced teaching roles program.

Board leaders said the agenda is aimed at preserving and improving student outcomes as the district grows. "This meeting is all about collaboration — relationship building, information sharing, and really allowing our representatives to understand what our Cabarrus County Schools' priorities are on the legislative front," Board member Rob Walter said at the start of the meeting.

What the board asked legislators to pursue

Recruiting and retaining teachers: Dr. Williams said North Carolina trails many nearby states in teacher compensation and that local supplements alone cannot solve the district’s shortages. He described several specific asks: market‑driven salary increases, reinstating supplements for master’s degrees awarded before and after 2014 where applicable, simplifying out‑of‑state licensure and testing requirements, allowing retired teachers to return to classrooms more quickly, and full funding for the state advanced teaching roles program. The board noted an Advanced Teaching Roles grant in Cabarrus valued at $1,500,000 but said the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has warned funding for program expansion may be uncertain.

Strengthening the funding model: Presenters said Cabarrus County Schools received $11,039 per pupil and ranked near the bottom of state districts on per‑pupil spending (presenters cited "100 and fourteenth out of 115" districts). Dr. Chris Roth and Amy Jewell urged a move away from the current average‑daily‑membership (ADM) approach that uses the first 40 days of enrollment to determine funding; they asked the legislature to consider a true‑up model and other changes to better serve fast‑growing districts. The presentation also cited a roughly $3.7 million local cost to provide required services for students with disabilities (exceptional children) and noted that North Carolina caps funding for EC students at 13 percent of enrollment under current rules.

Specialized instructional support: Amy Jewell, speaking about counselors, social workers and psychologists, asked for increased state funding for Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP). She said SISP staff provided mental‑health or related services to more than 12,000 unique students last school year and warned that grant funding the district depends on (including a FAST grant that expires in 2027) is not sustainable. Jewell said the district serves 3,768 multilingual learners with 40.5 certified multilingual teachers (a reported ratio of about 1:93) and 72 languages represented.

Charter school funding impact: The presentation said 1,944 students attended charter schools last year and estimated roughly $21.6 million followed those students out of district coffers, without commensurate responsibilities for transportation, exceptional‑children services or nutrition that the district must provide.

Accountability model reform: Dustin Shue, chief of staff, urged changes to North Carolina’s ESSA‑based accountability model, which the district described as weighted heavily (presenters cited an 80/20 split) toward proficiency rather than growth. He and board members recommended a more balanced weighting that would recognize year‑over‑year student growth and additional measures such as postsecondary preparation, attendance and school climate.

Calendar, staffing and budget flexibility: The board seeks statutory permission for more flexible start and end dates (citing conflicts for dual‑enrolled students and semester timing), greater flexibility to hire staff outside narrow licensure areas (as charter schools may do), and movement toward student‑based funding. Presenters noted North Carolina uses a complex program/resource code funding structure that they characterized as more rigid than student‑based systems used in many other states.

Student safety and facility needs: Deputy Superintendent John LeGrand told the meeting that federal and state grant funding for school resource officers (SROs) has not kept pace with demand. The district said a decreased allocation from a state SRO grant resulted in a roughly $491,029.79 gap to fund full‑time SROs at every elementary and middle school. LeGrand also said the district has nine buildings older than 40 years and eight older than 50 years and seeks state help bringing older facilities up to modern safety and security standards.

Discussion, next steps and local legislative work

Three state House members — Representative Grant Campbell (House District 83), Representative Jonathan Allman (District 70) and Representative Brian Echeverria (District 82) — attended and spoke about committee assignments and planned bills. Rep. Campbell said his committee work would likely center on health care and veterans issues but offered an office contact for continued dialogue; Rep. Allman and Rep. Echeverria described committee assignments and said they were preparing bills, including proposals related to teacher recruitment and retention. Rep. Jonathan Allman noted local‑bill drafting deadlines and the district said it would pursue local bills where needed.

Board members, district staff and commissioners discussed the presentations in a question‑and‑answer period that covered licensure reciprocity, the ADM funding timing issue, the role of charter schools and facility capacity. Presenters repeatedly characterized many needs as requiring state action: "Our current teacher staffing crisis cannot be solved at a local level," Dr. Williams said.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to set the meeting agenda: mover Pam Escobar; second Sam Treadaway; outcome: approved (voice vote). - Motion to adjourn: mover Pam Escobar; second Sam Treadaway; outcome: approved (voice vote).

Context and limits

The presentation materials and figures noted by district staff reflect their analysis and citations to state data and grants; when presenters offered numeric estimates (per‑pupil amounts, grant values, caseload ratios, and estimated diverted charter funding), the article reports them as presented to the board. The meeting included no formal votes on the district’s legislative requests; the items presented were requests and positions for the board’s legislative advocacy.

The board said it will continue to work with the county commissioners and the three state representatives to refine legislative language and pursue local‑bill options where appropriate. Several board members urged clear public messaging tying funding and accountability changes to student outcomes and growth metrics.