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Catawba County Board approves federal Title grants plan, pending final funding release
Summary
The Catawba County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve its Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan and related Title I–IV assurances, contingent on the expected release of withheld federal funds. District leaders outlined funding cuts and how schools will absorb or cover reductions.
The Catawba County Board of Education on July 28 unanimously approved the district's Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) and assurances for federal Title I, II, III and IV programs, with the caveat that final funding amounts be confirmed once the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) releases previously withheld money.
The vote followed a detailed presentation from staff about statewide adjustments to federal allotments and how those changes affect Catawba County Schools. "Great news. I sent to you, the federal government is gonna release our Title 2, 3, and 4 money," Superintendent Dr. Stover told the board, adding that the release meant the district would not need to tap its fund balance to cover the programs this year.
The presentation laid out preliminary cuts and shifts the district expects. According to staff, the district's planning figures showed an approximate $276,000 reduction to Title I allotments compared with the prior plan; Title II was reduced by about $85,600; Title III by about $8,500; and Title IV increased by roughly $5,000. "Title 1 is based on all free and reduced lunch applications," staff member JR Sigman said, noting that all 16 of the district's elementary schools qualified as Title I schools based on the district's free-and-reduced-lunch rankings.
District leaders described how Title funds are typically used and where the reductions will hit hardest. Title I money largely pays for personnel: additional teachers, academic facilitators at each elementary school, part-time tutors, bus monitors and some school-level materials and parental-engagement activities. JR Sigman said the most significant cuts this year came in part-time tutoring positions and district-level materials and technology budgets. He also described the legal and programmatic requirements tied to certain funds, including services for homeless students under the McKinney-Vento program.
Staff described how schools prepared for the reductions. Principals were asked to present contingency plans, and several schools adjusted staffing through retirements or nonreplacement of open positions. The district will temporarily fund reductions at three schools'Maiden, Oxford and St. Stephen's'to allow a year for local planning; those schools were told they will need to reduce a teacher or teaching assistant in the 2026-27 budget cycle unless other changes occur.
JR Sigman told the board that some of the February cuts were driven not by the state but by a larger pool of charter schools in North Carolina receiving Title I allocations, which left the state splitting funds among more eligible schools. He also said DPI had indicated the budgets would be released the week of July 28; staff asked the board to approve the CCIP and assurances now so the district could proceed with planning once the funds are formally posted.
Board members moved and seconded a motion to approve the CCIP and related assurances "pending the re-release of the current withheld money," and the motion passed unanimously. The board recorded the action as approval with the note that final dollar amounts will be confirmed when DPI releases the funds and that staff will notify the board upon receipt.
Why it matters: Title funds support classroom staff and services for English learners, homeless students and districtwide interventions. Cuts in Title I and Title II can reduce tutoring, professional development and supplemental staff unless the district uses fund balance or other local resources. District leaders said the immediate impact this year was limited because principals had prepared contingency plans and the district opted to cover a small number of positions temporarily.
The board's approval allows grant-based staffing and program plans to move forward while staff await DPI's final allocation notice. JR Sigman asked that the board be notified as soon as DPI posts the funds so the district can finalize budgets and communicate any school-level changes.
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