Alamance commissioners hear hours of public comment on schools before narrowly approving modified budget plan

The Alamance County Board of Commissioners on Monday heard more than two hours of public comment focused largely on school funding, libraries and emergency services before approving a modified budget package that restores some local school funding and uses a mix of fund balance and a small property tax increase.

The public comment period attracted dozens of speakers who weighed the trade-offs in the county’s budget debate. Speakers included parents, teachers, students, business owners and farmers. Michael Wilkerson, introduced himself as a parent and said the community should adopt a budget “without raising taxes,” and called for greater transparency on how school dollars are spent. “This taxpayers’ trust and faith in county government school leadership is waning,” Wilkerson said.

Laura Stewart, who identified herself as a local farmer and parent, told commissioners she supported a tax increase to protect schools and libraries. “People don’t choose where to live because it has a really great courthouse,” Stewart said. “Newcomers want to see thriving school systems.” Several students and parents described lost staff positions and program reductions they said would harm classroom services and special-education supports.

Commissioners debated multiple budget scenarios during the meeting. An initial motion to adopt “Plan A,” which would have avoided a tax increase by drawing more heavily on the fund balance, failed. After further discussion and a recess, commissioners considered and approved a modified version of Plan C by a 3–2 vote. The modification restored $10 million that had been moved from school operating funds into capital in an earlier draft; it reallocated $8 million of an appropriated fund balance back to school capital, set aside $2 million for county capital needs, and used a 2-cent property tax increase to cover remaining county priorities and partial school operating needs. The motion also added roughly $1.3 million aimed at addressing pay and other operational items discussed during the meeting.

County staff said the adopted package leaves the county’s unassigned fund balance at about 20.1% of annual expenditures (unaudited figure), above many peer counties. Commissioners who supported the modified Plan C said the combination of fund-balance use and a modest tax increase balanced fiscal prudence with immediate school needs. Commissioners who opposed the package reiterated their campaign commitments to avoid tax increases and expressed concern for residents on fixed incomes.

Board members and school officials also discussed procedural and legal implications of the change in how local school money is classified. Under North Carolina law, current expense funding levels affect how future disputes are resolved; several commissioners expressed concern that moving operating funds to capital in earlier drafts could have triggered a statutory mediation process with the school system and generated a larger liability. The adopted approach was presented by supporters as a way to reduce that legal risk by returning funds to current expense while also increasing capital allocations for roofs and HVAC projects.

Superintendent Aaron Fleming spoke to commissioners during the meeting and provided calculations used by the school district to estimate how much would be needed to avoid the state mediation formula. Fleming also described how district staff have been using state at‑risk funds to fill gaps in School Resource Officer coverage when local funds were not available.

The meeting’s budget vote followed an extended public comment period and multiple hours of deliberation; commissioners left several items, including ongoing capital planning for a courthouse project and details of school capital spending, to follow-up work with staff.

The county clerk will publish the adopted ordinance and the edited budget document once final numbers are posted and audited.