Wake County tightens Title I eligibility for high schools, shifts funding toward highest-need schools

Wake County Public School System staff told the Student Achievement Committee on Oct. 21 that the district will raise the high school threshold for Title I eligibility to 75 percent direct certification for the 2025–26 school year and will serve fewer schools overall as a result.

The change comes as district staff reported uncertainty about federal Title I allocations and shrinking carryover funds from prior years. Dr. Burton, a Wake County Public School System staff member who led the presentation, said direct certification "is a metric that comes to us, straight from our child nutrition services department" and that the measure helps determine which schools qualify for Title I support.

The committee heard that the district currently serves 65 Title I-eligible schools and expects to fund 58 schools in 2025–26: 42 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and one high school (Longview High School). Staff reported an operating Title I budget for the current year of a little more than $32.9 million; more than 80 percent of that budget is directed to direct student services, and roughly 29–30 percent is invested in pre-kindergarten supports. District staff also said they maintain an unbudgeted reserve (about 4.5 percent) to manage timing and federal grant uncertainties.

Why it matters: staff said the threshold change is intended to concentrate limited federal dollars where need is greatest. "If you have to reallocate, put more money where the need is greatest rather than try to spread it more thinly across more students," Chair Haggerty summarized after the presentation; Dr. Burton agreed the shift was to preserve the program’s impact for the highest-need schools.

What staff presented - Direct certification: District staff receive monthly direct-certification reports from Child Nutrition Services to identify students eligible through other public benefit programs; that metric replaced meal-application counts as the primary eligibility measure. - Threshold history: For 2024–25, elementary and middle schools needed at least 40 percent direct certification to qualify; high schools for 2024–25 were set at 49 percent. For planning purposes, staff said the high-school eligibility band has been adjusted to 75 percent for 2025–26. - Budget impacts: With uncertain federal allocations and declining carryover, staff said holding thresholds steady would leave the Title I budget in deficit. Dr. Burton told the committee the district ran multiple budget iterations and adjusted thresholds to balance projected costs and projected participation. - Schools moving out of Title I: Staff said six schools on the current list will not receive Title I funding under the 2025–26 allocations; staff did not read a list aloud during the presentation. (Specific school names were not provided in the committee discussion and are therefore not listed here.) - Local bridge funding: The proposed board budget includes a $1.6 million locally appropriated line for 2025–26 to provide transitional/bridge support for the schools losing Title I funds. District staff described that amount as a partial, intentional bridge and not a full replacement of prior Title I allocations.

Study and program performance: The committee also received a summary of a descriptive study of Title I implementation in Wake County from Colleen (Data Research and Accountability). Colleen characterized the report as "a mile wide and an inch deep" and described patterns the study found: smaller class sizes in Title I elementary and middle schools versus non-Title I peers over several years, generally favorable teacher responses about professional development, and a pattern in which higher concentrations of poverty correlated with lower proficiency rates. Colleen emphasized the study was descriptive and did not claim causal conclusions. The presentation included two school-level success stories (Beaver Dam Elementary and Moose River) where staff highlighted cultural changes, instructional focus, targeted staffing, and expanded summer and family engagement programs that coincided with improved growth metrics.

Questions from the committee and staff responses: Committee members asked whether the six schools were removed because of the threshold adjustment or other variables; Dr. Burton said the changes were "largely" driven by a need to balance the budget and by uncertain federal funding allocations. Vice Chair Swanson and others asked about supports for schools losing Title I; staff pointed to the $1.6 million bridge and to preparatory work with principals and area superintendents that the district says has been underway for more than a year. Dr. Shanika Moore Brown (Title I staff) noted Wake County sets aside 3 percent of Title I funds for family engagement (the federal minimum requirement is 1 percent), and staff emphasized family engagement and professional learning as central program components.

What the presentation did not specify: staff did not list the six schools that will lose Title I status during the committee presentation, and district staff said final federal allocations had not yet arrived. The committee discussion also did not include a formal board vote on the threshold change; staff described the adjustments as part of administrative planning and budget proposals.

Next steps: Staff will provide the full descriptive study to the board (the presentation was a preview), the board will consider the proposed budget that includes the $1.6 million bridge, and staff said they will continue preparing principals and area leadership for the 2025–26 transition period.