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Davie County Board votes unanimously to close virtual school, citing declining enrollment
Summary
The Davie County Board of Education voted 7-0 to close Davie County Virtual School after hearing staff testimony about falling enrollment and funding changes. Board members held a public hearing with no public speakers and approved the closure as a business-item motion.
DAVIE COUNTY, N.C. — The Davie County Board of Education voted unanimously April 15 to close Davie County Virtual School, saying enrollment and funding changes made the program unsustainable.
Board Superintendent Jeff Wallace told members at a special-call meeting that the district’s virtual program, which expanded after the COVID-19 pandemic and at one point enrolled “nearly 800” students, has seen steadily declining demand. “As we present it to you in our budget work session, we feel is really the only decision we have is to close Davie County Virtual School,” Wallace said.
The board opened a statutorily required public hearing on the proposed closure; no members of the public signed up to speak. After board legal counsel advised that the hearing be closed, the board moved the item to its business agenda and approved the closure on a 7-0 voice/hand vote.
Board members and staff said the district had worked to notify families: Principal Brown and staff made personal phone calls to affected families and a staff member followed up with at least one parent. Wallace told the board the district had already reduced offerings in the virtual program (it “no longer served fourth to fifth grade” last year) and cut staff positions as enrollment declined.
Wallace also cited a change in state funding rules that affects the district’s financial calculation for 2025–26, saying the district’s funding will be based on the highest average membership in month 1 and month 2 rather than prior-year patterns. He said the funding change was not the primary cause of the enrollment decline but was a factor the board discussed during a prior budget work session.
The board approved the closure as a business motion and will return to implementation details at a future meeting. Board members did not identify specific next steps or a timeline for student reassignment at the meeting; staff said they had contacted parents individually and had followed-up calls for questions.
The board’s action at the special-call meeting also included routine consent items and other business on the agenda.
Davie County Virtual School and the district’s enrollment trends were discussed at length during the April budget work session, the board said; Wallace referenced a demographic study completed in 2022 that projected a slight decline in enrollment.
